What a Week

I finally had a nice deep sleep last night.

Monday night: Awake till 5 AM in the morning, waiting for my wife and the other guys to finish their work.

Tuesday night, Rahil woke us up crying. My wife discovered that she was shaking and a high fever. On checking, we found that her temperature was hovering at a dangerous 103.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, we always have some medicine ready for such emergencies and quickly administered it. After about 30 minutes, her temperature went down below the danger mark (100 degree F).

It was a temporary reprieve as we woke up to find the fever had come back. Moreover, Rahil had developed a slight cough. To see her like that just lying there and shaking was really hard. She also refused to eat any food. To cut a long story short, Rahil’s fever went on fluctuating like a seesaw and we took her to see the doctor twice. She also had to take antibiotics for the first time in her life. On Thursday morning, Rahil woke up in the morning without crying and we discovered that the fever had finally receded. We were really happy when she drank up every drop of the milk in her bottle.

We were really relieved as we both had a conference to attend. Both my wife and I presented papers at the First Asian Business Conference, which was organized by the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, University of Malaya at the Grand Plaza ParkRoyal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. The hotel is situated smack right in the middle of the Golden Triangle of KL. I had heard of the horrendous morning traffic but never had to go through it myself. It took us nearly 2 hours before we finally arrived at the venue. My wife’s presentation was on the 14th while mine was on the 15th. My paper was a conceptual one. I put forward a modified model of the popular ‘Technology Acceptance Model’ It is actually the framework for my PhD research. I received some really useful suggestions from the audience. However, there was one strange incident, which was quite funny actually. I was nearly ending my presentation when this guy wearing a turban and in slippers, entered the room and started asking some really strange questions, which had nothing to do with my presentation. He was going on like "what is the effect of spirituality?" and "Are you aware that besides IQ and EQ there is something called SQ (spiritual quotient)?" besides other gems of wisdom. I really didn’t know what to say and tried to bluff my way through but fortunately my supervisor rescued me by indirectly saying that the question was out of context. Yeah! I get all these strange experiences but I guess it woke up my audience. Ha ha ha!

Haven't been to Sungai Wang foa a very long long time - so took the oportunity to do some shopping. Bought myself a belt and a tie, while wife bought two shirts. We also bought 3 DVDs.

On Saturday night, we went to a party hosted by my wife’s colleague. Had a wonderful relaxing time there sitting on the balcony of his penthouse and chatting with the other guys. After reaching home, went straight to bed and had the best deepest sleep I had in a long time. … a perfect ending to an eventful week.

Poppy Garden

It’s been quite sometime since I last went clubbing - actually it has been more than 2 years. Yesterday night my sis-in-law Ezu celebrated her birthday with a couple of friends at Poppy Garden, which is along Jalan P Ramlee, KL quite near to KLCC. We were also invited.

I don't go to KL that often and I am not really familiar with the roads - so we followed Ezu and Muz.

As we entered the two-storey complex from the main entrance, we had to walk across a dramatic path - slabs over water to reach the courtyard in the middle of the complex where our table was. We found that some of the guys were already there. Acat was there too. Found out that most of the guests were working with Petronas or with Petronas subsidiaries. Not surprising as Ezu works with Petronas and Muz with MISC.

I had expected the live band to play some Malay tunes but after listening closely, I realised that they were playing some Malaysianised version of some popular songs including the evergreen "Killing me softly". Quite different and nice too.



I couldn't find any vegetarian dish in the menu and decided to go for a vegetarian version of the pineapple fried rice. They took quite some time with my order. Was really disappointed when they once came out with my dish - the waiter suddenly realised that there was some meat in it and quickly took it back in again. Most of the guys had finished by the time I finally received my food (just after Acat). The fried rice was placed in a pineapple which had been hollowed out. It was great - maybe because I was really hungry.



We finished the dinner off with the usual cutting of cake (a rich chocolate one). The band, which had already wrapped up to go, agreed to stay back and play a nice "Happy birthday to you" tune for the birthday girl. It was really nice of them.

By the time we finally finished dinner, it was around 11pm and people were already milling around waiting for us to get up but we took our own sweet time. They quickly cleared the tables as soon as we stood up and the place became a dance floor.

We adjourned to the Havanita which was packed by the time we got there. There was a live band playing jazz. It’s an interesting concept. The place has something for everyone - House music (in the Passion Lounge on the top floor), R&B as well as jazz. They even had a big TV showing some football game and noticed that Acat and a few guys were glued to it.

