Most predominantly, we have war in the Middle East. Sure, its never really been peaceful there but the Israeli Military and the "Hezbollah" (hizbu-llāh) have been trying to eliminate each other from the face of this earth. On its own, this may sound like a good idea except that innocent by-standers have been made to pay in the form of collateral damage. The tragedy at the ancient city of Qana was prime example. Jesus Christ turned wine to water there a long time ago but the Israeli Military tried to one-up him and turned buildings into rubble, stone into sand, life into ashes. I guess it may be hard for me to understand what with me sitting here comfortably so many miles away; although, the concept of war has never failed to confuse me. Not that I'm some peace-loving hippie who holds dearly the idea of flower-power and free-love.
American singer/songwriter and anti-war activist Holly Near wrote a song entitled "Foolish Notion" which I first heard while studying in New Zealand. The simple lyrics have always stuck with me and I will reproduce it in part here:
Foolish Notion
Why do we kill people who are killing people
To show that killing people is wrong?
What a foolish notion, that war is called devotion
When the greatest warriors
Are the ones who stand for peace
Yes, why indeed....
Closer to home, I am in the process of organising a Treasure Hunt for the Penang Bar. This time I will be assisted by the Young Lawyers' sub-committee which is of course headed by none other than Jo herself. The Hunt will be on 17th September. More later.
After quite a long while, Jo and I tore ourselves reluctantly away from Ethan, to go on a trip to KL on Friday 11th August till Sunday. Although it was a short trip to a place not so far away, we found it quite difficult to leave the little guy behind. Funny thing this parenthood thing...
While in KL, we managed to assure ourselves that he was ok in the hands over his over-cautious Granny (my mum) and later in the care of both his Gramps (Jo's mum) and his Grandpa (Jo's dad). Never mind the new maid. Pretty useless.
So with that assurance, we went about our business. I had arrange for some business meetings to make the most of the trip, so Friday afternoon was spent meeting with some KL lawyers who were looking for a firm in Penang to work together in handling a variety of work for their clients here. I had intended to meet up with Alvin, an old friend and also client, to work out further details of his new venture but he had to return to Singapore on short notice.
We had driven down with Mel while Jinny and KH were to arrive that night, leaving Penang only after 7 p.m. So that night, Mel, Jo & I went for dinner at a recommended Spanish Restaurant located at Tengkat Tong Shin. Its called "El Cerdo" which in Spanish literally means "The Pig". No halal meals served there! The meal was a refreshing change and certainly thoroughly enjoyed. Our host was very friendly too. Werner was previously the General Manager of the Penang Mutiara. So we bantered on Penang stories and Penang people. He made a valid point about how Penang people aren't really a stingy lot. They are merely stingy IN PENANG! He has seen many a Penangite spending lavishly in London, Paris and KL!
Our after meal drinks was suppose to be firstly at "Luna Bar", then changed to "No Black Tie" but finally we got lazy and settled at "Hemmingways" which was a short walk away. As we were all a little tired out, we called it a night earlier than usual, arriving back at our accommodation (The Zon Suites) just in time to greet Jinny & KH! They started out late and Jinny apparently took over the wheel from a sleepy KH only to find themselves in Sungai Buloh somewhere!
The next morning, we got an early start and headed to Ikea where we spent the whole of the morning. Then it was off to The Curve, the mall across the street. We met up with Abby and Warren at Starbucks as they were helping to organise the DiGi Starbucks MusicSeries. We were off to 1-Utama in double quick time and spent the rest of the afternoon there leaving for the hotel around 5 p.m. Our evening plans as organised by Jo's friends Shireen & Jason, were for dinner at "La Bodega" in Bangsar where we were meeting up with Abby & Warren and Jimmy & Angela, an old friend of mine from school and his wife.
We had a great night, and it was great to be able to loosen up in front of good friends. Unfortunately my friends Aarolyn & Chin Seng were not able to join us as we couldn't change our booking. Hopefully, I will be able to make it up to them next time.
The next morning, a little weary from the night before, we skipped breakfast in favour of a hefty lunch at the famed Jogoya - Japanese Buffet Supreme! We did a quick round at KLCC and proceeded for lunch. It was bye to KL after lunch and we were more than glad to see the island of Penang looming ahead as I drove towards the bridge. Both Jo & I were missing Ethan terribly and were thrilled to hear his trademark cheers whenever he saw us.
It's back to work for this week but the Bar Dinner will be this coming Saturday 19th August. Hopefully more photos and stories then. Ta!
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