Bad Start

So, who spoilt my Monday morning? I bet it was Irfan during the weekend as he was at the back of the car yesterday. Only realised it when I was about to start the rounds this morning.

Luckily I had a free morning. Time to get the new coat out!

Lagi-Lagi Gila-Gila Part II

Last month, I learned that Galeri Petronas was preparing for an exhibition to celebrate Gila Gila. As usual, they did a great job - I'm being sarcastic here - at announcing the project. I waiting a few weeks as there no need to be heard. And finally it was launched.

Anita and I didn't wait long to join along. And it was a trip down memory lane. We thoroughly enjoyed the fare. There were many original drawing with colourful inking on display. Some of them were quite magnificent. The curation was also pretty decent although they could've done a better job in making sure that the artwork were hanged properly with more background stories to read.

The artwork could have been displayed in a better layout

The unmistakeable Ujang. The boy-next-door everybody can relate to.Lipat-lepat! Some origami skill needed!

The old coverMost of the exhibits were just practically glued to the wall of the gallery. The lighting were also pretty haphazard with too many empty spaces. I learned that in a couple of weeks, one of the former cartoonist would be present at the exhibition. But I doubt if he could offer any real I sight into the early operations of Gila Gila, something I wouldn't mind paying money for to hear. I felt that the a ole exhibition didn't receive much input from the original artists. Too many gaps in the exhibit to make the whole thing flow.

But all in all, a commandable effort from all patties involved. I highly recommend everyone to attend this exhibition and hopefully in the future, there would be many more of such shows.

Another character, Matt Romeo. Check out the hair!Tiga Dara Pingitan. Sabotaged by my boys!Those little titbits!More food for thoughts!Wise wordsAt the exit, you could put in your personal touch to the magazine coverGaleri Petronas is located on the third floor of Suria KLCC. Admission to the Lagi Lagi Gila Gila was free and photography was allowed. Patron were even encouraged to post their photos on social media. Great work!

Click here for Part I of this write-up. More information about Galeri Petronas and their other activities here. Some great commentary on GIla-GIla here at Naskah Percuma blog.The slidevideo for the visit here.

Irfan Needs a Pair

Irfan had always been known to use his iPad too much. And I think it was taking its toll.

Last week, his spot in his class was moved to a row behind. Since then, he had been complaining that he couldn't see the whiteboard as clearly as he used to. He said that everything went blurry. I suspect that he needed to wear glasses.

So, we ventured to the optician tonight and sure enough, his sight was improved a lot after trying some lenses. Eye test done, and he chose a slick frame. The pair of glasses would be ready in a week.

Lagi-lagi Gila-Gila Part I

I was in my formative school years in the 80s. And that was when Gila Gila become the mainstream comic at the time. At least in Malay, and one which I could read and understood. It basically served the untapped market of local satire.

With anything else in Malaysia, there were never free speech - at least until the advent of Internet. So, there were plenty of metaphors and commentary of local events which at the time was pretty radical. It was half entertaining comic, but the satirical undertone was what that caught my eyes.

If I remember correctly, this was from Perwira Mat GilaSure, we also had Lat at the time who also communicated in an almost similar vein. But Gila Gila seemed to be sharper, of course helped by the fact that is was published twice a month. I can still fondly remember the trips into Kepala Batas town, cash in hand to pick up the latest issue. Not to mention being disappointed on numerous occasions learning that it had sold out.

This first thing I asked my parents after my bersunat was for the latest copy of Gila Gila right after I got home. I loved it that much.

The famous opening commentaryMy boys sure got plenty of questions to askSome words of wisdomFrom Taiping with Love ...I lost touch with the comic when I entered MRSM Terendak in 1985, but many of the characters were still famous. I still followed Matt Romeo, From Taiping With Love and of course, my facilities the Ujang series when I returned for holidays. Often binge reading them back home - there were no bit torrent or fake DVDs back then to catch on the latest TV series.

Then I went to the UK. I lost track. An on the odd occasion a copy landed on my lap, Gila Gila never had the same appeal again. Ujang was then a separate comic having left Gila Gila, and the magic was gone.

Follow this link for Part II of this write-up. A slidevideo for the visit here.

The Promenade Kota Kinabalu

Unfortunately I was not referring to walking on the side of the beach here. But rather about the hotel I stayed in during my weekend at Kota Kinabalu. The Promenade happened to be where the MSH Scientific Meeting took place and staying there meant that I didn't have to worry about travels.

Anyhow, the hotel was more than capable of holding such an event. The rooms were just being refurbished. And you can tell from some unfinished fittings still left on some of the corners.
The wifi in the room was sluggish and not password protected. The TV channels were limited to 10, with only one sports channel. Luckily United were playing on Sunday, after I reached KL.

The lights on top of the main lobbyThe main lobbyThe reception areaA group of Korean climbers checking in. They looked to be very well prepared.On the first day, I had to get the plumbers to be sent because the toilet was getting clogged up from the previous tenant.

The breakfast was great actually. And the waitresses were attentive and polite, unlike some of the venues in KL which I was used to.

As for the hall, it struggled to accommodate the sheer number of delegates. We didn't plan for 500 people to start with, this being Kota Kinabalu and all. But we were wrong. Yes, we had to partition the ballroom for the pharma booths to fit in, which can get rather noisy. The ceiling in the meeting rooms were also rather low, but we coped OK. The AV system was UK although I stayed away from the wifi. My iPad has good LTE signal on the hall floor.

The bed was cosy enoughA nice seating area by the windowThe corridor from my roomThe hotel was also within walking distance from the town centre, the beach front and the Filipino Market which was a hit amongst the nurses. Transport in and out was simple via taxi.

On the whole, it was a pretty decent hotel. For lunch, I had some Chinese dim sum which was not bad. More of a working lunch rather than anything. Would definitely try it again if I return, although Sutera Harbour would still be my first choice.