boon's log 2509.07: Happy Father's Day!

We were back in Ipoh for Father's Day. Dinner was at Tai Thong, while Father's Day lunch was at Indulgence, Ipoh. This is the second time we were there for Father's Day and I have to admit that I am impressed with them yet again - in fact, I think they've improved from the last time we were there. Dad ordered the Father's Day Special while the rest of us just went for Ala Carte. Ab ordered the do-it-yourself topping pizza - where most of it went into Mom and Dad's tummy.
The grandparents once again never failed to surprise their grand daughter with gifts - from pop-pops to cooking-toys bubble-blowing-gun. Gosh, it's like her birthday, rather than Father's day! ;)

Anyways, we demanded that the toys remained in Ipoh, lest it will clog up her room with more toys (!!!).

Oh and it finally rained - perhaps a "present" for all the Fathers who WASHED and WAXED their cars (!!!). Yeah, I had to re-wash the car after arriving back in Penang to remove all the corpse I collected along the way home. But the rained did not help much in cooling down the weather, though. I still feel the heat... And what better way to cool down at the end of a long day (and weekend) with nice chilled-glass of beer... AAAaahhh......

Well, Happy Father's Day to all and to the rest hope you had an enjoyable and restful weekend. Pumped up to face the week ahead?! If you have not noticed, it is the mid of the year next week...


Indulgence, Ipoh


Father's Day Special


Father's Day Special appetizer


Father's Day Special entrée


Lambshank... yummy....


Daily Special Brew


Waiting to serve


Indulgence Exterior


Chocolate Mud Pie


Sunday Special


Winding down...


boon out...

boon's log 2509.04: 1 Black Afterwork Coffee (Pt.2)

We met again tonight - the usual suspects PLUS quite a few more new faces. We occupied like 3 tables last Thursday, but tonight, I think we conquered, like, at leaast 8-10 tables. I was a little late to the gathering, well, more like 1.5hours late, because we (IL and I)had to go see Ab before heading off to OldTown. IL decided to take a break tonight and rest at home.

Saw a few familar faces there as well - namely VH and YY's parents. We were a little more serious about our "objectives" tonight - we actually have printouts, with the words, "Bubar DUN Perak".


Posters

It was once again a peaceful gathering, we were able to catchup and share new stories. We also observed some plain-clothes bobbies outside the shop - just to make sure if anything goes out of hand, they are there to "handle" the situation. And as usual, the shop manager was rather nervous and unsettled through out the night - especially tonight, when the number of people have grown, 2 fold. Well, like what one of them said - they (OldTown Mgmt) should be happy, because with the help of this program, they get more business overall, right? :)

Anyway, just a short update this round - tired. For those who are in Penang next Thursday, you're welcome to join the gathering...


boon out...

boon's log 2409.06: Weekend in Langkawi (supplementary)

Managed to stitch some photos from our Langkawi trip last weekend. Enjoy...


[Panoramic] Gunung Mat Cincang - inland view


[Panoramic] Gunung Mat Cincang - seaview


[Panoramic] The beach at Berjaya Resort

boon out...

boon's log 2409.04: Wear black, drink black, have fun

***Live report from Bayan Baru Old Town White Coffee***


IL and I decided give the "1Black afterwork Coffee" event at Bayan Baru Old Town White Coffee a try. The tag line for the night is "Wear Black, Drink Black, have fun." We (IL and I) had a lot of questions before going for the event - will there be barricades? will there be riot police? will we get caught like what happened in Ipoh - for wearing black and drinking kopi-o? Will the shop owner decide to close the shop or deny us entry into the shop? I even went to the extent of asking IL to wear grey so that she will be able to bail me out in case I get caught! Haha!

Anyway, it turned out to be a rather peaceful night. About 15 or so of us turned up. The "unmentioned intention" of the gathering is basically a "silent protest" against the way that things have turned out in Perak recently - the so-called death of democracy. Besides that we all made new friends and vouched to meet up again.

One funny thing we noticed was the shop manager - he was pretty nervous the entire night - he kept taking photos of our table with his mobile phone and kept a watchful eye at us in case anything happens. I guess we kinda stressed him out a little bit tonight. Hopefully he will come to accept that we are just gathering like any other group of people - just that we are wearing black and drinking black.


Notice anyone in black t-shirts?


It's all about the coffee...

Well, it's time to go home.

boon out...

boon's log 2409.02: Weekend in Langkawi

The 3 of us took advantage of the long weekend to use up some of our timeshare allocations in Langkawi. Eversince our trip to Honolulu, Ab's been looking forward to go to the beach again. And knowing Penang, it's rather hard to find a relatively clean beach. So we kinda hit a few birds with one stone - besides the beach, Ab also likes to take the plane and boat - so we Fire-flew (Firefly) to Langkawi from PG and took the ferry home.

