While I am working on my latest article, REO Speedwagon is entertaining me with what I consider one of their best songs that they have ever produced. “KEEP ON LOVING YOU” Iconic! The music is coming from our little Google Home Mini.
I was reading an article I wrote, “Side-Tracked An Essay” (1) which coincidentally was written on a Sunday, too; as today is a Sunday. It was also written around the same time of the day. Written in days approaching middle of November last year, it talked about “colourful Christmas tree lights blinking chirpily”. I was referring to the lights on our Christmas trees at home. Yes, our Christmas trees (not one, but two) were already up in the near middle of November.
The article went on to describe one of the trees which was decorated with some of our keepsakes from our travels to countries near and far. You can go to the link below and read more about it. (1)
From the pictures of then and now, you will notice that the shirts I have on are different in colour, with the brand “Funkita” on both. Funkikta is a brand linked to swimsuits and accessories. It was during the time when Laura, my daughter; was a state swimmer swim athlete, representing the state of Selangor (2) and then, when she went abroad to U.S.A for her tertiary education; represented her university as a swim athlete, too.
I think you may compare, consider or link writers to “messy” sopranos (3). In the pictures below, you may think that I have too many “tools of the trade”; what with four monitor screens, notebooks, paper, at my workstation. I believe that I have most of the stuff I have to make it as easy as possible without having to scramble for something when I need it. The thing is, I don’t know if I will need whatever I think I may need. Haha. đ
Here, when I talk about messy sopranos, I am talking about sopranos in music. I have no idea why some, not all; sopranos are referred to as “messy” sopranos. Does anyone know? Do tell. My mother sang descant (4) and my father sang bass, at the many choirs they participated in.
Now back to working on my article. Oh, I do hope that the young gentleman and his wife, who I met on the street near my neighbourhood last night while I was on an additional 5km walk for the day, finds his wallet. He put his wallet on the top of his car, drove off a while later forgetting that his wallet was on top of his car, only to remember about it after that. They came back twenty minutes later to look for his wallet around the area. I helped them with the search, but the wallet was gone. He said he would call the banks to block his credit cards, and, make a police report, too. Let’s hope that the person that found his wallet will hand it over to the nearest police station.
Happy Sunday evening everyone and a great week ahead.
The Google mini with its lights on.
The Google Mini is small enough to blend in with its surroundings, yet big on sound. The sound that comes from it is crystal clear and multi-directional.At my workstation.Going through some of my jotted down notes.
NOTES: 1. https://leatherpotato.com/2023/11/12/sidetrackded-an-essay/ 2. Selangor is a thriving and bustling state of Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia. 3. What is a soprano? The soprano is the highest female voice type. There are many types of sopranos such as coloratura soprano, lyric soprano and the soubrette, which differ in vocal agility, vocal weight, timbre, and voice quality. All sopranos have the ability to sing higher notes with ease. 4. Is descant higher than soprano? https://www.rochdale.gov.uk/rochdale-music-service There is also descant soprano line, often used in choral pieces, that is an higher extension of the soprano range, showcasing notes above the treble stave. It’s tone colour can be described as: piercing, ringing, airy, bright and strong. tracemusicwork
As we were crossing the very busy street of Jalan Sultan on the overhead pedestrian bridge which connected P. J. State to the Registrar of Marriages building, she put her hand around my shoulder, and I put mine around her waist. We didn’t talk, yet much was said. She knew it. And, I knew it. The beautiful song, “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle, did not and could not capture those precious minutes I had with Laura…as her father…
THE FULL STORY WILL BE IN MY BOOK, SCHEDULED TO BE ON THE SHELVES OF BOOK STORES, IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS.
Sunday morning, what a beautiful day. The weather was cool. My wife, Jeannie, and I readied ourselves to go to church. It was 8.03am. We headed off on a short 10 minute drive to church. Traffic was Sunday-ish good.
Mass was good, with Fr Patrick Boudeville being his usual self, peppering his sermon with jokes, with chuckles coming from the congregation and smiles on their faces. Nice.
We thought we’d have a quick brekkie before heading home, so we popped by New Apollos.
Jeannie bought some nyonya kueh from one of the stalls. I had a kopi ais (Bahasa Malaysia for cold coffee with ice), Jeannie ordered a coffee (which is understood to be hot [without the ice…bit]).
