Life

A ROSE IS BUT A ROSE, UNLESS IT’S TATTOO-ED

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

A touch up, a minor one at that; is supposed to be with minor pain. “It is only logical”, as Spock of Star Trek would say. Hah! I think this is an irritating pain.

One thing led to another, and I began looking for another tattoo on the net. I was just going to see what was new, that was all. From one set to another to another, to other sites…the latest…the greatest…2024 small tattoos… for men… finger…arm…shoulder. The internet was flooded with what everyone of them said of the sites they were promoting: theirs was the best.

Then to choose one which has a meaning.. a symbol…, there was an infinite number to choose from. I stayed away from the ones that looked scary. I didn’t want to choose one that if I was to wake up in the middle of the night, would scare me out of my skin.

I chose some designs, finally; after more than an hour of searching. They each had a nice meaning linked to it. My final choice was between a rose and the word “continue”.
I chose to give meaning of my own: Rose is a symbol of life, love and beauty. In any situation, it picks itself up and continues to add value to beauty and its surroundings. The word “continue” means we have to continue to strive for more than the best in all we do.

Like in most times, I always sought the opinions of the ones closest to me. Laura just had her second tattoo done. She said it was between the rose and the wave pictures. The rose ended up as the winner.

Rose

Wave

Before last night, I had no plans of getting another tattoo. I was just going for a touch up to the last tattoo I had done, only.

I got to the Dr Ink Studio a few minutes before my appointment time. I had to go through the usual: one of the employees sprayed a light disinfectant around me. I met Soon, who was his usually very pleasant, polite and courteous self.

Soon showed me to the chair that I would be sitting on , while he did the touch up. I also told him about my choice of the rose.

Should I say, “Ouch” or “Oo-la-la”? My first tattoo touchup.

A touch up, a minor one at that; is supposed to be with minor pain. “It is only logical”, as Spock of Star Trek would say. Hah! I think this is an irritating pain, somehow even more painful than when it was first done.

Before Soon started on the new tattoo; I asked him multiple x multiple (instead of using the word “many” – being American) questions like how much pain will I really be going through since that the thumb area was a sensitive area with constant movement. I was expecting him to say, “It isn’t going to be very painful”. However, he said it was going to be slightly more painful that the tattoo done on my arm. My questions were based more on my concerns of taking care of the tattoo just after its done for the next few days. He allayed all my concerns.

I said, “Let’s do it!”

Then, I realised it was shaving cream, which had disinfectant properties, too. Here, Soon shaves off whatever hair(s) I may have in that area.
At first, I thought this was a disinfectant, applied.

Whatever residue balanced, is wiped clean.

Steady as it goes: the exact placement where I want it to be and where it will look at its best all the time.
The stencil-ed picture is transferred on. The stencil is then removed before the procedure starts.

The ink.
The outline already looks good.

The saline is supposed to lighten the colour of the ink a bit (I think) to create hues of colour(in this case, black).

The procedure: Microscopic injecting of the ink.
One painful leaf almost done. The rest of the picture to go.

Done. The masterpiece.

I was impressed with the professionalism that Soon displayed in carrying out this task. All you gals n guys wanting to get tattoos done, should see Soon.

Should you get a tattoo or tattoos done? If you are thinking about it, now is a good time as ever.

A rose is but a rose… unless it’s tattoo-ed. Then, it is a rose, tattoo-ed. It reminds you that life is about love, and love is about life.

NOTES:
The ink is injected INTO the skin. Artists create your tattoo by injecting ink into your skin using an electrically powered tattoo machine. This machine looks and sounds like a dental drill, with a needle that moves up and down to puncture the skin between 50 and 3,000 times per minute.

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.

SEE YOU AT F3.02

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

3rd Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 3.02, 3rd Floor, West Wing,
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Mar 23 and Mar 24, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

“I shall return”, said the Hatted Writer at the end of the last outing at Amcorp Shopping Mall in Petaling Jaya.

And so I will. The Batik Influencer and I, the Hatted Writer, will be at Amcorp Shopping Mall tomorrow, March the 23rd, and Sunday, March the 24th. We have loved every time we organised a booth at the shopping mall. It can be a tad tiring, but (stronger emphasis than the word “however”) we always have fun. Every outing has always been different mainly because we constantly meet new people who are kind enough to share their personal likes, family and culture with us.

