[WhatNext] Weekend Spent

Recent spate of events I got myself into over the weekend:

A) Roamed Chinatown @Sat
Once again another foreign land Chinatown puts Msia's Chee Cheong Kai to shame. Lots of stuff there ranging from useless gadgets, what looks like used/stolen car radios, all kinds of spare parts, food, movies etc.

Note: Char Koey Teow is still not Char Koey Teow in Bangkok even if cooked by Chinese :P

B) 85% Through This Book On Patton and Rommel @Sat, Sun & The Week Before
A rather neat historical account of the 2 great generals from their experiences from WWI, what they did in between; developments within the Axis and Allies; and of course the roles these generals played and problems they faced during WWII. Hope to finish it tonight about 20 pages left.

C) Movie Marathon @Sat
Watch Harry Potter and then Domino over a late morning and afternoon. 2 in a row. If there was a better movie or two it might have been 3 or 4 in a row I was that "sian".

D) Warcraft III @Sat, Sun
Mindlessly clicking away while wishing for a console instead.

E) Cooking @Sun
Pretty good dishes I have to say served up by the novice.
- Chicken breast nicely pan fried after being marinated in sauce, and some herbs overnight. Nicely crispy on the outside but quite juicy inside
- Potato chips chunky and with skin, bought some malt vinegar to go with it
- Steamed brocolli and carrots with a slice of butter

And that's how life goes by on a more relaxed weekend in Bangkok but its a pretty stagnant feeling nevertheless.

[Work] Please "Resign"

In what's a change from the usual monotone of my suffering postings ....

Words & language have always been fun. Here is what I nearly sent out via email just now:

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Hi QWERTY,

You signed off these Change Requests before, but after that requirements changed as attached. Can you pls resign?

Keen
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Well, had to do a quick edit there to "sign off again"

[WhatNow] Reliving The Past

There are times when the past relives itself in ways you never expected.

When I was back for a week in Nov, made a drive along to Zeek's place which used the same route to get to Genting. I only noticed this when I approached a cluster of petrol stations somewhere near Batu Caves ... It really brought back the past and for a few stretches I was reliving a different timeline back in Dec 2004.

Just when you think you've settled into a state of mental equilibrium, it all goes to hell. It's not the feeling of things crumbling apart, but it's more like the entire reality warps .... implodes; and you find yourself reliving dual moments in time - the then and the now.

It's one of those moments that you know you are alive purely due to the heartwrenching.

But I had Tissues on board with me, so that was cool and we talked about it en route to some turns along the way to Zeek's.

[Self] Food Adventures In BKK

Quick recap of some food incidences I've encountered over my stay in BKK

- Had grasshopper & cricket - not that bad actually; but the beetle I had stunk (the abdomen was chunky and slighty juicy) it was so overwhelming I had to lean on a cart nearby to gain some composure
- Chili, and lots more chili !! One thing great about Thailand is the chili culture. Heck their Tesco has a small section dedicated to chili .... :D
- Had roasted corn - totally tasteless wonder what was the whole thing about
- Thought I ordered some pork dish but it turned out to be horse meat
- Pointed to some soup but ended up getting chicken rice instead
- Wo Ba Chong Nonsi - this place serves soup so spicy it makes me tear in appreciation
- Had some Dim Sum where you dip the dumplings and dim sum stuff into vinegar, not that thick dark sauce and chili I am accustomed to
- Make the cooks at this stall laugh everytime I try to order rice in Thai - well at least I know I brighten some peoples' day

[Self] Going Down

A Flashback To Not-So-Great Times:

- Been a rough day
- Step into the lift
- "Going Down"
- Yeah tell me about it - dammit
- Reflection of self on the window
- Exists only with parses of light
- Enjoy the feeling of descent
- It's actually a refreshing gush
- But felt it could have been more violent
- Stops
- So much for the ground floor

[Work] Stone Cold Certainty

The place where I am stationed at right now uses some kind of marble composite for its floors. It's not the shiny glamorous type, but the non-glossed subdued dark type. It's not just placed in the office area, heck even the washroom and stairways too. But the building does bear the Thai PM's surname so it had better live to standards.

The really weird thing is this odd triangular relationship with stone, my leather shoes, and self.

Stone is hard, cold and serene. The heels of my shoes are tough and compact-stiff. When the two surfaces meet, when the heel chisels onto the stone, I get this deep "clunk".

It's surreal how the sound, the feel, and the resonation provides a sense of certaintly and calm. The stone's always there, and the "clunks" from the steps I make confirms my existance....

Tap impatiently as you wait for an elevator: clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk-clunk

Depressively thump: KUH-LUNKKK, KUUUUHLUNKK, KUH-LUNKKK ....

Walk hurriedly with a spring: Crispy Clunkk-Clunkk-Clunkk ...

It's amazing how that by simply stepping on something - the kinetics transform into sounds and that opposite force (feeling of the stone)... and you get rhythm and maybe some soul.