Whilst having our breakfast there, we met some friends. One of the regulars was Christine with her three children.
The diversity family. Back row: Left to Right: Praga, Laura, Praga’s uncle (his mother’s brother), Sotha (Praga’s mother), Praga’s uncle’s wife. Front row: Jeannie, self and Praga’s nephew.
We used to pass by the Tasty Chapathi restaurant with its colourful signage whenever we went to the Empire Gallery Shopping Mall. The signage will definitely catch your attention if you looked left when going past the shopping mall. The restaurant is located at Wisma Consplant 2, an office building.
First plus point for this restaurant: there is ample parking available. That itself sets your mood right.đ
As we entered the restaurant, we were greeted with a nice ambience and decor, setting us for the mood of what we would expect as upmarket, exquisite food. Tasty Chapathi serves Northern Indian food. This restaurant had a fairly large main dining hall and several rooms for private functions, some could seat 30 people along a long table. Each room greets its guests with an archway, a continuance of the ambience and decor from the main dining hall. The whole place was not too brightly lit to give their guests that extra special feeling of a touch of class. We were seated in the main dining room. Very comfortable.
There were quite a few waiters at hand to wait on us. The food was ordered, not by Jeannie or I. We left the ordering to the experts, Praga and his family. I would not have known how to order. It’s like going to a French or Chinese restaurant, with its cuisine in French or Chinese respectively, except that this was Indian.
Butter chicken, mutton veruval, plain naan, garlic naan, chicken 65, panu puri, sev puri, tandoori chicken, chicken biryani, the list goes on. That was the meal order. Drinks were fresh lime and watermelon juice.
Paani Puri. An unusual dish of what looked like papadam shaped into balls the size of ping-pong balls. The top was open like the ping-pong balls had their tops broken off. It also looked as though these were shells, after the chicks were hatched. In these papadam shaped balls, was filled with muruku. In the centre of this dish was was a little decanter filled with what look like concentrated plum sauce.
Lime juice
We did not have to wait too long before our food arrived. When the food was served, it looked like it was coming, one dish after another; never ending. We started with the Paani Puri. It was an unusual dish of what looked like papadam shaped into balls the size of ping-pong balls. The top was open like the ping-pong balls had their tops broken off. It also looked as though these were fried small egg shells, after the chicks were hatched. In these papadam shaped balls, was filled with muruku. In the centre of this dish was was a little decanter filled with what look like concentrated plum sauce.
We started by pouring what I believe was concentrate plum sauce in the papadam shell casing. Then, we put it in our mouths. It was really nice. Can you imagine plum sauce with muruku? There’s a first for everything.
“Sev Puri”, a delicious dish with muruku toppings. It looks like a bullseye (egg), minus the yoke, with carrot garnishing and two or three different sauces. Exquisite.
Our next was the Sev Puri, a delicious dish with muruku toppings. It looks like a bullseye (egg white), minus the yoke, with carrot garnishing and two or three different sauces. The dish was served with half a dozen individual pieces as a set. This was another great dish. I think the Paana Puri and Sev Puri dishes were entrees (dishes before the main course).
Going through the menu. very interesting. This is how its done.You have to pour this what looked like thick, concentrated plum sauce (I think) onto the muruku filling in this papadam shaped, top-proken off (open), size of a ping-pong ball delicacy.In slow motion.Easy does it.I was not sure whether we were supposed to pour just a little amount to savour the sweet sourness, to the muruku and this crust cocoon. I thought since the decanter was full with plum sauce, it would have meant that this sauce was poured in each of the balls and filled to the brim. So, I poured it to the top, drowning the muruku in it.
I could go on and on about each and every dish. Every dish was simply the best. Presentation for each dish was superb, how the garnish and dressing…the finest….right down to the smallest details were seen to.
Biryani rice and chicken curry dishes.Another superb rice meal set, with its condiments coming in an arch tray that half surrounds the plate.I thought the arc-shaped arch tray was a novel idea.
This is the place to come to for a pleasant dining experience. It did not fall short in any way in giving us that experience. This is a place to come to for total relaxation and great food. I know that we will come here again. That’s for sure.
