Departure...

Today is Sunday and I woke up early again. It feels like ages I haven been sleeping for more than 8 hours per day which I used to when I was young. Haha, guess my biological clock had set itself up permanently or issit I’m getting old?

These few days had been tiring and exasperating. Lucky I took my replacement leaves this week till Friday, y’ know, to get rid of my weariness and most importantly to absorb the facts regarding bout wat happened 3 days ago…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

J woke up with a terrible feeling. It was about her dream. A terribly sad dream tat seemed so vivid, so real tat she felt emotional. She looked at the clock and it was time for her to get ready and get to work. Reluctantly, she got out of bed with a heavy heart.

J dragged her feet to the bus station, still worried. She has had dreams tat happened in reality before. Therefore sometimes she felt as if she could predict the near future from them. She truly prayed tat the dream last nite was just any other dreams with no meanings and no indications. She knew she should dismiss it but then she couldn’t help but had this nagging feeling inside her…

* * *

A entered the lab on a typical Thursday morning. As usual, she found J starting up the machines, running calibrations and QCs and as usual T would be at the computer checking his morning mails. The only thing left missing was her manager. She felt a bit weird coz he was always the early bird in the lab. She tot maybe he went out for b/fast or had a meeting elsewhere so he would be in late.

Moments later “ppl” from LC informed the lab tat some VIPs would be there to visit so they had to “try” to clean up. Duh! A rolled her eyes at J who shrugged as well. Well, since J and T could handle the incoming samples and patients, why not? So A started the cleaning job, she didn’t know why she had the mood for wiping and clearing up things tat morning, she just felt good.

J walked up to A with a solemn face and told A about the dream she had last nite. A just smiled and shrugged while looking at J’s worried face. She assured J even though her mood dropped a bit after hearing about her dream.

Their lab manager finally walked in with casual clothing. He sat down and went clicking away to surf the net which he normally does. A saw J relaxed a bit but A sensed something was wrong. They continued to proceed with the samples and A approached her manager. She saw he wasn’t surfing the net instead he was printing out documents frantically. Her sixth sense got stronger. Something was definitely wrong.

“W, got slides for you.”

Her manager looked at her, a bit surprised, “I’m not working anymore. Nobody told you bout this?”

A got shocked as if she was splashed by a bucket of cold water. Then her manager continued, “I was fired yday.” He smiled sheepishly. Another bucket of cold water toppled on top of A. WHAT??

She couldn’t utter a single word for a minute. She just stood there staring at him disbelievingly as he started packing up his belongings. Both hands in her lab coat pockets she walked towards J with heavy steps. “He’s leaving today.”

J glared at A with tat bewildered look as well. “Oh no, I told u! My dream is happening again!” They both went silent for a moment and then A signed heavily. They watched in grief at their manager who was busy packing. Both their minds were spinning the same question. What are they going to do now?

A and J continued with their work, none of them dared to approached the manager as none of them knew wat to say to him. The lab suddenly became hostile. A knew it would happen sooner or later but she never would have thought tat it happened like lightning slicing thru the sky. No notifications. No preparations.

A’s mortify turned anguish then turned fury. Politics are always cruel. Ppl exterminate each other in order to gain control and show their power no matter how much the other had contributed. At times W may be too bold and bit offensive. Never would imagine that such stubbornness could cost him his job. He was even one the shareholders, dammit! Tat bastard got no mercy at all.

J and A went out with him for their last lunch together as colleagues. It was the longest lunch they had. Half an hour waiting for the tables, half an hour waiting for the food and another half eating. The other LC colleagues said he is finally off the hook and it’s a release to him. W also told them bout his planning for his new lab which is gonna be more high tech.

Back to the lab, W continued to pack all his stuffs into boxes. Books, catalogues, apparatus, reagents and some consumables, only now they realized tat he had supplied so much to the lab. There were more than 5 boxes of his possessions. One by one he placed them in a trolley and rolled out the lab. He looked around the lab and there was a glint of sorrow in his eyes. For 2 years, he spent all his time and energy to set up the whole place and a black- and- white was wat he received in return.

After he took out his final box, he said goodbye to his ex-colleagues. Almost everyone felt the lost and their hearts were as heavy as metal. They’re gonna miss his voice, his laughter, his humor and his kindness.

A had so much things to tell him but she couldn’t bring herself to say it at tat moment. She wanted to thank him for all the things he’d taught her, she wanted to thank him for defending her when she did something wrong, she wanted to thank him for sticking around when she wanted to leave early, she wanted to thank him for fighting for the welfare of his staff, she wanted to thank him for trusting her in troubleshooting, she wanted to thank him for the lunches he’d treated her, she wanted to thank him for being a good listener when she had problems. Most of all, she wanted to thank him for being a good teacher and a true friend.