This time out, the Batik Influencer has a whole new line up (every line up is new) of her fabulous “JEANNIE’S OWN” batik capes. The number of pieces have been limited to a very tight number. However (gentler word than “but”), they are already being snapped up pretty fast. So, if you want to own one or more of Jeannie’s Own Batik Capes, it’d be best if you come early to get it / them.

One of the Batik Influencer’s customers came by with her husband, the last time we were here, and shared their wedding picture of her, the new bride; wearing a JEANNIE’S OWN timeless creation at their wedding ceremony. Congratulations to the newlyweds. The bride looked beautiful in her newly acquired JEANNIE’S OWN batik cape.

The readers of Leatherpotato.com : I look forward as usual, in meeting with many of you, subscribers, readers, supporters, fans; this weekend. Come share your thoughts on how my book should pan out. There seems to be some historical facts (Though what we deem as “historical fact” is constantly altered to suit the whims and fancies of those who can alter [fact]) lined up, together with personal experiences, campur-ed (1) with sci-fi and hopefully humour. I can’t see through the depth of the novel yet. I wonder how J. K. Rowlings could even come up with a series of books. She is brilliant. J. K. Rowlings will not be at Amcorp Shopping Mall this weekend. You will have to settle with me. 😉😁😂

We continue, too; to have a wide array of things, including from our travels; that you can acquire for your very own. Come and have a look-sie.

I know that we are gonna (American for “going to”) have loads of fun. Come and join in. Make lots of noise. Looking forward to seeing you.

NOTE:
1. Campur is the Malay word for mix. the “-ed” is adding English flavour 😂 to the word to make it past tense – already done.

From one of our past “roadshows”(?)

A limited number of Hotwheels, Corgi, Matchbox, and other brands of yesteryear are available this weekend.

3rd Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 3.02, 3rd Floor, West Wing,
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Mar 23 and Mar 24, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

A TRIBUTE TO THE WOMEN IN MY LIFE

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Today is International Women’s Day. When you hear the word, “woman”, it will become confusing…for most…men (said in a whisper!), and women. Just the word “woman”, a simple 5-letter word; is not as simple as it seems. W-o-m-a-n the plural is as pronounced: wooman, woomen, veman, and the real toughie: “women” that is pronounced wee-men, spelt as it sounds. In Malaysia, the dynamics of the English language is stretched to its thinnest, taking it to the farthest corners of the boundaries before it becomes another language. The language is highly elastic, that’s what I think. Guess what? Who are we to say which pronunciation is right or wrong? Just enjoy the many shades or variety of sounds of each word. Another example is the word “their”. Should I go further?

I won’t go into the intrinsic of International Women’s day or delve into the importance of it as I have not researched on it and I am sure there will be much to be covered, if I do. However, I will share a little of the importance and how it resonates in my life.

All game for Chinese New Year celebrations: Jeannie, my wife, the Batik Influencer; and I, Alan, the Hatted Writer.

The two women that are pivotal in my everyday life are my wife, Jeannie: and my daughter, Laura. They create a zillion shades of colour in life that no two days are the same. On weekdays, we go our separate work ways. In the evenings, when we meet after work (though in reality, work never ends as we continue with after work, work.), we, share how are our day went. I have learnt to say less so that I can absorb more of the experiences of Jeannie and Laura. It is like appreciating the finer strokes of the paint brush done in a painting on canvas.

Here, Jeannie and I, with our daughter; Laura

Another person who had an impact (and still does in certain ways) in my life was my late sister, Jennifer. In the last years of her life, she preferred being call, “Jen”. My mum and dad also called her “Jen”. I still referred to her by her full name. Maybe, there’s a reason behind it.

Jennifer is a year 4 days older than me; her birthday is July 6th and mine is on July 10th. Shared birthdays in our early years. That is about as common as we got. Oh ya, we also shared the same surname. Other than that, we were poles apart especially in our thinking. We never really fought except on trivial matters, again in our early days. As we grew older, we became much closer, as with our siblings, too.

When she was diagnosed with cancer, she was one helluva brave woman. She decided that she wanted to live the rest of her life on her terms. She decided that she wanted to do all the things and experience all the experiences that would have otherwise be hampered by spending time in hospital with chemotherapy and radiation treatment. She decided that she wanted to live life to the fullest. SHE DID! In a few days, it will mark her 5th anniversary. Her message to women, in fact to all: Live life to the fullest.

