The one about rants and grunts...

The year has indeed whizzed by. Can you believe it's already near the end of August? This also means busy social season is right upon us plus many important dates are coming up...

Recently on 18th August, our old friends May Ling & Francis came up to Penang with their four kids. We met up at Mel & Stacy's for tea. Since there would be a whole lot of kids around, we brought Ethan along to add to the "festivities". Need less to say, Ethan enjoyed himself immensely and even took to Mel who simply sat in a corner quietly.

Ethan finds a toy guitar... big trouble...

One for posterity...

That very night, we met up again with Sue & Yan and KH & Jinny for dinner. We chose to try out the newly opened New World Park. There, we gambled with a choice of having dinner at "Rou Gu Cha King".


Now, for the uninitiated, the name is mandarin for "Bak Kut Teh King" which is way more recognisable for Penangites. The brand spanking new outlet was reasonable set up and had an "upmarket" feel about it. To put it crudely, it was a glorified Bak Kut Teh joint.

Sadly, there ends whatever good things I have to say about the place. Please note that my opinion about this restaurant remains merely my opinion based on my own experience. Legal Disclaimer here (heh heh).

Having said that - I would avoid the place like the plague. The menu was slipshot and confusing (an obvious attempt to embellish the ordinary), the service simply horrendous and the ambience... well, let's just say there was a very loud live band outside the restaurant which could drown out the sound of a jet engine. When food was served (at least part of our order anyway) I found the soup to be mediocre at best. There was nothing to shout about in terms of variety or uniqueness. For such a place to survive, they would need to blow their guests away with impeccable service. Alas, the only thing blown was the money paid for that meal. They ran out of rice and never delivered our two orders of rice at all. Bak Kut Teh without rice? The place wasn't even full. Hardly four tables were occupied. Jo and I ended up storming out in the end. Enough said.

This coming weekend will be a busy busy one. It will be Jo's birthday on the 1st September, so we have decided to celebrate our usual gang dinner at the new QE II restaurant (no, its not the famous cruise ship but the brainchild of Dave Chin, the owner of Soho Freehouse). We will be meeting on Friday the 31st August and partying on to welcome Jo's birthday at midnight. More on what happens later on...

On the 1st of September itself, we have a function at the Alliance Francaise along Phuah Hin Leong Road. They are having what they call a World Event at 7.00p.m. There will be demos by a Capoiera team (which Mel is a part of), belly dancing and our very own Salsa Rueda dance. Carolyn's dance school - "Ohm Dance" - will celebrate its 1st Anniversary on the 5th September 2007. So, after our little demo/show, we will all be headed to Hainan Town at the Marina (next to QE II) for a "soiree".

Anyway, to prepare for the event, Carolyn has been putting us thru an ardous regime of training and practice. To say that both Jo and I are tired out right this minute would be a severe understatement. Let's just hope we put on a credible performance on the night.

The girls doin' their "thang"...

Hard at work...yet still looking confused...

The dance group... celebrating Amirul's birthday...

In the office, work has been piling up and we are progressively getting busier. I guess its a good sign but I'll keep my fingers crossed in any event. I have two pages of "To Do" items for this week written out on top of my desk and I haven't ticked off many items at all! Phew!

I'm truly looking forward to a great weekend, for that chance to relax and be with good friends.

This post wouldn't be at all complete without a mention that the 50th Anniversary of our country's independence is upon us. From a big picture point of view, Malaysia is indeed just a baby. There is much to learn and a long difficult road lies ahead. I know that sounds cliche but there's no other way to say it. The biggest problem in our country is that we are caught in sort of "time vortex". We are like a pre-teen trying to be an adult. Due to the information age, our knowledge is vast and deep. However, physically, many of us must realise that we don't have the maturity nor the capabilities and resources to walk with the advance and more mature countries. Sure, we are growing up at a faster rate than any developed country but we should allow ourselves time. Time to learn, time to experience and time to heal our wounds. The prize will not be savoured by our generation. Maybe Ethan will have that chance.

Ethan's school "The Learning Garden" has asked that parents dress their kids up in ethnic or batik clothing for school tomorrow morning Thursday 30th August. I'm going with my camera...