The ferry trip home was a rather disappointing experience for me. Not that I got sea-sick or anything, but I was rather ticked off with how disorganized the arrangements were with respect to the way the ferry trip was arranged - from poor directions/signs to unnecessarily moving people from one end of the terminal to the other, to total darkness at the Penang Jetty/Port - yes, I am talking total darkness (!!!). To me, at least, it was the worst part of the trip... Honestly, that part of the trip really drained most of my energy compared to the rest of the trip.

Apart from that, we enjoyed the short weekend away. I do not mind going back to Langkawi again, but please, no more Ferry. We did not do much of sighseeing - it was just basically a short getaway weekend to just rest and relax.

Here are some photos of our short weekend away...


"Battle of the fittest"


A game of chess, anyone?


Ab, contemplating whether to "attack" the waters...


The isolated and exquisite Pahn Thai Restaurant, from a distance


Mom and daughter taking a strong on the beach...


Langkawian sunset...


Moonlight Sonata


Rob-the-pianist, serenading us at the Phan Thai Restaurant


Rock formations on Gunung Mat ChinChang


View from the top of Gunung Mat CinCang


The suspension bridge on Gunung Mat CinCang

boon out...

boon's log 2109.5: Goodbye Ah-Ma...

Aw Yang Lye Yoo [1926-2009]

IL's grandmother passed away on Wednesday.

Though we are sadden by her leaving, but we believe it is one of those things that may not entirely be a bad thing - such that she does not have to bear further sufferings. Toward the end of her journey in life, she has been through a lot, moving in and out of the hospital and being bed-bound.

She has truly lived life to its fullest, being loved and and cared for by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild.

I still remember vividly, a few years back, IL and I used to spend our Saturday nights in her apartment. It was not a big apartment - barely 1000 sq foot, but all her children and grandchildren will assemble there once a week - she will cook dinner for all of us, we will eat and then watch TV and just lepak there. We had to take turns to eat at the dining table, behind the altar - like 4 to 5 at a time. It was a cozy time together, sometimes we had to spill out to the outside of the apartment when it was overloaded when some of the outstation cousin/relatives come back.

Her wake will carry on for 5 days and funeral planned for Sunday. We will miss her tremendously. Goodbye Ah Ma... We love you...


boon out...

boon's log 2109.01: Are movies stars overpaid?

IL and I were on (sort of) movie madness mood, just last week. 2 Sundays ago, we went and watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine and then on Thursday, we went for the opening of Angels and Demons. We have not been going to the cinema for ages and then the sudden urge. Well, and of course those are good movies to begin with - else we would not have gone to the cinemas - rather watch 'em in the comforts of our home.

Anyways, while waiting for Wolverine to start, the cinema showed the typical MPA (Movie Picture Association) warning not to use recording equipments bla bla bla and warned against buying pirated media (CD, DVD). Just then the lady next to me - whom I believe works in one of the factories in the FTZ (don't ask me how I know), it's one of those things... - said, "Yeah, and keep on paying the Movie Stars shitloads of money!"

Just then it kinda hit me - are the movie stars really overpaid? I mean, what makes their job so much more difficult than say, an engineer? or a Production Operator? I did a little digging and here is what i came out with (latest average per major studio film):

1. Tom Hanks - $25million
2. Will Smith - $25million
3. Jim Carrey - $25million
4. Brad Pitt - $20million
5. Russell Crowe - $20million
6. Ben Stiller - $20million
7. Harrison Ford - $15million
8. Reese Witherspoon - $15million
9. Jodie Foster - $15million
10. Matt Damon - $15million
11. Cameron Diaz - $15million
12. Angelina Jolie - $12million
13. Renee Zellweger - $12million

I mean, after all, most of the stunts were done by stunt-reps anyways. Are they really worth so much? Why should we be fueling their pockets with so much of money, so that they can continue to live their hollywood lifestyles, which in turn creates an example for the teenagers and young adults? While there are so many others who studied so hard to earn a degree / post grad degree and then slave themselves, working overtime - only to earn a fraction of what these folks earn.

Anyways, I guess, one day, hopefully, the MPA will discover that one of the ways to curb the USD$1 pirated DVDs that are sold along the streets of Penang is to cut the salaries of the movie stars.

So, having read this, do you or do you not support pirated DVDs? I think it is pretty clear, ain't it? ;)

boon out...