A looked at J beside her. J looked like she’d been hit by the flood. A signed again and J said, “Tat’s not the last of him, he’ll be back.” A nodded in agreement.

Take care, our dear guru.

Ipoh Mali 2

(Intro)
Yo, this song’s close to the heart, it’s my hometown baby,
representin’Ipoh where you at?

(Chorus)

I sing it loud and proud that’s who I be
Cos’ small town dreams do come through
so stand up and represent where you from too booUh
Ipohmali Ipoh Ipohmali
I sing it loud and proud that’s who I be
Cos’ small town dreams do come through so stand up and
represent where you from too boo

(Verse 1)
Yo I was born and raised in a place where the hottest women come from

Ipoh city that’s where I’ll always belong
Don’t get me wrong yo
I’m KL lite now
Its just that my roots stay strong
Growin’ up as a Ipoh chink kid representin’ it
Ipoh Garden Eastside yo was the hood I was kickin’ it

I grew up poor but I had the riches memories
Wooley Food Centre rockin’ arcades religiously

And after school me and my crew
DFS would be-boy on the sidewalks in front of Fair Park shops

And as my story drops
I recollect I never had them fancy kicks,
fancy clothes all I had was Hip Hop
And peer pressure left me with a scar cos'
when kids were rockin’ Airwalks
I was rockin’ Bata
Back then
I had nothin’ but a dream to be a rap star
Now who would have thought this Ipoh chink would get this far?

Chorus 1x


(Verse 2)
Yo I’m a Ipohmali chinaman
I represent small town kids havin’ big dreams so understand
When I spit this rhyme yo’ I’m spittin’ it right
My flows divine and miraculous givin’ the blind sight, haha
Back in the day circa ‘95
In St. Michaels Church where I prayed for my life to get better

So I can be mah’ family’s provider the answer was to audition
for Poetic Ammunition’s replacement rapper
I dropped the beatbox blew Yogi B away got the record deal
had a choice to make leave for KL or do I stay?
Cos’ everybody sayin’ then bein’ a rapper don’t pay
From Bingotown to Greentown

I was strollin’contemplatin’ what mah’ life’s future would be holdin’
Everybody I knew was all against it they said
16 yearold Ipoh kid will never make it
But I persevered
A boy with no fear
I had hopes as high as Hotel Excelsior

For years I proved my critics wrong that’s why
I wrote this song to tell the world where I’m from cos’ I’m…….

Chorus 1x


(Bridge)
We Ipohmali baby here to show y’all what we got
Never underestimate yourself cos’ you can make it
no matter where you are
It ain’t where you’re from but how you make it to the top
Cos’ we are Ipohmali baby, here to show y’all what we got
To all mah’ peeps all down at JB
Throw your hands up if y’all hear me
To all mah cats down at KL city
Holla at me if y’all hear me
To all my pheng ew across the sea now
Penang khia are y’all still down?
And everybody across the nation you can make it just be patient

(Verse 3)
Now flash forward to the present mah’ life at this point
Nobody knows mah’ real name they all call me Point
I’m an industry veteran 10 years in the game
3 LPs now that’s evidence
I seen it all the ladies, the groupies, the fancy parties,
award ceremonies, glory and all that money (money)
But I learned the hard way that fame came with a price
For Point Blanc to be more famous than Ipoh chicken rice


(Outro singing)
Ipoh, Ipoh, if y’all afraid go call the popo
It’s your boy Point lettin’ you know the hottest chink hollerin’ from Ipoh
(Repeat 1x)


(Outro adlib)
Voyeur Records! It ain’t where you’re from its where you at
So be proud of where you’re from baby, cos’ I am


Click here for Ipoh's most beautiful-est leng lui...

Ipoh Mali 1

Due to the gloominess three weeks ago (never realized I haven’t update for such a long time), I totally cleared my past year’s annual leaves, escaped to Ipoh and spent one whole week there clearing my mind. I didn update last week coz I was still having mood swing after I came back from Ipoh. Ok ok, I was concerned and frustrated due to my late period.

Then few days ago, my bloody uterus wall finally tumbled down and oozed out. I had always being thankful tat I don’t experience bad PMS like my other gal frens do. I could even go jogging with my fren on my first day which my fren gave me an unbelievable look. BUT last week I had the worst PMS ever. The first day made me felt like I was in hell. Moreover, I also had to endure honey’s I-told-u-so smug face.

