A quick 'fix' at the cafe@lui

The thought of taking out my ride around Ampang but ending at the cafe@lui in Hulu Langat was purely incidental and one of the 'spur of the moment' kinda thing which was actually an act that is sometimes beyond my control. Unfortunately I missed the 'morning mist' for being late, like the Malay saying 'matahari dah tinggi'. Lucky thing the chickens made up for it. 

While chatting with the 'guardians' of this wonderful place, I mentioned about recommending to others the opportunity of creating activities like photography, art and drawing while we enjoy the natural surroundings. One blogger came to mind is the talented emila yusof who will definately enjoy doing her sketches and photography with the abundance of subject matters all within reach.

incubating galleriiizu

Selamat datang... collectors !



After such a long silence, I finally managed to catch up with izu of galleriiizu to find out what he has been up to lately. Quietly but surely the building of another 'treasure chest' is progressing steadily within Kuala Lumpur slated to be launched sometime before the year ends. Having known him since his early days, galleriiizu has been moving around for quite a bit from a private gallery in Bukit Antarabangsa, to Tasik Titiwangsa, to Bukit Tunku to Menara UOA to Annexe Central Market and finally to Hotel Shangri-La. He will announce pretty soon his plans and innovative concepts of this new gallery which I can safely say would be more 'personalised' in its offerings.
A couple of days back I had the privilege to attend a 'site visit' with the man himself and I am proud to share a glimpse of his new 'baby'. 

Izu busy picking freshly ripe mangoes in the courtyard. Planned in the foreground will be a lap pool situated right infront of the doorway (a hundred year old door)

.... juicy fresh mangoes anyone?

Hooters Singapore

Sex appeal is legal and it sells in Singapore. You be the judge if you happen to be in Clarke Quay. 

The debate continues till today, whether the name means the sound made by an owl or is it part of a woman's anatomy, but the restaurant hopes it meant good food.

Not your typical family restaurant though!

Residence in Singapore

Very fortunate to be able to stay at the Insead Residence one of the world's leading and largest business school. Stunning facilities and credentials and I heard the Industry comes over to head hunt the Graduates. Only two campuses in the world with the head office in France. Well, this signals the end of my short break with one stop over in JB before heading home to KL on Saturday.

Guilt trip

While I laze around writing in a small cafe in Batam, a couple of important matters were cropping up back home in KL. First the wREGA (graphic design association) meeting which I am going to miss tonite. Second, an important presentation due tomorrow which all design matters I left it to the designer and the office folks to take care. (Even though I have briefed concepts and directions) still felt like I should have been there. But whatever it is a break is still a break !

A quick getaway

Recharge to a nearby island .... Batam.....Batam? why not. never been there. 

Can also do 'island hopping'  to another island ie Singapore (only 45 mins away). 

First thing I notice in Batam the plug points are similar to us. hehe no need plug adapters, I guess its more of the influence of Singapore

What else in Indonesia if its not 'Teh Botol' and Indo Mee

Stayed at the Harris Resort. Not bad.

Tyre watch

After my trip to Kota Bharu, the bike was taking a couple of days 'break' when I decided to take it out for a spin to meet an old friend Izu of Galleriiizu. It came as a shock to find that the rear tyre was punctured by a 3 in. nail with the wall torn off at the sides. I am extremely lucky even though it must have  happened during the journey but Alhamdulillah, I got safely home in one piece.

The rear tyre with the torn side wall & the punctured hole

For safety reasons, (even though it was barely 2 months old) I did not want to take any chances and decided to change to a brand new tyre BRIDGESTONE BATTLAX BT020r 170/60ZR17M/C. Beginning to feel the pinch in my pocket..

Durian or not?

Durian in the midst of GE Mall ?

 

New MacBook

Fresh out of the box and onto the table..

On the left is the new 13" MacBook next to the PowerBook G4

Finally got my replacement macBook. The last one I lost was my 13" black MacBook while filming Thorpe Ali's movie trailer 'Miss Tomoi'. In total, this is my 7th Macintosh. 

Except for the lost black MacBook, the rest I still have in my possession and they are - Power PC 6200/75, Power PC 7100/66, Macintosh IIfx, 15" PowerBook G4, iMac G5 and the latest 13" white MacBook 2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo. Not forgetting the 8Gb iPhone, 2Gb iPod, 60Gb iPod AV and an original Apple stylewriter. 

I was very fortunate to have had the privilege of using Macs like many light years ago. We used to order our Macs direct from Mac Warehouse in Hong Kong and I have been hooked to Macs ever since. To a certain extend I may have influenced not less than 10 Mac converts and so far I have yet to hear a single complain. Testimony to that growth is the setting up of the one and only Malaysia Mac User Group -  myMUG

Edisi Kota Bharu

Mission Accomplished. 

Our journey (two bikes only),  took us from KL via Route 8 - Raub, Kuala Lipis, Gua Musang to Kota Bharu, Kelantan. However, on our way home we took an alternative route from Gua Musang towards Cameron Highland to Simpang Pulai exit onto the North-South highway leading towards KL. Total distance travelled - 1109 km.

Following is a mini pictorial compilation of the journey. 

* All photos were captured on the iphone unedited.

Notice moleskine? wink-wink. Even the grafitti in Kelantan sungguh bersopan - 'tutup aurat'

Monumental Palace. Toast and home made kaya with the ever perfect hard boil egg from the famous kopitiam White House, not to be missed when you visit Kelantan

The river that feeds the people. A school that passionately sustains the Mak Yong tradition. 

Black among the Whites.  All the effort for a minute's moment.

Cameronian signature. Back on the ground en route home.

Will do even better the next time. Looking forward for another 'ride to work'.