will i am's delayed diary

After months of growing mushrooms and bean sprouts at home, we finally decided to venture out to the shopping mall. Woke up bright and early to make a trip to The Gardens Mall. The Hari Raya Haji decorations centered around Malay crafts like wau , tudung saji , songket , and other woven items. Lunch we ate at Ichiriki , and it was a lunch 'gathering' of sorts becauce we were joined by JJ and Bunny. They sat at an adjacent table which was close enough. Introduced SK to Ichiriki's motsunabe and she take a liking to it. Once we were done eating, JJ passed me my first birthday present ( + Christmas present ) of the year-- a trio of shorts from Bottoms Lab. Actually, he bought them for himself, but even the smallest size didn't suit him. I feel proud that XS fit me. :P.   Did more shopping after lunch, and naturally we stopped for coffee and cake when we got tired. Rested our legs at Tokyo Secret , a spacious, and quiet cafe famous for their expensive baked cheese tarts. 

A couple of years back, KH made a pair of spectacles at Kuchai Lama. It was large, gold-rimmed, and kinda octagonal. The frame was badly tarnished and the lens coating was crappy too. So we made a trip to Aurora Place, Bukit Jalil to get a replacement at QOOP. The hunt for the right pair of frames too quite some time. In the end, we decided on a pair of dark tortoiseshell frames. The optician too a long time to determine KH's power ( and it was obvious that it was no fun for him working with a face mask and face shield ). Mum also got a new pair of reading glasses. And hunting for a pair of suitable frames was also a big challenge. A customer was actually waiting for KH and mum to finish. Enviable patience. I would have gone shopping or sat down at a cafe instead of waiting there.  With both Herculean tasks out of the way, we celebrated with a kopi session at Nanyang Kopitiam . The place was cheap, and served decent local coffee. Both kopi c and kaya butter toast was MYR1.50 each.

Working from home bestows the luxury of waking up later. But that does not always translate to more sleep because one tends to sleep later to compensate ! During those nights, I discovered a few interesting Japanese series on Netflix. Midnight Diner : Tokyo Stories Dorohedoro "Midnight Diner" is about a midnight diner. Straightforward. Each episode is a short story that centers around a customer of that diner. The special thing about the diner is that the chef does off-menu orders as long as he has the ingredients. So each episode will center on single dish that regularly ordered by the customer. The characters are very diverse, with many interactions and subtle relationships between the regulars and those who only drop by once in a while. From shopkeepers to strippers to office workers, the stories are equally random and interesting.  "Dorohedoro" is a bizarre anime about two inter-related realms of existence-- The Hole, and the Sorcerers' World. Humans live a

Starting the 1st of June, my company started loosening the work-from-home policy and encouraged employees to return to the workplace. A staggered approach was chosen, with two teams taking turns on a weekly rotation. I was Team A, so I got to experience firsthand the new normal.  The biggest change on my part was that I no longer took the train to work. The trains were too risky in my opinion. In the early phases, traffic was excellent. Entering my office area required a temperature check at the boom gate. Funny thing was, the procedure was mandatory for the driver, not the passengers. Big loophole huh? The lift buttons were covered with plastic and supposedly sanitized periodically. Never once did I see anyone cleaning the buttons. And since the lifts were tiny, only two persons were allowed at any given time. Entering the office, I had to register and do another temperature check. I didn't wear a face mask in the office ( surgical mask : no, fake smile : yes ). Hand sanitizers we

During the Aidilfitri weekend, mum and I took up Gratitude's invitation to gallivant at Kota Kemuning. KH also joined. Truly our first soc-food outing since the relaxation of the MCO rules. Met up for breakfast at Pun Chun ,  Bidor's most famous export. When I was little, we would usually stop at their flagship store to have the famous herbal duck soup. Our usual stop en route to Teluk Intan. But as the years went by, we stopped going. Think we got sick of it, and found that the quality had dropped. After going cold turkey for so many years, we were pleasantly surprised.The herbal duck soup was flavourful, without being too salty. Plenty of duck meat, and there was no rancid oil taste. Also loved the large and springy  wantans . A breakfast outing to Kota Kemuning would not be complete without a visit to Brew N Bread . They had the temperature and registration SOP in place, but I don't think there was any social distancing for the seating. Full house! Coffee was great but t

As the MCO wore on, more and more vendors started setting up open-air stalls at the OUG Morning Market. Supposedly illegal, but they risked it anyway. At least there was a safe distance between some of the vendors. Abang Polis were probably away because it was the eve of Hari Raya Puasa.  Mum wasn't happy with the conditions with some of the re-opened kopitiams at OUG, so we ventured to Taman Desa instead. Our first dine-out after more than two months was at Woo Pin . Our first taste of the new normal-- blocked entrances, temperature check, customer registration, and distanced tables. 

Due to work commitments, I had to make a visit to my office on Wesak Day to collect the company Macbook because my colleague needed it for iOS app development. The elevators were disabled, so I had to use the stairs to get to the sixth floor. Opening up the office revealed a snapshot of the day before the Malaysian Government announced that Movement Control Order. The waster paper baskets were full, hand sanitizers were on the counters, and the biggest surprise waited for me in the toilet. For some reason, algae started growing in the toilet bowl. Brown sludge crawled from the rim, down to the stagnant blue water's edge. Yuck. I quickly collected what I needed, locked the doors, armed the security system, and made my way out. Before going home, I made a short bread run. First was the sourdough from Wild Yeast , and secondly was the k ouign-amann from Bakery La . Truth be told, I'm not crazy about sourdough. I much prefer the sinfully buttery kouign-amann. Goes so well with a cu