My late sister, Jennifer or “Jen” as she was known by many.

I think Jennifer got much of her living skills from mum. Mum and dad have never stopped being mum and dad. They always fuss over us. Mum has always been the gentle one. So, I guess now you know where we, my siblings and I; got our stubborn ways from.😁😅😂

Christmas 2023: My mum, seated in the centre, surrounded by our whole family – The Atkinsons

I take this opportunity to wish all women the world over, “Happy International Women’s Day”.

THE DYNAMIC DUO OF LA BATIK INFLUENCER AND THE HATTED WRITER

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

As the Batik Influencer or “La Batik Influencer” and I, the Hatted Writer; were setting up our booth at F1.16 on the first floor, our first customer to purchase some Hotwheels vehicles, was Jason. Jason purchased some Hotwheels vehicles from us a couple of weeks ago, too. We had a chat about how he started his collection, which he says is still a small number. He collects postage stamps, coins and bank notes, too.

“La Batik Influencer” demonstrating how to use her cape.

Not too long after that, La Batik Influencer had customers enquiring and purchasing her batik cape creations. She was in her element. We both; were having fun.

I was quite interested in getting a flat cap. Ok. It was more than just “quite”. So, I paid my friend, Mahmud, the specs and hats guy; a visit at his booth which was located just above us, one floor up.

I tried on the tartan flat cap, one that caught my interest last week when I first visited Mahmud’s booth. This time round, I tried on two other flat caps. I am posting pictures and videos here, of the flat caps I tried on. Which do you (readers) think suits me best? Leave your comment/s and vote in the comment section. Let’s see if your views align with mine.

I did quite a bit of research on the flat caps. Flat caps are rounded hats with a small stiff brim in front and are considered a culturally historic item of clothing. The origins of the flat cap can be traced back to Britain in 1571, when Parliament ordered all non-noblemen and boys over the age of 6 to cover their heads with wool caps on Sundays and holidays. It was said that this law was probably to help the wool industry.

Today, it is a trendy headgear that goes well for both casual and formal wear.

Good’ay, Guv’nor.

I won’t ask which is my good side because I look good all ways. Just saying. Haha.

A round of golf, perhaps? Now, where did I put my Dint putting iron?

I did not spend too much of time at Mahmud’s booth as we had a continuous flow of visitors at our booth. I will pick up the cap later today (Sunday) when I have some free time in between visitors and friends coming over to out booth.

The Hotwheels vehicles drew quite a bit of attention as they usually do, as people (more like seious collectors) could tell from the navy blue coloured blister packs that what I had on sale were all over 10 years old, with many of them quite rare.

This young lad purchased 5 vehicles. His dad paid for the purchase.

Listening intently. She bought the beautiful red dragon on gold (plate) brooch.

This gentleman liked what he saw of La Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape creations.

Another very happy customer.

Judy, who is a friend of mine on Facebook; was very happy with her acquisition of one of La Batik Influencer’s Batik Cape creations under “Jeannie’s Own” brand.

One of my Facebook friends, Judy, came by with her husband, Derek; whose relatives in Klang are friends of ours. Two of them were my primary school teachers, in the late 1960s, early 1970s; fondly remembered by the boys of La Salle School, Klang. Judy was very happy with her purchase of the lovely navy blue / golden brown combination “Jeannie’s Own” brand batik cape. It was our pleasure to meet her and Derek in person.

You know how the saying goes, “Time flies by quickly when you are having fun”. It was as though we had just set up our booth and now, it was time to pack up. We look forward to being here again tomorrow morning. Till then…

I put this article together after 3.00am this morning.

1st Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall,
Booth 1.16, Level 1
Amcorp Shopping Mall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Feb 03 and Feb 04, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

THIS WEEKEND WITH LA BATIK INFLUENCER AND THE HATTED WRITER

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Sa..aaa..yyy, weren’t we at Amcorp Shopping Mall just, oh so recently? We are at the weekend already.

We are back at Amcorp Shopping Mall, “we” meaning the Batik Influencer and the writer / author / storyteller from http://www.leatherpotato.com, this weekend; starting tomorrow, February the 3rd. This weekend, we will be on the 1st floor on the west wing.

