will i am's delayed diary

School was set to reopen in a couple of weeks, so the Malaysian  Spring Single Mothers' Society organized a Back To School event for their members and needy families from PPR Muhibbah. Arrived at the community hall in Kuchai Lama early to help set up. I was also the official photographer. Lunch was served, and a little later there was a ceremony to give out school supplies. The kids received uniforms, school bags, school shoes, water bottles, and stationery. Some monetary gifts were also distributed to kids with good academic performance.

Somewhere in an old photo album is a picture of me with my mum standing on the famous steps of Batu Caves. I was probably five or so, wearing a cute pair of bell bottoms ( remind me to dig out that photo ). Can't believe that it took me more than three decades to revisit the famous cave temple dedicated to the Hindu god Murugan. The temple committee's recent efforts to spruce up the place with a rainbow paintbrush finally managed to attract my attention. Mum and I didn't visit during Thaipusam, but chose Deepavali instead. Arrived there at around 9:30 AM with just a little traffic. Doesn't come close to the Thaipusam crowds. Getting parked in the compound was easy. Parked near the temple dedicated to Lord Hanuman, Hinduism's Sun Wukong. Many Indian families came dressed in new clothes ( mostly matching outfits ) to offer prayers during the Festival of Lights. The temple complex looked really cheerful with its multi-coloured hues. And the 140 foot statue of Lor

Mum and I went to Taman Naga Emas for the crystal pan mee, but we couldn't resist ordering the roti canai too! So crispy! On our way out, I was shocked to see Salak South's landmark, the '12-floor' flats sporting a fresh coat of paint. So karerful yuols ! Really brightens up the whole neighbourhood. By the way, does it remind you of the television no-signal pattern? Rained a bit in the evening, but that didn't stop us from going to Taman Bukit Jalil for some exercise. Felt like we had the whole park to ourselves. The regulars stayed away. Mum whipped up dinner, combining whatever was in the refrigerator. Another colourful ensemble for the day.

When I was a kid, the whole family looked forward to nasi lemak day. Mum would cook everything from scratch, and we would help out a bit. The day before, we would be tasked with cleaning the ikan bilis ( anchovies ). Armed with trays, we would sit in front of the TV to pluck off the heads, and clean out the innards. Loved snacking on the mix crispy fried ikan bilis and salted peanuts. On the day of cooking, we would also help with the preparation of the sambal but peeling lots of shallots and garlic, and mashing them all up with a pestle and mortar. Mum's sambal is savoury and spicy, unlike the Malay style where sugar is a must. And you know what? We would have mum's signature nasi lemak  for breakfast, lunch, and dinner ( usually gone before that ). With multiple servings. Bwahaha. And in between meals, we would munch on the crispy ikan bilis , or make canapés out of sliced cucumber, sambal , and ikan bilis . These days, mum rarely cooks nasi lemak anymore. So when

Two years ago, mum and I went on a pilgrimage to Europe. In 2019, we will visit the Holy Land. In preparation for the trip, mum's passport had to be renewed for visa application. Yes, Malaysians can  enter Jerusalem officially with the appropriate reasons, e.g. pilgrimage. I applied leave on a Wednesday to bring her to the immigration department. Statistically speaking, Wednesday is supposed to be the best day with the shortest wait. Arrived at the Kuala Lumpur Home Ministry Complex at about 8:00 AM and managed to get parking at an open car park. Not many people were at passport control, so I guess the statistics can be trusted! Plus at mum's age, she can take advantage of the special counter, so she just breezed in to take a number and was immediately called. The staff were courteous and it went smoothly ( senior citizens only pay RM100 ). With one hour to kill before passport collection, we went to have breakfast at the Kayu Nasi Kandar in the food court. All the food

I seriously need to post more frequently. In my blog timeline, I'm only at mid-May, and it's now mid-September! And to make matters worse, I slacked off at some point and I'm trying to remember details from four months back. Wakaka. Anyway, this is going to be a very brief post. Mum had some association meeting and potluck, so she cooked up a pot of braised pork belly with eggs. Once I sent her ( and the pork belly ) to the venue, I went off to March Azalea Cafe to do my own thing. As usual, the owner was there in a dri-fit top and he greeted me with a smile. Got myself a cup of iced coffee and started to work on my backlog of posts and photos. So yes, this is a backlog post about clearing backlogs. Obviously I didn't do enough, else I would't be in this predicament four months down the road. Hahaha.