My order. This is a tandoori chicken set. It comes with 2 pieces of chicken. I like how one part of the chicken was wrapped in tin foil to prevent your hands from getting soiled when holding the chicken. It also comes with 2 large pieces of plain naan, a large container of gravy (I think it was a dhal dish), some cut cucumbers, carrots and large onions, a container of a cucumber salad, and two different types of sauces one green, the other white. I think these sauces were a type of chutney. The white one was made from coconut.Does not just look absolutely yum, it tastes absolutely yum!A simple, yet delicious rice set.“Aloo pranta” – a type of naan.Aloo pranta with paani puri.
I was working on this article while drinking Essenso 3 in 1 instant coffee, with Microground coffee. This was my first try of this coffee. It claims on its packaging to be smooth and aromatic. It is. This is a nice anytime coffee, drink it hot or cold. And, my Samsung Watch 7 Ultra kept buzzing with notifications (almost profusely) that kept causing me to stop / start this article multiple times. However, my train of thought was never derailed (pun? train…derailedđ€đđ)
NOTES: Maharaja is a Hindu and Sikh princely title ranked in honour below a Maharajadhiraja and above a Raja. The title referred to a prince during the British rule in India and in medieval northern India, but was equivalent to a ‘Great King’ in medieval southern India and in late ancient India. Wikipedia
Exhaustingly exhausted… That has to be how this day can be summed up. Obviously, I still have some juice…drive…to go on. I am finger-writing this article, am I not (instead of aren’t I)? (1) It has to be published and reach the readers before the day is out.
This reminds me of the time when I was in La Salle School, Klang, in the early 1970s to mid-1970s. It was the time when “The Star” newspaper publication was published in Penang. (2) My schoolmate and buddy of that time, Duncan Calvin La Brooy; was a reader of that publication and used to bring it to school almost everyday. We are in school before 7.00am each school day, and he has the newspapers. He said the newspaper would be delivered to his house the late evening, before the next day. This means for example, if tomorrow is September 3rd ( it is…it really is)đ€đ, then, tomorrow’s newspaper which will be dated September 3rd, will be delivered this late evening of September 2nd. Cool or what?
Well at that time, there were no mobile phones, tablets (the big rectangular, portable flat screens…not the ones you swallow when you are ill), computers, internet…; it was awesome… to think that we were getting tomorrow’s news today.
In a way, I am preparing and publishing tomorrow’s article today.
We, meaning Laura, Jeannie and I, were deciding on dinner for this evening. This is usually one tough question to answer or one tough decision to make. We were already in the final quarter of the day. Making decisions or answering really (as in honestly, truthfully…haha. Got to watch what we say.đđđ) tough questions other than work related, at this point of the day, is something that many of us try to avoid. We are in “chill” mode, at least for a few hours before we are magnetically drawn to our screens or home work stations.
My mixed plate of food (I skip the basic rice as I don’t eat rice).
T23 was on my mind. “T23” sounds like a model number of one of Russia’s military fighter or bomber aircraft or one of their armoured tanks. None of the above.
Here, you can see a couple of slices of pineapple on top, with mixed vegetables and some potatoes underneath.
T23 in Taipan is an economy jaahp faahn (mixed rice) (3) popular restaurant, USJ Subang Jaya. (4) It offers a super wide variety of delicious food at reasonable prices (though cooking on your own and eating at home is much, much cheaper. However, these meals are cheaper than most of what you can get from other restaurants.). The food is delicious. You can come here everyday and have a different choice of food. The good thing is you don’t have to buy groceries to prepare these meals yourself, cook, clean dishes, etc.
On this side, of the same plate, you can see a sardine, slices of potatoes, Japanese tofu on the right of the picture, white tofu with mince meat (towards the central top left of the picture).
You choose your meal, cafeteria style, you walk along the long 3-tiered row of dishes, choose the types of dishes, serve the quantity of the choices you made, walk to the cashier who determines how much to charge for the meal, you pay, then take your meal to an adjoining dining room with rows of tables and chairs. You pick an available empty chair or chairs (like Jeannie, Laura and I were together) and sit there. You can serve yourself free soup and iced or warm water. The dining area is air-conditioned with fans as well, which can be rather cold at times.
A better view of the sardine, together with the potatoes, Japanese tofu, mixed vegetables and white tofu with mince meat.