My wife, Jeannie; also famously known as the Batik Influencer, will be there, too; with a line up of her new creations. They are fast taken up as they are all unique in their on their own way, more so with the fact that they are usually one-of-a-kind, literally speaking, pieces. So… I would like to say “ladies,… However, many men have purchased these creations for their wives, sisters, friends, mothers. Yes, ladies…come early to our booth at F1.16, 1st Floor, West Wing; to secure at least one batik cape for yourself as pieces are very limited.

I, the writer / author / storyteller from http://www.leatherpotato.com is sporting a new look, going as the Hatted Writer; will be there to meet our readers, and make more new friends. Come find out how the “Hatted Writer” came about. In our last few “episodes” having a booth at Amcorp Shopping Mall; I have had the opportunity of re-connecting with many school classmates dating back to over 48 years ago, colleagues from the insurance and financial services industry and friends, too.

Two separate people from Penang, one an old friend whom I have not seen in 15 years, and the other, whom I have not met; both connected with me through leatherpotato.com, will be meeting me over this weekend.

People are very fascinating. I don’t have to think too deeply to try to understand them. Maybe, it is because I have become the writer or journalist where I try to view each person as completely different from another, just like there are no two sets of the same fingerprints. This itself, is intriguing.

Come share ideas with me for my upcoming book. I am very much at the start of the chapter, type, type type. Junk it. Start again. Can you imagine if I was working on a typewriter? Type, type, type, junk it. Type, type, type, junk it. I will have the waste paper basket full of junked ideas. HaHa.

I will be putting over 100 Hotwheels vehicles up for sale. These sport the dark blue blister packs, indicating there are from the year 2005 – 2010 era; many are probably rare. There will also be some Corgi, Dinky, Matchbox and other brands of diecast vehicles, some dating back 45 years ago.

There are two rare ladies Swatch watches in the form of bracelets, up for sale, too. As for pen collectors; there are some rare writing instruments like the 1998 Parker MDRT Duofold ball point pen in blue lacquer with gold plated finishing – a very elegant and must have for the discerning few. We have lots more things of interest that you can choose from.

So, we are looking forward to seeing you all there. Let’s make plenty of noise over the next two days.😁

1st Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall (1),
Booth 1.16, Level 1
Amcorp Shopping lMall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Feb 03 and Feb 04, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

THE HATTED WRITER’S DATE WITH THE BATIK INFLUENCER

/ Alan Atkinson / 1 Comment

A fine weathered Friday morning. The Batik Influencer suggested to the Hatted Writer, that for lunch, more like brunch; we should go to this place called “Roast and Toast” or is it “Toast and Roast”? The Batik Influencer took a day off from office duties. She had been to this place a few days earlier and thought the food was good.

We started our journey down to Petaling Jaya (more commonly known as “PJ”) at 11.10am. We thought we’d get there early in anticipation of a possible lunch crowd. Malaysians love food. Good food means long cues.

We found the place fairly easily. Located in one corner of SS2, surrounded mainly by condominiums and apartments, with Tropicana Shopping Mall being sort of its backdrop, this one row of double storey shoplots was in what seems a perfect locale for the food business.

What seems like a white cloud, above me, slightly on my left; is actually a thought💭 of miner go by.

Parking was limited and could be a challenge during peak hours. We found a parking space without too much of a problem, though.

As soon as we got out of the Malaysian version of the “Rocky” vehicle, I thought we’d grab the opportunity of getting an outdoor pic of the Hatted Writer, capitalising the super bright soon-to-be mid-day sun; without feeling too much of its blazing flame-thrown rays, stinging us.

Seemed like a perfect time to get an outdoor picture of the Hatted Writer. Dressed for the outdoors: Panama Hat, T-shirt, shorts (past the knees, I think😉) and Teva sandals.

At the entrance of the shop, was what we came here for, the restaurant’s famed specialty of food: char Siu / siu yuk (1), ready to be served.

The main attraction to this restaurant: char siu and a slab of siu yuk (where my thumb is) amongst the other food products they are famous (?) for.

The Batik Influencer, who is also the food orderer specialist in the family, placing our orders.