Quite cozy and I would have enjoyed it. You may notice that I say I "would have". It's because I was not prepared - I was the only guy wearing freaking sandals in the entire place. That meant no dancing for me.

After checking out the whole place, we left the place around 11:45PM.

My wife's opinion: she sill prefers rock music and Hard Rock Cafe

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We also had to leave early because my wife had to oversee some guys who were busy with the proceedings of their conference. Some guys were shaking their head in disbelief when my wife told them we were working. Yes! On a saturday night. I know its crazy but some people have deadlines. These guys were in their office - working round the clock. I told my wife that they deserve more than what they were going to get paid for the job. By the time we reached our house, it was already half past 2 in the morning.

(Edited at 2 AM - 11 April, Monday morning in my wife's office. Yes! These guys are still working and I have to wait for my wife. Boo Hoooo)

Sheesh Mahal

This Friday went to a newly opened restaurant on the invitation of our friend Za Za. I suddenly realised that I have never done any restaurant reviews and thought that this might be a good opportunity.

When I first heard the words "Fine Pakistani cuisine", the first thing I said was "it must be a damn expensive place". "No!" my wife assured me. "It’s for free. Thanks to Za Za". Well I am a sucker for free food and it had been quite sometime since I last had nice food, so why not.

Sheesh Mahal restaurant is a new Pakistani restaurant in Taman Dagang, Ampang (Just behind the Giant outlet).

We set out from Kelana Jaya, PJ (Petaling Jaya in Selangor for thouse who did not know) at around 8:00 PM with Rahil tagging along. The weekend traffic was horrendous and by the time we reached the place, it was already past 9 PM. There were 9 of us there.

BTW, ‘Sheesh mahal’ means ‘Palace of mirrors’ in Urdu/Hindi. The interior décor was quite tasteful. Not overboard as in some Indian restaurants I have been to. They were playing some hindi movie songs. I guess, it short of ruined the ambiance but I guess none of us thought it was a big deal. In fact my wife was singing along. It was Good that there were not many patrons around. ;-)





We started off with drinks and ‘papadam’ with starters. Rahil loved the mango lassi and kept asking for more - "nak". The Pudina (Mint) chutney was quite tasty too but we were hungry and couldn’t wait to start with the main course.



I can’t remember half of what we ordered but I had Palak paneer (spinach with cheese) and Alu gobi (Potato with cauliflower) with Biryani rice. We also had garlic naan, cheese naan and garlic naan too. My wife loved the mutton dish. Sorry I was so busy digging in that I forgot to take pictures.



They say time passes so fast when you have a great meal (actually I made that up). It was time for deserts. I had almond Kulfi (ice cream). I also had a mouthful of the Gajar Halwa (made from carrots).



The owner Mr. Taj Muhammad Khan, told me that they have 2 more outlets – one in Subang and another in Kluang, Johor. He is normally there at the Subang outlet whereas this particular outlet is run by his cousin. He was there just to receive us.

Overall the food was tongue smacking, lip licking terrific. Everyone gave their thumbs up. So, next time you are hungry and want Pakistani/Mughal food for a change, drive over to Sheesh Mahal.

Thanks Za Za (and Hardy of course, for introducing us to this place).

FAQs

Some frequently asked questions and their answers:

Q1. What does "Ah OK Lah" mean?
ANS: Refer to this post

Q2. Why and when was this blog started?
ANS: My first blog, which was posted on Monday, September 08, 2003, explains why I started this blog.

Q3. Are you ‘orang Kelate’ (from Kelantan)?
ANS: No, My dad works there.

Q4. Are you ‘oghang Kedah’ (from Kedah)?
ANS: No! I work here used to work there - for around 4 years until my contract ended and I had to leave for the UK. That's where I am now presently.

Q5. Why don’t you post pictures of yourself ?
ANS: The same reason I don’t identify my organisation by name. I prefer to remain anonymous to the general public. There are some parts of our lives, which we don’t want to share with everyone.
Going public also means that I have to be really careful with what I blog about. For example, I won’t be able to bitch about work anymore. However, it’s not that difficult to find out where I am from or where I am working. That is, if you really want to know.

Q6. Who's Rahil?
ANS: She's the light of my life, my darling daughter and yeah, I post a lot of pictures of her. Read the post I made after she was born here and the meaning of her name here.
Rahil in Genting, Malaysia.

