will i am's delayed diary

For the first time ever, we celebrated Palm Sunday from our living room. Thankfully, we could harvest palm branches from the garden, and use them during the YouTube live Palm Sunday mass. The only thing was that palms couldn't be blessed, unless holy water could magically be sprayed out of the TV! Haha.  Later in the afternoon, mum did some spring cleaning. She pulled out a cloth baby carrier that was given to her when she gave birth to my eldest brother. A tradition from my maternal grandfather's side of the family tree. Mum told me that she never used it.  Also found some crochet pieces that were wedding gifts from my paternal grandmother. Forty nine years later and the thread is still in good condition. Decided to drape the crochet table cloth on the sofa, giving it a vintage feel. P.S. : The teddy bear is wearing something that belonged to me. 

Eighteen days into the MCO, mum suddenly remembered about her quarterly gynaecology follow-up at Bandar Puteri Puchong. I quickly called up the clinic, and they sent me a doctor's letter via What's App. And luckily, her appointment card was scribbled with the exact date-- the 4th of April. During those early stages, police roadblocks were all over the place, and vehicles should not have passengers. But we had a good justification when we were stopped below the BK5 LRT station. The policeman gave my What's App letter a cursory glance, but decided to scrutinize the appointment card instead. He waved us through a couple of minutes later. At the clinic, it was business as usual, just that the nurses wore face shields over surgical masks. You Noodles House which was our usual breakfast spot every time we visited the area was not open. Anyway, it was a little exciting to be able to get out of the house, although it was just to visit the doctor's office. 

Many hidden cooks and bakers were born during the MCO period. Eating out had been removed from the equation, so people had begun to re-enter the kitchen, willingly or unwillingly. From BIL's Unit Tindak Kinrara (UTK) network, we often had home-cooked goodies on a daily basis. Someone would could bakzhang on Saturday, and it would be distributed to the other households. On the next day, it might be dongpo meat, charsiew , chiffon cake, or egg tarts. People would take turns showing off their culinary skills. Mum had contributed deep-friend niangao , while BIL whipped up his mother's chicken rice recipe. It was really fun getting a surprise dish nearly every day. 

During the MCO, my sister and BIL's  factory was closed down. Both of them were camped at home. Although they couldn't run their usual production line, it didn't mean that their hands were idle. Through my BIL's contacts in Unit Tindak Kinrara (UTK), he volunteered to produce face shields for Hospital Serdang. The government hospital was desperate for supplies because supply from overseas was disrupted and their stock was running low. The face shield was easy to assemble. All that was needed was clear plastic sheets, strips of foam, glue, and elastic bands. Even my mother joined in when she wasn't busy cooking. Unfortunately, I was too pre-occupied with work. In just a week, they churned out a couple thousand face shields. 

On the first Saturday after the MCO was declared, mum and I risked a quick visit to the OUG morning market to restock. Cars and crowds were absent from the usually boisterous market. Parking was easy to find. We gave each other wide berth and turned our faces. Like playing a childhood game. All of the open air stalls were not operating. The Marketplace OUG was open, as well as some of the shop lots. Once we saw the crowding at the entrance, we shook our heads and left. Not gonna risk it. Went to tapau breakfast at one of the less popular adjacent roads, then left. So what did I do on the first weekend of the MCO? My taxes. Zzz.

On the 16th of June, Muhyiddin Y. declared that Malaysia would undergo a Movement Control Order (MCO) starting on the 18th of June March. The purpose of the partial lock down was to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve. In response to that, my company directed that all staff would be working from home. Hardly a few days before, my office in Petaling Jaya had scheduled a round of disinfection because a colleague was related to a someone in the Patient 26 cluster. Later it was revealed that no local transmission took place. Working from home quite refreshing experience. Things were pretty normal for me because my development source code is on AWS CodeCommit anyway, and we use Microsoft Teams to collaborate. Everything was online. Could sleep more, have a leisurely breakfast, and then start work in skimpy lounge shorts. The second half or the day would be spent at my sister's place because that's where mum cooks lunch and dinner. During the early stages, people went into a cookin

  Before the Tabligh Covid-19 cluster exploded into the media in March, not many people knew what Tabligh was about. For years, I had been seen their members take the LRT to Bukit Jalil station, but I never knew what group they belonged to. Often see in long white robes and turbans, the members were mostly from out of town judging from the bags they carried. When the news came out, mum was actually curious about Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling, the headquarters of the Malaysian Tabligh chapter. From Kuchai Avenue, we drove to Bandar Baru Sri Petaling to take a look ( after my last haircut before the commencement of the MCO ). The usually busy Jalan Radin was actually quiet, and no cars were parked along it. When we turned into the commercial area, the roads were also abnormally clear. We actually parked to go buy egg tarts at Tong Kee . After we had done our shopping, we spotted a Tabligh member heading in our general direction.  Jumped into the car as fast as we could. Haha.  Also had the

  International Women's Day is celebrated on the 3rd of March, highlighting the importance of women's rights, and achievements. I remember that it was a Sunday, and I brought mum, the most important woman in my life, out to lunch at Ichiriki , The Gardens Mall. Our full pork lunch began with a decadent kurobuta katsu topped with grated cheese. Next came a belly-warming pot of motsunabe, filled to the brim with minced pork balls and tender pig stomach. Extremely satisfying. As the day wore on, it rained quite heavily. Mum and I stopped for a cup of latte at Jaya Grocer. As luck would have it, I bumped into my primary schoolmate from Kuantan there.  That was IWD lunch. IWD dinner was arranged with my mum's friend, whose son is one of the founding partners at Down To Bones . Guess the pork theme from lunch continued right through to dinner! She treated us to a nice dinner of signature pork ribs, and mushroom soup. I noticed that they have a new variety of pork ribs now that

Free flat-screen TV from my credit card application. Fantastic deal from Standard Chartered and RinggitPlus. 