Waiting. “Why are we waiting? why are we waiting?” and the song chant goes on? Lucky we didn’t start thumping the Hrdraflask on the table.😁😂Just kidding. Our orders were served pretty quick. Maybe not “pretty” or “beautifully”, but it sounds more dramtically nicer than “quite” quick.
First dish to arrive: “Meehoon kerabu”.

The Meehoon kerabu was the first dish to arrive. I thought that I was going to get some bits of mango with this RM5.00 (US$1.05) dish. The noodles were cold. No mango in it. Lots of bits of salted fish. It had some flavour of soured mango. Oh…and it came with some mint leaves, decorative presentation?

The Batik Influencer (Jeannie)’s meal. Generous servings of chunky char siu, with rice and a couple of slices of cucumber.

The Hatted Writer’s meal, with nice, chunky pieces of siu yuk.

The siu yuk was siu siu nice. Not really extra-ordinary. However, the char siu more than compensated for the whole meal in taste and satisfaction.

This is “sui kow” commonly know to most people as wanton, in soup form.

We ordered an additional dish, “sui kow”, an additional dish. Sui kow is more commonly known as “wanton” in most Chinese restaurants. It was served as a soup dish (we ordered the soup version. Very nice.

For drinks, Jeannie ordered Iced coffee or “kopi ice”, and I; I ordered “cincau” (Grass Jelly drink). What? Not coffee for me? I thought I’d move away from the norm. However, the cincau came as a hot drink, definitely not to my liking. The waiter got my order wrong. However, the Batik Influencer, greatly admiring the Hatted Writer from leatherpotato.com, willingly exchanged her Kopi ice with me.

The kopi ice or iced coffee, I believe; had condensed milk in it. It was more than the usual sweet, and it did not have the usual after taste that most poor quality milks mixed with coffee, have. If the sweetness was toned down to half strength at least, it would have been ideal (pun not intended).

Notice the “must have” for most Malaysians? “Chili”. Red chicken rice type chili and pickled green chilli.

Lunch overall, was good. Would I recommend this restaurant? Yes, the food is much better than just “good”. Clean, service is pretty (there we go again with that word) fast. Price is a tad premium.

Oh ya, the name is Toast & Roast.

NOTES:
1. Char siu ( or char siew) is barbecued roast pork, whereas siu yuk (siew yoke) is roasted crispy pork belly. Spellings may differ slightly but mean the same thing.

It Had To Be You

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

“To love somebody…to love somebody the way I love you…” coming over the “airwaves(?)” Bee Gees… and I am taken back to 1971, 1972, when the movie “S.W.A.L.K” was showing.

It was also the time when Susan B**l was the “Wow! The gorgeous Girl” that every guy could only watch from afar. She was 21, we 13. Her boyfriend drove her around in his brand new Ford Cortina 2000 GXL, we…many of us did not even own a bicycle. I saw her a few years ago…she was still a stunner. Oh…and she married her boyfriend of 1971, 1972.

Mid-way through the second day at Amcorp Shopping Mall. The crowds are in, full-swing, browsing, window-shopping (no windows here. We are an open booth😂), shopping.

By the time I got to typing, thinking, tinkering, screen-tapping (was about to use “thumping”. Leave it to your imagination), Bee Gees was over. Either I was a tad slow in typing, Bee Gees was taken off the air, or the song finished. I will go with the last option.

Looks good!

Jeannie has sold her latest creation to a very, very happy customer. She said she will be proudly wearing it during the coming soon Chinese New Year (lunar new year).

And I; I met with a journalist from a leading Malaysian newspaper. I decided to add more pizzaz to the fun I have in writing. I went for the new look.

The writer sporting the “serious Writer Image”.

Towards the end of last evening, at the closing stages of sales for the day; I remembered that there was a booth selling hats. I went looking for it and found it. The booth was on the west side (our booth is in the east wing), 1 floor above us. I saw a couple of hats I liked, one much more than the other. However, I did not want to hold back the hat seller from packing up for the day.

This is Mahmud, the specs and hats seller; with the writer wearing his newly acquired Panama hat.

Today, while I was eager to don a new look with the purchase of the new hat that I had yet to buy; we had a good number of people visiting our booth. Some were friends that we made in our previous outings here. I met an old La Salle Klang, schoolmate, Charles Thomas; too. He introduced me to his younger brother and a friend of his; both from La Salle Klang, too.