Their staff / cleaners, are very fast in clearing tables and wiping them clean, after people have left . This is to help facilitate the high volume of people who come, eat and leave. The seating area can accommodate more than 100 people. There is hardly an empty place for long, as people just keep coming, eating and then leave.
Jeannie’s meal – was chicken prepared in a sweet sauce, dark green vegetables, rice and a bowl of soup – a simple choice. Laura went for rice, fried chicken, luncheon meat, curry and potatoes.
Jeannie’s meal – chicken, dark green vegetables, rice and a bowl of soup (bottom picture).
I went to town on my food choice. Pineapple, luncheon meat, Japanese tofu, sardine, white tofu with mince meat, mixed vegetables and potatoes. Simply delicious.
In this picture, you can see their luncheon meat specialty, pineapples, Japanese tofu and mixed vegetables.
The most important part of the evening was our family time between Laura, Jeannie and me. The screen gadgets were not on the table or within clear view. From all our busy “doing things” work and others, every day, here, we sat and enjoyed the company of each other in the present – priceless!
NOTES: 1. “Am I not?” is a question phrase favouritely used by Rev. Fr. Simon La Brooy; a popular Catholic priest in Malaysia. 2. Penang is a northern state of Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia. It comprises of the island of Penang itself, and Seberang Prai (formerly known as Province Wellesley); which is a section on the peninsula. Penang is a popular tourist destination for both local and international tourists from the world over. It has many heritage sights. One of the main attractions it offers to tourists are its beaches. Lots to do in Penang. Lots of excitement. Don’t forget to bring your sunblock. Penang is also one of the world’s leading high-end, sophisticated, semiconductor manufacturers. 3. “Jaahp faahn” or economy rice is known by several other names, and in general conversation it is rare for anyone to refer to it as such, even though many stalls tend to proclaim “Economy rice” on their signboards. wikipedia 4. Subang Jaya is a bustling and exciting city in the central state of Selangor, Peninsula Malaysia, Malaysia.
Dinner was at Kwai Sun coffee shop in SS15 is going be one of those memorable ones. We had just had (correct English?) our dinner. Jeannie walked over to K. P. Mak, the fruit grocer to buy some grapes. Laura and I decided to go there, too; a few minutes later. As we walked there, Laura put her arm around my shoulder which made me feel so proud of her – my daughter. I reminisced the time when she did exactly that, when she was about 9 or 10 years old. It was after one of her music lessons at Yamaha Music School in Subang Parade. We were walking to the car. She just gave me the impression she was the happiest kid at that time. It made me feel absolutely ecstatic to think that she shared those moments with me.
The announcement has been made by our daughter, Laura; that she is engaged to be married.
Not so long ago, one fine Wednesday morning, at 9.15am, she was born. I saw her and soon carried her. Was absolutely thrilled to bits! This was what fathering was about. “I can do this” (popular line used in American movies psyching one’s self up).
I thought to myself that I was liking it and was going to enjoy every moment of this title, “FATHER” bestowed on me. The most supreme of all titles, the glam of it all. I was going to be the “bestest” (1) father, the “fatherest” (2) of all fathers.
One of the first things I did was to move my personal office to our home. I was close at hand to do whatever being a father needed done and more.
In a blink of an eye, she was in school, and another blink saw her graduating from school. Now, you know why I seldom blink my eyes. Time whizzes by so fast. An eye blink later, she was away, far away (real far) from us; studying abroad. Yes, you may have guessed… I kept blinking my eyes in rapid succession for her to be back home with us.
After a long, tiring period of “blinking my eyes” (Practise makes perfect. I learnt from the very best, “I dream of Jeannie” tv series of the 1970sđ); she was back home with us, and started her work career. She knows what she wants and got her career going almost as soon as she came back. She brought with her the “Work Life Balance” – something quite strange in Malaysia.
Marriage date has been set. A new beginning for her. A new beginning for us, as parents, too. We are not too sure what to expect in the future, which is from the moment ahead of us – That’s the excitement of it all. What we are sure of is her happinessđ€.
Blink!
NOTES: 1. Bestest is a nonstandard emphatic form of best. It means âthe very best,â âthe best of the best,â or âbetter than the best.â 2. Fatherest here, is meant to be the best father of all. There may not have been an English word like this before. Fatherest in Hindi, an Indian dialect; means “near by words”.