Q7.Do you make any money from your blog?
ANS: No I don't but there is no harm in trying I do make a bit from my blog but I am not rolling around in it. Read my post on money from blogs.

Q8. What do you blog about?
ANS: Almost anything. The ahoklah blog does not have a theme.
I do have another blog which is more topical, about the auto industry - Auto Lah!.

Q9.What does 'Tidak apa" mean?
ANS: It means 'never mind' or 'doesn’t matter' in Bahasa Malaysia. However, tidak apa attitude has a negative connotation. People are usually referring to the non-committal attitude or lack of seriousness of some Malaysians.

Q11. Is there an easy way to get back to your blog considering that the url is so hard to remember?
ANS:
i) Bookmark my blog;
ii) Link to the blog or
iii) just type "ah ok lah" in Google and click the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button

Q10. How do I get on your blogroll?
ANS: i) Add a link to ah ok lah in your blog. You can use the html code given below:

<p align="center"><a href="http://www.ok-lah.blogspot.com/">ah ok lah</a>

ii) Inform me (e-mail) when you have put up the link.
ii) I will then add you to my blogroll asap.

Condition:
1. The link must be on your Home page or a page linked to the home page
2. Zero tolerance for Pornography and Hate sites.

Q11. Is that you on your profile picture?
ANS: Of course. Why would I add a cartoon or someone else's picture? Only inscure guys do that.

Q12. What's that on your profile picture?
ANS: that's me snorkeling off Pulau Kapas in Malaysia. I am wearing a T-shirt because I had a bad experience of severe sun burn while snorkeling in the past. Now always snorkel with a t-shirt on.

Yeah! I made some of the FAQ up myself. if you got a problem with that, learn to deal with it.

Korean Movie

I was never a fan of Korean movies or TV dramas for that matter (I don't know what was so great about Winter Sonata anyway). Yesterday I walked into my colleague’s office and found him watching a war movie on his computer (Yes! I know. Its a great misuse of office time and property). I hate war but I love war movies and borrowed it from him later.

I found out that it was a Korean movie called Taegukgi (2004), which btw, is the name of the South Korean flag. Written and directed by Je-gyu Kang, the movie is very violent and realistic. It was quite touching too.



Set during the Korean war in the 1950’s, the movie tells the story of 2 brothers (Played by Jang Dong-gun and Won Bin). It also shows the brutality of war and how it destroys families and humanity.

Links:
1. The official Sony Pictures website.
2. Reviews here.

The Pope - A Tribute

Only learnt this morning that Pope John Paul II (1920-2005), the spiritual leader of the Catholic church had passed away at the Vatican at 3:37am Sunday MST at the age of 84.

However, as they say life goes on and there has been some speculation on who the next pope would be. You may find this piece on the BBC website : "Q&A: What happens next?" interesting. The use of technology - text messages and email by the Vatican, to inform the international media of the Pope's demise was also seen as indication of how the Vatican had readily embraced technology under him.

One of his many positive aspects was his attitude towards other faiths and his death is mourned by many in the Muslim world. He support Palestinian rights and was against the war in Iraq. One report also points out that he was the 1st Pope to pay an official visit to a mosque.

I con't forget how he forgave Mehmet Ali Agca, a Turk who seriously wounded the pope during an assassination attempt in 1981, even meeting him in prison in 1983.

I pay tribute to one of the greatest forces of peace.

Sister Back in Town

My little sister (not so little anymore) is back in Malaysia. She went to Australia about 4 years back to do her Master in Management - ended up with two Master's degrees (2nd in Accounting) and finally getting a job in a Bank in Melbourne. She is now a permanent resident there. Compare this to some professionals who have been in Malaysia for nearly 10 years and still can't get the PR status.

It was quite funny but she seems quite mature now as compared to time when she was studying in Help institute, Damansara and staying together in a condominium in Pantai Hill Park. Then, she constantly got onto my nerves. Yes, I guess people change with age.

She was seeing Rahil in flesh for the first time. Rahil was a bit wary at first but by the second day got on fabulously with her. She was able to accomplish one thing. Rahil hates chicken and always spits out the chicken cooked for her. But day before yesterday an amazing thing happened. My wife and my two sisters had gone to the Giant outlet in Kelana Jaya and went for lunch after shopping. They ordered Nasi Ayam (Chicken rice). Rahil was there too. My sister fed her a small piece and that was it, she kept on asking for more until my wife decided she had enough. Maybe it was the flavour the shop used - made the chicken tasty as compared to the bland cooked at home variety.