By the time I got going to get the hat I wanted, it was way into mid-afternoon. I met Mahmud, the specs & hat seller. He has an excellent selection of hats.

The hat, known as the “Panama hat” was still there. I tried it on again and confirmed it had to be you (the hat). The one I liked. I was sold.

If you are looking for a hat for any occasion, Mahmud’s the guy to see. He runs a booth on the 2nd Floor, East Wing.

My watch band matches my hat.

The Batik Influencer and the writer.

That famous Latino guy that plays the electric guitar looks like me, minus the moustache. Here I, the writer; am with my wife, Jeannie; the Batik Influencer.

While the hat itself has no. Magical powers, it sets the tone for new fun and conversations. For one, as I started wearing this hat, I noticed there were many others who wore hats, too. I mean, besides the common sight of those sporting baseball caps, there were many others who wore hats of all shapes and sizes.

Before we knew it, it was time for us to pack up and head for home. Not everything had gone the way we would have liked it to. I believe that the biggest takeaway Jeannie and I had this weekend was that we made more new friends.

Now, to go home and enjoy Harry Connick Jr.’s “It Had To Be You”.

1st Floor, Amcorp Shopping Mall (1),
Booth 1.16, Level 1
Amcorp Shopping lMall,
8, Jalan, Persiaran Barat, Seksyen 52 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Date: Jan 27 and Jan 28, 2024
Time: 10.00am to 5.30pm (can be extended to 7.00pm)

SAVE THE LAST DANCE FOR ME

/ Alan Atkinson / Leave a comment

Every day is a new day. For the last 30 years, save but 1 day; it has not just been any new day, each day.

For the last 30 years, save but 1 day, it has been with Jeannie. I never in my wildest dreams (pun?) and imagination would have thought that she was going to be with me as my life partner.

It all began 30 years ago, when I was one of the facilitators for the RCIA (Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults) programme at Church of St. Francis Xavier, Petaling Jaya. We facilitators, together with those walking in this 9 month programme; organised an outreach event to “Rumah Faith”, a children’s orphanage / home in Kajang (1), Selangor.

We gathered at the arranged meeting point early on the Saturday morning of January 18th. The sky was fairly gloomy, with large light grey clouds hanging (literally).

Jeannie arrived with her sisters. We decided to carpool and I quickly asked Jeannie to come in my car. I think that since my car was 2-doors (it was a near brand new [I already had it for 9 months] white, Ford Laser TX-3 1.8i (with the “T-spoiler”); the other people chose to go in the other cars. Which left Jeannie and I in my car.

We had a very good eventful experience at the outreach. The day ended early evening.

Come Monday, January 20th; I wanted to meet Jeannie again. By now, I had her office contact. I had to find some excuse just to meet with her. So, I telephoned (yes, “telephoned”) her and told her that I was nearby her office, whether she would like to meet for lunch. Her office was in the heart of K. L. (2) That was a huge fib! I was in my office in another part of K. L. Traffic snarls were notorious at that time and I had about 20 minutes to get to her office. She said, “O.k.”

I was to meet her at the lobby of her building, and then, we were to walk over to McD’s for our lunch. Her lunch break was limited to an hour, and I didn’t want to make it seem too forward. So McD’s it was. I put the “boy-racer” (that was what the Ford Laser TX-3 1.8i was known at that time. It was a powerful road machine) through its paces, nervously; managing to get to her office just a few minutes late.

We both ordered a McD’s “prosperity burger”. It was our first time trying this burger out. I think it was the first time that McD’s had introduced this burger. It was during lunch that Jeannie told me that her birthday was the day before (yes, I asked; trying to get as much information about her as possible).

From here on, it was history. We try to get the prosperity burger at McD’s every year. So, come every Jan 20th anniversary, we go for a prosperity burger meal.

Jeannie; our daughter, Laura; and yours truly (me or I? That is the question.)

These last 30 years, save but 1 day; Jeannie has been what a wife should always be: my better half. She has always been there for me. If there was anything that needed changing, it would definitely be my dancing.

Happy and Blessed Birthday, Jeannie!🌹🌹🌹❤️❤️❤️🌹🌹🌹

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.; Dec 31st, 2022

NOTES:
1. Kajang is a city in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.
2. K.L. is short for Kuala Lumpur. It is the capital of Malaysia.