I can see it, I can feel it. It’s heavy! My book is taking form. In the “real”. Two years or more. Now…
The manuscript is in its rawest form.
The manuscript in its rawest form.
The idea first floated about when I started leatherpotato.com. Wouldn’t it be nice to write a book? What shall I write about?
That is a question that many people have answers to, except me, I guess. However, I did have many ideas floating about. Yet, many a time, I’d sit in front of the computer and just stare blankly at the screen. Too many ideas… “noise”. Can you imagine, too many ideas?
I have been trying to get my first book out well over 2 years ago. I did not have any material. I started on something, then junked it. Then, went on to something else. Then junked it again. This had been going on for a “long” sometime. I guess I am my biggest critic.
Then again; I am a dreamer. To me, my mind is my biggest playground. Joanne Kathleen Rowling has an imagination with no boundaries. She wrote beautifully, her series of Harry Porter stories; she writes beautifully now. She recently x-ed (formerly known as Twitter) that she has at least another six books more in the writing. She never ceases to amaze.
Coming back to reality, the unpolished “manuscript gem” is only but the beginning. Now, the next round of work is about to begin. Putting the manuscript together. What goes into the semi-final manuscript, what stays out. That is going to be interesting.
When I had the chance or opportunity to start authoring a book when I left school or even when I was in school, I didn’t. I wanted to pursue other interests, which I did. Photography was one of them. Worked for a cinematography film company for a short while until they fired me for bringing my own camera and doing my own thing. That was a long, long time ago, a few years after I started my working career. It was fun while it lasted. I do not look back with regret. I am glad that I went through the several “stepping stones” in my life which has offered me the many experiences; many ups and not so many highs.
It shows, doesn’t it, the “doing my own thing” part?đ€ Even here, in my writings, I tend to do my own thing with the English language. Having fun.đđ đ
But (not a good way to start a sentence, right? Just teasing you, the reader) these are experiences that have afforded me the honour of meeting and knowing all those people in the “experiences” that I may have not met otherwise.
I have to give mention to my classmate from La Salle School, Klang; who has a role in getting me to speed up the process of “The Book”, my first book and many more to come – Mohan Singh.
Mohan telephoned (rang, called, gave me a ring; not Whatsapped called međ) me a couple of months ago (early May) and said, “I have read your writings that you have published. I think that you write well. Why don’t you write a book?”
I told him that I was working on it. Although several publishers had touched base with me, I did not give it much thought. “What? So soon?” That thought did cross my mind.đČ”
“I know a publisher who is good at what he does. I can put him onto you. Have a chat and take it from there.”, Mohan said. So, that kind of sped the process up a bit. No, not really. It sped things up a lot.
The Batik Influencer, Jeannie my wife; and my daughter, Laura; are the “daily drivers”, ensuring that I put in the time to see this first book and many others to come, published and become bestsellers.
Going to Mid-Valley at around mid-day, was a good choice. Lunch, some shopping and then watch a movie – that was the game plan.
I had the opportunity to spend time with my two favourite women in my life; Jeannie, my wife; and Laura, our daughter. The both of them had taken leave from work today. It was Laura’s birthday.
The Oriental restaurant at Mid-Valley, was like all their other restaurants – crowded. We got to the restaurant just after mid-day, at slightly after a quarter past twelve. Though they have a large seating capacity, they had a long queue waiting to be seated.
The restaurant has a good queue control system, ensuring we did not have to wait too long. As we got nearer to the end of the queue in front, one of the waiters gave us the menu to browse through and make our orders through them. So, by the time we got to our table; our food order arrived shortly after that.
To me, one of the best things about this restaurant is that it is brightly lit. I mean talk about bright; this is the leader. I like to see what I am eating.đđ
We did not have to wait too long before our food arrived. Everything looked good and tasted as good as it looked. We left soon after we finished our meal. Jeannie and Laura went to the stores they liked while I went to the ones I liked (generally). I walked quite briskly to cover more ground and to make up for my usual 10km walk that I missed out today.
I met with them about an hour later, after having covered several stores. I did more of a window-shop looksie walk. I found a couple of things that was of interest to me, including a pair of Teva sandals that has all its straps padded for a more comfortable wear experience.