KH dropped this package in my lap when he picked me up from my office for lunch one Monday afternoon. That shibari package was actually from Janvier. A pair of underwear from the Private Structure warehouse sale back in September 2019. The pair of jammers had been aging on his cubicle for close to 6 months. Back then it was just MYR15 per pair. During the so-called MCO flash sale, it went for MYR25. Saved MYR10 to buy more underwear. LOL. For me, such long underwear is reserved for night use. The fit is good and the material is comfortable with a well-designed pouch. Thumbs up.

  Been a long time since mum and I visited Holy Family Church in Kajang. On the first Sunday of March, went there for the Rite of Election for the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. Catechumens from the Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, and Terengganu congregated in Kajang for the important rite. It was presided over by Archbishop Julian Leow. Think that was the last big gathering for the Roman Catholic Church before the MCO. The rite ended at 4:30 PM, so it was kind of alang-alang ( neither here nor there ). Didn't want to waste the trip to Kajang. Decided to stay back for dinner, but we had a few hours to kill. Nearby was a new cafe named Shijian Canteen which looked pretty interesting. I ordered a hipster iced tea dubbed "Feeling Taste". I didn't know how to feel about that. LOL.    At 6 PM, we made our way to Kedai Makanan Wan Fatt which is located behind the Tin Hong Si Temple. Being one of the early birds, we easily secured a table at the famous r

  Mum was treating us to a dim sum brunch, so she asked us to choose a location. KH made a few inquiries and he came back with the name Grand Imperial . We chose the branch at Sunway Velocity Mall, a place that we rarely venture to. Getting to the restaurant wasn't straight-forward as its location was unique. Followed the signs like it was treasure hunt. FYI, the restaurant is located on L5, but can only be accessed via a specific escalator / elevator on L4. After going through the menu, I came to the conclusion that Oriental Treasure had a more interesting menu. Anyway, if you ever go there, do order the jellyfish appetizer that's marinated with a 12-year black vinegar and wasabi. Excellent taste and texture. Har kaw and s iew mai are up to standard. The pan-fried radish cake was flat. XLB tasted good, but could use more soup. And don't bother with the snowy BBQ pork bun. Even a char chan teng like Fu Wah makes it better. Amazingly, we did quite a fair bit of shoppin

   On Sunday morning, saw a sad post from my mum's friend on Facebook. It was an obituary for her ( mum's friend ) mother. Right after church and lunch, we made our way to Nirvana Memorial Centre to pay our last respects. At the lift lobby, I tried to find old lady's name in the parlour directory, but I wasn't successful. Going through the Facebook post again, I realized that we were at the wrong Nirvana! Gosh. Didn't know that there's a newer building at Bukit Seputeh, near the Kwong Tong Cemetery. The place is called Nirvana Life Centre. Since it was newer, it was also more posh. Many hotels don't even look half as good. Luxurious, with premium materials and workmanship. Mum's friend wasn't there as she was still out of the country. Didn't matter as mum knew a few of her siblings anyway. Turns out that the old lady choked on her breakfast... After a short prayer, chat, and a cup of black coffee, we left. Rest in peace, Aunty.

  Every year it's the same : goodbye CNY, hello Ching Ming . The morning market's prayer item merchants start stocking up on all sorts of Taoist paper offerings. Amidst all the 'traditional necessities' like Hell notes, and gold bars, new products do pop-up to match the times. This time round  I spied a premium Japanese sushi and sashimi platter on the shelves. And then I saw a lacy bra set complete with bling-bling. It got me thinking about the gei lou market. Someone needs to produce some chi chat jockstraps, harnesses, latex suits, and ... you get the picture. My afternoon was spent at KLSCAH, attending an event entitled "Spring Gathering and International Mother Language Day 2020". Pak Samad made an appearance, and even recited poetry. Several Chinese associations also showcased their dialects through songs, drama, and speech. A bunch of Rohingya children also sang a Malay song about their oppression at the hands of Burmese military and Buddhist extremi

As usual, mum and I were roaming Paradigm Mall after church on Sunday. An 'angel' passed me a red helium balloon with heart-shaped chocolates anchoring it down. The boy was dressed like a like a white Dobby with wings. He was wearing white shorts underneath his thin 'pillowcase'. Should have went for a white G-string instead. I let the balloon float above my shoulder. When I was in PDI, a toddler actually followed me around. Guess Pennywise the Dancing Clown got it right. When we got tired, we sat down at Starbucks for coffee. Spotted Starbucks Shawn having a chat with his buddy. Looked pretty young and straight, wearing a Raglan T with sneakers. Is he your cup of coffee?