Welcoming Ramadan

So, Ramadan was here again, and since I was able to cancel the clinic tomorrow, I went about for prayers. I initially thought about visiting my Mum after prayers, but since it was quite late, I decided otherwise.

Being the first of Ramadan also meant that the mosque was full. The place was buzzing with small children. As per usual, I would leave when the click hit 10. Tonight, the prayers went only to 8 rakaat. As a result, I actually finished the prayers with the crowd.

Since in school, I have always loved Ramadan for the atmosphere as well as the food. Looking forward to visit the Pasar Ramadan - or two - tomorrow afternoon.

Happy Ramadan all.

Rain Yo

Gloomy day driving in, just in time for Ramadan tomorrow and my day off from this afternoon. And then it started to rain, which was a welcomed change since the haze was threatening to return. Hopefully, this would wash the haze away and I could enjoy my couple of days off.

So, what would I be doing? Looked like it would be a touch of shopping with Puan Anita. And maybe a special treat for my birthday.

KL International AV Show

I remember going to this event about 5 years back, at the similar venue - JW Marriott opposite Pavilion. I was surprised then to find out that the exhibits were quite literally in hotel rooms. It was a similar affair this time around as well. This time, I went there with Puan Anita. And this was the first time she was there.

During my days in the UK, I used to have a hi-fi system. It was a Rega Planar 3 turntable, Audiolab amplifier, Arcam Alpha CD player, with a separate DA convertor. The cables were from Linn and these were connected to a pair of Mission floorstanders. Not a bad setup actually.

My dream was one day to own a Naim amplifier and CD player, connected to Linn speakers. So, I saw just that yesterday. And still, I couldn't afford them.

The show itself was OK. Since it was late afternoon - we arrived there at around 6, with the doors closing at 7.30, those who were left were enthusiasts. We spent some time on the lower floors looking at cinema displays and sound system. Nothing really fancy. The newly released Panasonic 70 inch LED was quite good, and retailing at just over 10K was reasonably prices too.

Anita was looking for an integrated stereo system, similar to my Zeppelin Air at the moment. After browsing on a few models, the Zikmu Solo caught her eyes, but the sound we found lacked weight. Maybe it had something to with the space we heard the speakers at. There were too much sound from the adjoining rooms to really listen. At the end she decided against buying it.

I spent some time listening to the Audiolab line-up. The current amplifier series was called the 8200s - my 20-year-old amp was part of the 8000 series line-up. The sound coming out of the bundled Mission floorstanders were quite sweet, until I realised that the setup also had a couple of power amps strung in. Too much wiring and of course, too costly. Not the time to indulge in such luxury at the moment. Maybe in a few more years.

In the end I was glad that I went. I learned a lot about what was available. The only thing I missed was the chance to have a look at a Bose system. I couldn't find them in any of the exhibit floors. This was the system I wanted to install in my office at the apartment.

Sweet Perfume

Anita had been collecting perfume since I started to know her. Her favourite brand had always been Dior. Today, at KLCC there was a special Dior collection arriving in town, only for one week.

It wasn't your typical bottled perfumes but more of the real scent. These scent came in concentrated form into bottles and the smell was not similar to the retail offerings. You could only get such perfumes in Paris - I remember seeing something similar when I was there.

Before you order, you had to go through a list of questions. This would predict the scent which you preferred. At the end of answering those question, Anita was offered three scents. And they were spot on. It was really good. Unfortunately it was really expensive. So, expensive that Anita felt that she could use that money to buy herself a full set of Raya clothes.

Clever girl!

A Dinner or Three

I had a couple of dinners to celebrate the coming birthday. It seemed that all were cramped up during the last weekend as to have the feasts before Ramadan. Not a bad idea.

The first one was just with Puan Anita right after visiting the AV fair. Tomyam because she wanted so. Great dinner and after a tiring day - post call, I slept well that night.

Irfan trying to wind up his uncle

Last night, it was a dinner with my father-in-law who would be celebrating his birthday on the same day as me. We had Chinese, because the boys wanted so. Great meal again.

But at the end of the day, I was still left to dwell on what I really wanted. Sounds like an excuse for another dinner outing.....