Laura and Jeannie did some shopping. Laura was happy that she got some things with a good discount.
It was mid-afternoon, when we headed back to Subang Jaya. It was a hot afternoon. I suggested that we swing by at Good Ground Bakery for a thirst quencher and some of its delightful pastries. The ladies agreed.
Here we (Jeannie and I), are, with the birthday lady, Laura; seated in a nice, cozy corner, behind a brownish-red divider / wall, in the front of the bakery. Prime seating area.
Laura had a iced chocolate drink, while Jeannie and I both had Calamansi Coolers; prepared by the up and coming renowned barista in the making, Joanne. We had a slice of dark chocolate, cut into 3 equal slices by GGB’s Public Relations Specialist, Monique. Sarah, GGB’s owner; was busy in the back, working on their delightful pastries.
This picture looks kinda nice, well arranged. The chicken puff surrounded by the three equally cut pieces of cake from the slice of dark chocolate cake; the chocolate drink and the 2 calamansi coolers..
The chicken “curry” puff, was good to the last crumb. It goes well with any drink and other food you order.
This afternoon break was so refreshing, sort of having given us a renewed energy for the rest of day’s plans. We enjoyed being in the “present”. Highly recommended.đ
Picture taken: Courtesy of Monique.
We take birthdays seriously, enjoying the gift from God that has brought us to this point; and look forward to the future, from this moment onwards. Living life to the fullest!
Enjoying herself. With my Compaq 64GB, playing continuous music for her.
Where have the 23 years gone? I ponder on this question as I sit here, in the car, thumb typing this essay out on my Samsung Galaxy Fold 5, while in the mood of pondering or is it wondering? I will have to go with “pondering”.
I am sitting here in the car, waiting for Jeannie and Laura, while they shop for groceries at Aeon in Subang Jaya (1). We had just come from Mid-Valley Shopping Mall (2) after having lunch at Oriental restaurant and then doing a bit of shopping. Oriental was crowded, with a long queue as usual. While Jeannie and Laura waited in queue and made the orders at the same time; I made a bee line to Harvey Norman. It was quite a nice afternoon at Mid-Valley. As I wait for Jeannie and Laura; I tap, scribble, write and gesture-make commands on the Fold 5 with the S-Pen (besides the thumb-typing, coming up with this article; they, the two ladies; are getting groceries to stock up for the weekend.
I made a quick round to the usual favourite shops while we were at Mid-Valley, to check out special offer deals, if they had anything new. I stopped in at Planet Traveller, Crumpler, Samsung, Flash Gadget, Hat Attack, Teva, Harvey Norman, Timberland and the Nescafe booth where they sell the capsule coffee machines. It was more of a browse through. I was done in about an hour. So was Jeannie and Laura. I caught up with them at Bath & Body Work.
As we headed back to Subang Jaya, I suggested we stop by at Good Ground Bakery on our way in. (Story for another day). We had a nice, late afternoon slice of dark chocolate cake, a big pastry puff for eats. Laura had a chocolate drink while Jeannie and I both had a calamansi cooler each. The drinks were real thirst quenchers on such a hot Thursday afternoon.
These two pictures of Laura are at my work station.
Laura did the two pieces of art above đ on my Samsung Note 2 (at that time in 2012), using the S-Pen. Notice her eye for details. Amazing! Laura was nearly 12 years old when she put the Note 2 through its paces.
Singapore
At Universal Studios, Singapore.đ
A couple of recent pictures đtaken at Starbucks, Empire Gallery Shopping Centre..
Much of our get togetherness was always at the dining table, be it at breakfast, lunch, coffee / tea afternoon or dinner. These were the times when we all needed to do the same thing – eat / have our meals. And, many times when we were with family.
One for the album. A recent Atkinson family picture.
An evening recently, when Sarah Atkinson, was able to join us for coffee at Marks & Spencer, Sunway Pyramid.
“O.K. You caught me. I am still gonna eat.”This was a good candid shot.
When Laura was there to celebrate Jeannie’s and my MBA graduation. Not too long after that, some 20 years or so; Jeannie and I, were there for Laura when she graduated from university.