Right on the heels of my mum's birthday was Mother's Day. Brought her jalan-jalan at One Utama after church. Not my first choice due to the size of the mall and regular parking kerfuffles. Guess its better to clock more steps on my pedometer since mum and I had a sinful buffet dinner at Latest Recipe , Le Meridien Putrajaya the night before. The spread was quite good actually. Anyway, back to Sunday-- picked Amber as our lunch venue because we rarely ever have Chinese Muslim cuisine. Shared a bowl of tomato broth beef ramen and big plate of chili oil chicken. Quite satisfying, but for some reason, their business ain't that good. Did our usual round of shopping and by 4:00 PM my feet were screaming for relief. Right outside Isetan was Jardin Coffee and Tea , a new addition to the cafe scene. The flat white was decent, and I kinda liked their croissant. And they even gave out carnations to all the mums. Massimo was having an event at the old wing. By going thro

On the fourth Saturday of March, I was lucky enough to have a movie date with KH at IOI Mall, Puchong. Like many malls in the Klang Valley. IOI Mall is undergoing a face-lift in a bid to attract more traffic. He picked me up from my home and we had lunch first at Sheng Kee Desserts . Shared a plate of beef brisket noodles, custard bun, and snowy char siew bun. Padini and Brands Outlet were having some kind of clearance, so we walked in to take a look at those RM10, RM20, and RM30 offers. Didn't find anything useful, so we walked up to the cinema to catch "Pacific Rim: Uprising" . Not really a must-watch in my opinion. One of those 'reluctant hero' story lines. Afternoon date hubby, evening date mummy. Brought mum out to The Gardens Mall to jalan-jalan . Dinner was at Coliseum , for some overpriced Hainanese Chicken Chop, and Hainanese Fried Noodles. The coffee was quite worth it through.

For several years now, I have been attending Love Eternal Charity Association of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur's CNY gathering with mum. This Christian non-profit organization primarily works with single parent families, providing them with monetary and non-monetary support. 2018's event ( their 18th ) nearly didn't happen because of the recent death of their founder, the late Reverend Dorcas Wong. But they pulled through anyway, so there we were at SJK(C) Chung Kwo. The luncheon was attended by around twenty charity organizations, including old folks homes, the handicapped, the visually-impaired, the hearing-impaired, single mothers, and dialysis patients. During the lunch, there were many performances, mostly song and dance. And what's a CNY luncheon without a lion dance right? And thank goodness they used the traditional Big Head Monk. At the end of the event, they gave out goodie bags to everyone. Several months ago, SimonLover proposed a CNY gathering at his co

At the last minute, mum and I went hunting for CNY flowers near OUG. The weather was absurdly hot, making the visit to the flower nursery a real enjoyable one. I had no qualms getting out of the car with my hoodie on. For the benefit of the CNY shoppers, the nursery 'augmented the assets' of the plants to ensure a maximum 'prosperity attraction' index. Baby pineapples with gold wrapping; bamboo pyramids topped with choi san ; flower pots with all sorts of lucky charm embellishments... You get the picture. Although there were a whole lot of varieties there, we left with the classic chrysanthemums. That short trip for flowers nearly melted the scalp off our heads. so mum suggested that we go for some cendol . Found a decent food truck under a tree, and we got our hit of ice shavings in syrupy santan soup. Couldn't resist ordering a plate of rojak as well. Ah, bliss.