Alright, enough with my menses. I’m cool now. In fact, my ego is flying towards heaven. Yday was a damn busy day. I had to bleed each and every patient tat walked inside the lab and half of them told me that I’m a good and gentle bleeder. AHHAHAH! Man, I’m getting good with veins and needles…

Alright alright, enough about BLOOD. I want to write about FOOD.

Remember I went to Ipoh? I told honey I wanted to write about his hometown so he took me around and fed me like a pig. Seriously, think of Ipoh, think of food.

#1 White Coffee
White coffee is one of Ipoh’s famous beverages. The Old Town White Coffee headquarters is there. However, honey said the best taste white coffee is served in this shop. Any day, anytime, this shop will be packed with customers. This picture was taken on a weekday in the afternoon. All of them no need to work one meh?

I don’t know whether you realize or not that a typical cup of coffee will usually leave those milky or sticky and sugary aftertastes in your mouth. This one doesn’t. And it is still able to maintain the nice coffee aroma and sweetness in it. Take one cup in the morning and you are capable to work for 12 hours straight. Better than Tongkat Ali. *wink*

#2 Taugeh Chicken + Hor Fun
One of the best local dishes in Ipoh. I tell you ah, once you taste the Hor Fun in Ipoh, you are not gonna eat Hor Fun at other places liao. Like the Taiwanese, they will say: “Wah, fei chang Q oh!” It’s smoother, it’s bouncier and it’s chewier.

The Taugeh, huh, I tell you ah, you won’t see other places selling taugeh as big as this. It’s fat and it’s so much crunchier than normal taugeh. You won’t stop eating them.

The chicken, I tell you again…aiyo just go eat la!

#3 Noodles + Fried “stuffs”
Whenever you are lying lazily around in the afternoon thinking bout something light and satisfying to eat but you are too lazy to cook Maggie Mee, you can try out the noodles under the big oak tree. Look, the tables are even numbered.

There are few food stalls under this big oak tree but this particular stall serves the best-selling noodles + fried “stuffs”. Fried “stuffs” means fried fish meat, fried vegetables, fried tau ki, fried wanton etc.

Cheap, nice and shiok!

#4 Salted Chicken
Do you know that the breeders in Ipoh feed salt to their chicken everyday? Do you know that they chase the chicken around to make them exercise so they became slim, muscular and dehydrated? Ok, just kidding.

Anyway, not much description here coz I believe a lot of ppl already know that Ipoh produces the best salted chicken. This shop is also near the Ipoh Hor Fun Tauge Chicken. I always like to “bungkus” them and bring them all the way back to Klang, heat it up and enjoy the saltiness. Yum yum…

5# Chicken Rice
Another specialty in Ipoh.

It may look like any other chicken rice you can get in KL but I think the rice is good. Other than that, the chicken and soup were so-so to me only. Despite that, it’s still a good dish to try out.

6# Desserts
Ipoh does produce nice desserts such as this coconut jelly. It is very refreshing and rejoicing. Personally, I like the fruit jelly more.

Then there’s the Soya store where they serve the delicious soya drinks and tau fu fah. Kinda funny store name they have.

Ask me the difference between the Ipoh tau fu fah and other places, I really dunno how to describe coz I just plain love tau fu fah.

7# Dim Sum
Too bad I didn’t get the chance to eat Dim Sum on my last trip. Honey is currently allergic to seafood. Haih…

Can only tell you this is one of the oldest and most popular dim sum restaurants in Ipoh. Most of their dim sum restaurants follow the Hong Kong style. Very interesting indeed.

8# Chicken Bread
Chicken bread here doesn’t mean those breads with chicken filling. It’s a whole chicken fully wrapped inside the bread and later baked under high temperature. Actually this cuisine is originated from Kampar but since now Ipoh got a branch I might as well introduce it.

There are two main flavours – herbal and curry chicken. I love the curry chicken coz can dip the bread in the curry. SOOOO yummy. I just discovered that they are also selling mutton. The mutton curry is even more mouth-watering.

#9 Tidbits
If you visit Ipoh, you definitely must buy the biscuits there especially the Hiong Piah and the CB (not cibai) = chicken biscuit. Why need to buy them? Coz they are simply tasty la…

#10 Duck soup noodle
I cannot leave out this one out even it’s not in Ipoh. If you happen to drive along NKVE up north and you happen to see a Bidor sign, turn in please. You will find yourself smacking lips with a duck in herbal soup. Once, Cassey dear even wanted to drive all the way up just for eating that. Look how irresistible the duck is…

See the amount of good food in Ipoh? I really came back with a big tummy! No kidding…

Hmm…do you realize most of the best dishes in Ipoh are based on chicken? I wonder if all the chickens in the farm are plotting this everyday…