Chain Reaction Revisited

It seems that I have been in hiatus since my last post about a month ago. So many things are keeping me preccupied lately, not to mention the tireness of the eyes and mind after work, as a reuslt of staring at the computer for long hours.

Well, this is a backdated post, which I have wanted to pen down but just couldn't find the time. Since I am not going anywhere this weekend, am finally sitting down to write it.

The weekend 2 weeks ago was a happening one for me back in Ipoh. YT was back from Singapore and so was Pao. Chai was also back from Japan for vacation. I went back too, not knowing that Feilo, Sailo & Shyang were back too. Seemed that everyone was heading back to home sweet home in Ipoh coincidentally.

08.08.2008, Friday
Sharp at 5pm , I headed straight from office to Damansara Toll for the North South Highway on my way home, alone. Yes, I drive home alone quite often whenever I spontaneously feel like going home for a cup of nice Ipoh White Coffee and catch up with friends or feel like getting of town for a peace of mind. Occasioanally, there will passengers along with me. So, don't be surprised to spot me, probably speeding on the North South Highway one fine day. :)

It was actually quite boring to drive alone on the highway. I accelerated and speeded home, just in time to catch the grand Beijing Olympics opening at 8pm on 08. 08. 2008. What a prosperous date and time, especially to the Chinese! It was a magnificent and splendid opening. China has demonstrated to the world on how capable they are. The awaken mighty dragon is definitely going to rock the world for a long long time to come...

09.08.2008, Saturday
Being a sport lover, I was busy cathing the Olympics live on Astro on Saturday till I had no time to use my Dellnosaur (notebook) to go online, a routine in my daily life. In the evening, the electricity supply was suddenly out! The weather was bloody hot and I was under massive mosquito attack! Damn it! Quickily had my dinner and shower, and went out to meet up with the Chai, Pao, Feilo and Shyang for a drink.

We went to 'Indulgence', a colonial style bungalow converted restaurant that serves Malaysian and Chinese street fare on a more upmarket scale in Ipoh. It was actually my first visit there. Heard about this restaurant which is known to be a pricy place to dine at Ipoh standard and drove passed it many times prior to this. Well, the ambience there was cosy but the food was proven to be pricy. The guys ordered a bottle of white wine which tasted not bad and 3 pieces of cakes which just didn't satisfy my taste bud at all whereas I ordered a glass of warm water which was never served. Guess what, the bill cost us RM150++! Heard that the Sultan of Perak is a regular there. Maybe I should just give it a second chance to try some other food there to find out what's so special about this restaurant.

Indulgence closes at 11:30pm, which is considered quite early for us, a bunch of night owls. We left for 'Tong Sui Kai' (Dessert Street) near Sam Tet Primary School for second round to satisfy Chai's craving for Ipoh food which he can't find in Japan. Our table was fully occupied by food such as Wantan, Yau Yu Ngung Choy (Octopus with Kangkung), Rojak, 2 plates of friend noodle and Tong Sui (dessert). Chai whacked another bowl of Bubur Cacar after his Fu Chook Yi Mai. Looks like Chai really misses Ipoh food alot after few years in Japan. It was really a nice catch up with loads and loads of food till midnight. Too bad, the guys were swift in whacking the food when it was served, faster than I could take out my camera to snap a shot or two of the food.

10.08.2008 Sunday
Arrhhh... The great weekend had to come to an end and it was time to head back to KL. Dad had gone to Genting with friends to watch concert while mum was not around when I left home. Before I departed, I went in and out of the house to double check if I had left anything home. Usually mum will play role of nagging gently to ensure I don't leave anything at home each time I go back to KL. After checking, off I went to YT's house to carpool with him back to KL.

Had yummy Curry Noodle and nice Iced White Coffee near YT's place for lunch before we headed back to KL. The White Coffee was superb. The very first sip of it was so refreshing that it gave me so much ummpp and pleasure!

I drove for the 1st half of the journey and stopped at Sungai Buluh for a toilet break. While looking for parking, this conversation kind of amused me.

Me: Don't you need to drink water? Not thirsty?

YT: Not really, I am a camel mah. :)

Me: Hahahaha... LOL!

What an interesting answer. I think he really is a camel as he wasn't feeling thirsty and drinking any water through out the journey. Guess he must be doing the same during his extensive travelling.

I went off to the toilet and washed my face. YT took over to drive after the break and headed back to the hotel that he was staying in.

After dropping YT at the hotel, I realised that my glasses were nowhere to be found after searching through the whole car. Geez! I must have left the glasses in the toilet at Sungai Buluh when I took them off to wash my face.

Well, the power of glasses isn't that high. Am having lazy eye in fact with left eye:225, right eye:50 plus some mild astigmatism. I can still see bigger objects quite clearly with my right eye most of the time if the eyesight is not blocked. That probably explained why I didn't even realise that my glassese were taken off though I still had them on moments ago. It was about 5:30pm, the sun hadn't set yet. I could still see and drive my way home without my glasses.