This was a time when Laura was embarking on a new adventure; when she was leaving for the U.S. for her tertiary education.
HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LAURA! MAY GOD SHOWER HIS CHOICEST BLESSINGS IN ABUNDANCE ON YOU. LOVE YOU MUCH MORE THAN FOREVER!
NOTES: 1. Subang Jaya is an urban city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. 2. Situated in K. L.. Kuala Lumpur or K.L. as it is commonly known in these parts, is a bustling metropolitan city. It is the capital of Malaysia.
It is now mid-week after the weekend at Booth F1.03, Amcorp Shopping Mall. I am sitting at the Corner table just next to the glass entrance / exit door at Good Ground Bakery. Soft, soothing, piano music is coming from a single, light-colour, small, round, multi-directional speaker, sitting on a table behind the counter. It goes unnoticed by most people. The music is loud enough to fill the whole room but not loud that you would have to raise the volume of your voice to speak to each other.
The weekend at the booth seemed to have gone by (what should the filler word to describe the ‘speed ‘in time be? [1]) quickly. We set up our booth by 10.00am and before long, we had visitors stopping by. The Batik Influencer was busy from the word “go”.
We had many first timers visiting us at out booth. They also became customers or would be customers. I sold multiple diecast vehicles, including Hotwheels. When I first started selling off my Hotwheels and diecast vehicle collection, I had well over 500 vehicles. Now, I am left with less than 100. I’m glad the vehicles have found homes with their new owners. All those who purchased these diecast vehicles from me, are all collectors themselves.
People browsing through the pre-loved, well kept items. Sold many more Hotwheels, and other brands of diecast vehicles.
Trying on a JEANNIE’SOWN Batik Cape creation to get a feel. She bought.
As we went through the second day, Teacher Annie, Laura’s pre-school teacher at Beaconhouse, came by our booth. It was so nice to meet with her after all these years. Annie remembers Laura well and asked after her. We brought each other up to speed of what we are doing now and also about our families.
Timeless
Look who showed up. Teacher Annie, Laura’s pre-school teacher. Looking good as always.
One of the highlights of the day was I purchased a green Fudora. Another was that Jeannie acquired a beautifully crafted copper bracelet, decorated with colour stones. The bracelet is a birthday present for Laura as her birthday is in a couple of days.
Guys from La Salle Klang re-unite. Mervin Gomes (front), Terence Singh (back) and I.
Towards mid-afternoon; Mervyn Gomes dropped by, bringing with him a fellow Klang La Sallian; Terence Singh.. Terence’s brother is the famous singer, guitarist, song-writer, performer; Gerard Singh. Gerard is well known as the guitar man.
Terence, who resides in Johore (2); usually meets with Mervyn quite often. Terence whipped out his smartphone and called another old friend, John Stotdard; on Whatsapp video. It was good talking with John. It has been many years since we last met. These guys were neighbourhood friends in the 1970s and 1980s. They are several years my junior, more my youngest brother, Malcolm’s, age group.
The author writes: Just short of singing our alma mater La Salle School, Klang’s anthem. Mervyn Gomes (front), Terence Singh (back) and me, the Hatted Writer. Mervyn is in a typical La Salle Klang pose (I thinkđ)
This beautiful hand made copper bracelet the Batik Influencer bought as a birthday gift for Laura, our daughter.
Nice bag.
I had the opportunity to meet with many BMW owners and enthusiasts. We touched on many topics of BMWs. Most of them, including me; are more “old-school” BMW guys. Today’s BMW models seem to have lost its plot. Moving into electric vehicles (ev), they look just like any other ev. Hard to tell them apart from say a Chinese make.
The Batik Influencer, showing some of her “JEANNIE’S OWN” Batik Cape Creations.
And the nicest smile goes to…
I had the opportunity of meeting with several readers of leatherpotato.com. They have been supporters for a long time. One of the best comments I received was, “Your writing is definitely by a human. We can feel the humanness in the way you express yourself and put your views across”. Another comment received was that she liked how I “toyed” around with the English language.
Listening with attentiveness as the Batik Influencer explains and demonstrates the multiple ways of using a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
The Batik Influencer explaining the various ways of using the JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creations. It can be worn for all occasions.
Trying on a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
Looking very royal with a JEANNIE’S OWN Batik Cape Creation.
