0 Stop Looking At Me Like I'm a Criminal...

Monday, my 3rd day in Midvalley. I should be getting a medal for this.

I stepped into the newly designed Carrefour hypermarket to shop for some stuff for the household. It was impressive. The floors were shiny, the aisles were spacious. I like the whole modern concept except for the arrangement of the shelving units. There were no shortcuts to the grocery supermarket area. It was a long u-turn down.

I was generally fine with the idea (maybe it's one of those so-called things called marketing strategy) until I was informed by the cashier that I couldn't pay for my box of plasters at her counter. She didn't look too pleased about it. Here, I wondered if I should have been the one carrying the displeased look.

Perhaps she had been informing the customers of the same all day, to the blind eye of the Management, who probably thought that having customers pay for their purchases at two different counters is a brilliant idea...really?

Mine had to be paid at the pharmaceutical counter where I had picked the items up. I thought of the great u-turn, looked at queue..it was daunting enough to prompt me to abandon it. So I told her to leave it aside because I didn't want it anymore.

With all the items scanned and totalled, I flipped out my credit card to settle the amount displayed on the cash register. The cashier took it from me but gave me the up and down stare after looking at the name on the card.

"Whose card is this?", she enquired. People with Indian-sounding names should only look a certain way, I guess.

Wearing a grin, I told her it was mine. Lucky for me, she left it at that.

If there's anything I learned in life as a person of mixed parentage, it is that it would be a great disservice to my precious time to argue with someone with a funnel view of things. Incidences like these are aplenty and to take them all on would make me an extremely grumpy person. I aim to sprinkle my life with happiness, not frequent eruptions of anger.

Granted, I understand that the cashier has a job to do but I just don't get why people are not treated "Innocent until proven guilty" . Being polite wouldn't hurt either.

Having said that, I will take my shopping elsewhere.

2 There she goes..

I hang on to things until they go kaput. It's what my mother does and the practice has been passed on. You just don't throw out old things for something new when the old one's not broke.

So I hung on to my trusty old oven although the timer was off by miles and the heat was uneven. I use a kitchen timer to keep track. If I missed the bell, then there goes everything that's in it....black as charcoal it will be!

There was no chance of that happening though. I was glued nearby the whole time. It's just me. I like seeing how things flourish in the oven. Is that normal behavior amongst baking enthusiasts?

It was a matter and time before it gave way and it did. It just went "plinkk!" and "praaacCcKKk!". A burning smell wafted through the air. I switched the electricity off immediately. I was baking a chicken when it happened.  

I bid my oven adieu that day...sobs. 

Three weeks of my life was spent in an oven-less state. Can't say I liked the feeling. It left me restless and agitated.

Boom!

0 The Misinformation of Fried Popiah (Spring Roll)

The Taman Tun Pasar pasar malam (night market) is a haven for food enthusiasts. I was there last week and just fell in love with this fried popiah. Shame on this Malaysian for having never tried it before!

I admit that I had my reservations. It was piled high in one of the stalls and looked like the unhealthiest food my eyes had ever set upon. But it went into my bag anyway because I felt like trying something new. Wisdom, wherefore art thou?

I was misled, visually, into believing that it would taste of burnt oil. You must think me mad to have purchased it at all...but it was really beautiful to look at. I guess that played a big part in motivating my actions.

Fried Spring Roll

"Kerrunchhh! Kerrunchh!", my knife went through.

"What the..." I was surprised. What is this new level of crunchiness that I had not experienced in my life before. Some of the ingredients had spilled out. It wasn't appealing.

I breathed in and took a reluctant bite.

"Whoaaaa....!"  I enthused. "Wasn't that just the most delicious thing I've ever eaten." It didn't have that awful taste of oil.

I was so excited that I snapped a photo and posted it on Facebook, glorifying it's wonderfulness to my dear (now, misinformed) friends. The post was liked, commented and shared. All three!

That's bean sprouts, cabbage and carrots

A few hours later and now, you will understand why I say my friends have been misinformed.

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Tadaaaa..! 

I sliced open the other two popiahs and realised..horror, horror ..that this is what it's really supposed to look like inside.

Not burnt.

I'd been promoting burnt food to my friends. Hangus-lar my reputation.

0 Sapphire at Bandar Kinrara 8 (BK8)

Newly completed 2-storey terraces going from RM800k onwards. No better on the affordability issue and the uncomfortable feeling that it isn't what it's worth penny-wise ...but, that's just my personal opinion.

I love the concept. The surroundings are neat and the area, a serene view of landed properties. There are no highrise apartments to spoil the congeniality of the neighbourhood. I hope it remains that way because there's undeveloped land on the borders of this new double-storey terrace community. The last thing this place needs is an apartment building to congest the skyline.

The facade is pleasing to the eye. The wooden pieces give an old charm to the otherwise modern design. It's inviting. The house on the inside is nothing phenomenal. I like the doors which have been designed for the taller person. Moving large furniture in will be easier.

On the security front, there is the usual guardhouse at the main entrance. Each house is also installed with an alarm system. Sufficient to feel safe.

There is a park within the vicinity for evening strolls and neighbourly chats. I'm pleased with this idea because it can only bring people together.

Sapphire is not visible from the main road. Drive along Jalan Kinrara 6 (Passing Hening and Melodi on your right). Turn left at the junction before Qaseh (2-storey superlink, under construction). Drive straight on until you see Sapphire on your left.


Photos are a month old.

There is a guardhouse next to this sign

Wide open park within the vicinity. Plus for kids!

Terraces

We saw the 2-storey corner lot

This is the back lane

The living area and kitchen

High ceiling on the second floor

Wooden flooring is popular now

The bath and toilet

0 I am for unity, not uniformity ..

Birds of a feather flock together. It is my least favourite quote, a grim reminder of racism and extremism, even if it's never used in this context. People of the same kind flock together. Those who differ...well, you know.  These are thoughts of an idle mind. It would be folly for anyone to read on.

If 1Malaysia had to be defined by a murder of crows, there would be no need for the tourism board to advertise us to the world as a multicultural society. A whole race of of sameness, much like the crows. That seems to be what cries of 1Malaysia mean today.

Unity, not uniformity, is my understanding of the slogan but there are instances when it is challenged by news of rough action against those who are 'different' from the rest of common us, the defiling of sacred places, the mocking of religious practices other than our own and, the harsh call for those who question to renounce their citizenship and return to their "homeland?".

They say these are actions of the minority, but how is it then that they seem to be making headway in getting approval for some of their ridiculousness. Our leaders, the ones holding the rein, remain silent and submissive.

I guess there will be no real peace until we all sing the same tune.. from our words to our opinions, our dress and our actions. Only then, can we "flock together".

Variety, it seems, is no longer the spice of life, at least not where I'm standing.

..The light shineth not upon upon these crows who believe they are higher and holier than the rest... That's it! I'm reading too much into this photo.