When I reached home in PJ, I discovered something more disasterous than having a pair of missing glasses! I left my Dellnosaur at hometown!!! This is really 'big wok' (trouble), man! My notebook is something that I totally can't work without! How ah? What should I do? I was thinking hard for some alternative though I knew the ultimate solution was to go back to collect it.

Called Sailo who carpooled with Shyang back to KL to see if they had already left Ipoh, hoping that they had not and hence I could explore the option of crying for help from them to bring the notebook back for me.

Me: Over! Over! Where are you guys? Have you guys left Ipoh?

Sailo: What's up?

Me: I have a ' big wok' to deal with, left my notebook at home. Calling to see if you guys have left Ipoh and could help me to bring my notebook back to KL if you guys are still in Ipoh.

Sailo: We are even in 'bigger wok' lah. Shyang's car broke down, and we are now pathetically stranded at road side of the highway, somewhere near Rawang exit.

Me: Gosh! Why everyone seems to be so 'hak jai' (unfortunate) today ah? I also left my glasses at the toilet at Sungai Buluh rest point apart from my notebook at home.

Sailo: Hahaha... Why not you come over to pick us up and then go to Sungai Buluh to check if your glasses are still there. (this jovioul fellow still managed to joke at time like this)

Me: Where are you guys located exactly? I can come to pick you guys up but you have to tell me you guys' exact location and guide me how to get there.

Sailo: At the road side lor! Joking lah, Shyang is calling the tow truck now.

Me: Let me try to call Feilo to see if he's already on his way back. If he hasn't passed Rawang, probably he can come to rescue you guys.

Tried to call and sms Feilo many times but couldn't really reach him. Only got 1 pathetic sms reply from Feilo telling that his battery was running low and would be death at any time. Sigh!

On and off, I called the guys to check on their situation and talked nonsense to entertain them a bit as it was actually bloody 'sien' to get stranded at the highway like this.

Me: Over! Over! Apa macam?

Sailo: On tow now, both the car and us. :)

Me: The wind is chilling, isn't it?

Sailo: Yawor, very cooling and refreshing indeed to be on tow (refering to the wind blowing on them on the tow truck). Hahaha.... Yiii... Very interesting wor, the car is now moving by itself without anyone driving it. LOL!

Shyang: Fuyoh, my unmaneuvered car can even over take other cars somemore! Keng ah! (Yes, they are a bunch of crazy fellows who can really 'talk with their lungs')

Me: Ahahha... LOL! What's actually wrong with your car?

Shyang: The timing belt lor. It's almost time to change already. Thought of changing it during my next car service, who knows it went dead just now.

Me: Ok lah, since you guys are on tow already, am going off to have my dinner now. Enjoy your 'tow ride'. Bye!

Well, I thought I was unfortunate, who knew these guys were even in deeper shit. Sigh.. Decided to make another trip back home the next day to collect my notebook. Arrrhhh.. it's gonna be darn tiring!

11.08.2008 Monday
Took emergency leave, sent my car to workshop for checking especially for the timing belt to ensure it's in good condition (though I just sent my car for service not long ago) before heading to the highway for my way home, alone again. Sien! Sien! Sien! The first thing that I did when I reached home was to grab my notebook and put it at a very noticeable place so that I wouldn't forget to bring it back to KL.

12.08.2008 Tuesday
Woke up damn early in the morning. After having my super early breakfast, from hometown, I headed straight to the office in PJ, a journey of about 210km. The highway seemed lonely with low traffic volume. It was really very boring to maintain the speed at 110km/hr and I started to speed a little bit.

Somewhere near Tapah, the 3 lanes highway had shrunk to become 1 lane. I thought the lanes were closed due to some road works. Bloody hell, there was 1 team of traffic policemen lining up in front to catch everyone for speeding, on the spot and off-guard! Most of the cars were speeding and I guess most would be summoned.

Policeman: Ah Moi, lajunya!

Me: Yalah, nak rush pergi ke office mah.

Policeman: Mana you kerja ni?

Me: KL lah. I pandu terus dari Ipoh ni.

Policeman: Macam mana?

Me: You tulis saman lah.

Policeman: Nak tulis kah ni? (hinting for something you and me and everybody knows)

Me: Tulis lah, tolong cepat sikit, I ada meeting ni.

I paid attention to the radio which was broadcasting some Olympics updates while waiting for the policeman to issue the summon, not even looking at him at all. Well, I wasn't trying to be cocky as some might perceive it to be. I just wanted to leave him alone to quickily write the summon and waste no time.

Sigh! Sigh! Sigh! Due to some human errors (forgetting my notebook and speeding on the highway), everything happended like a chain reaction and I was paying the price for it - adttional cost of petrol & toll, tireness plus a summon!



Have yet to settle the summon till this very moment...