Before we knew it, it was the end of the day. We packed up (took us nearly an hour to pack our things) and headed back home. On the way home, the question….that question…”What do you want to have for dinner?” “Anything”, was the answer. Great!
NOTES: 1. “Very”, “rather”, “alarmingly” 2. Johore is the southern most state of Malaysia.
It’s my birthday…again? Mum asked in jest. The word “jest” (1) became or was made quite popular when two past politicians (they still think they are or behave as though they are [said in jest]) used it to make fun of statements and reports made by media, for and against them.
So, it’s Sunday evening. Mum, dad, their children and their families got together to celebrate mum’s 87th birthday. We take birthdays and anniversaries as gifts and blessings. Besides celebrating mum’s birthday, we celebrated dad’s & Mum’s 68th wedding anniversary. Mum related a story that when she was very young, a couple friends of theirs celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. At that time, 25 years was such an achievement not to be taken lightly. “And the couple looked old / aged”, she said. Now, she is celebrating 68th with dad, and 25 just does not look nor seem so long after all.
It was Father’s Day, too, where we fathers were wished “Happy Father’s Day!” A triple celebration.
One of the biggest highlights of the evening was that we all came together. We are more often than not, caught up with multiple things and events on each of our personal calendars, to manage to pull this event off. Even then, we still had some of the family members missing from today because of their tight schedules.
Here, Malcolm, who is a Pastor; a singing Pastor, a person that is liked by everyone; said a blessing over the food.
The “grand” Atkinson, dad; with his two youngest granddaughters.
We gathered around the table, where Malcolm said a special blessing for mum, especially for continued good health. Then, for the food. The food was as usual, plentiful. It was a combination of Asian and western food. Everyone brought something different. Though there was a lot of food, including desserts; Alana got tempted for ice-cream potong (3) and ordered it with Grab delivery services.
A family picture. Left to Right: King (Kheng) as he is more often referred as, is Sarah’s boyfriend; Shirley (late brother, Nigel’s wife); Sarah, (Shirley and Nigel’s daughter); the birthday queen, Mum; the Father’s Day King, Dad; Uma (Malcolm’s wife), standing behind dad; Alana (Terence’s & Mabel’s eldest daughter), who is also the eldest granddaughter Atkinson, Laura (Jeannie, the Batik Influencer’s & my daughter), who is also the youngest granddaughter Atkinson; Mabel (Terence’s wife); Terence; Malcolm; the Batik Influencer; Jeannie and yours truly, me.
When we had our fill with dinner, we moved over to the living room, where everyone was relaxed, chilling out and chatting on many subjects; just catching up and bring each other up to speed with their daily going-ons.
The bir-ther-day (how some locals here still pronounce “birthday” in a unique way) was soon readied for the birthday song. However, not before pit-cher (another Malaysian local pronounced English word, “picture”) taking session. Jeannie organized this quick session. Quick because we all have become picture-taking professionals, experts and veterans. Once, the multitudes of pictures were taken from several smartphones, the long, single candle on the cake was lighted and we sang “Happy Birthday” to mum. We sang in the right key and timing – music is a gift we inherited from dad and mum.
The bir-the-day (as some would pronounce birthday) cake.
We stayed on for the cake and also the ice-cream potong and continued crisscrossing chats with each other (most of us did that). Somehow, there never seems to be enough time to say all that we want to say as it was soon time to call it a night.. The three celebrations of Mum’s 87th birthday, Dad’s & Mum’s 68th wedding anniversary and Father’s Day does not only mark the end of the year that has gone past, but ushers in the “new year” for each of these events with an abundance of love, joy and experiences to come.
NOTES: Photographs are courtesy of Sarah and Kheng.
1. “Jest” means a thing said or done for amusement; a joke. 2. “Do” can also means party, celebration, reception, bash, gala, fĂȘte, shindig, fete, function, affair, blowout, dance, blast, ball, occasion, get-together, binge, fund-raiser, benefit, formal. 3. Potong means âcutâ in Malay, referring to rectangular popsicles that are cut into portions from a bigger block. Made of coconut milk, skimmed milk, corn starch and sugar as basic ingredients, they fused it with flavours such as yam, durian and the most popular, red bean. makansutra.com
