The Father's Day Shift

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoAn early start, and not entirely by choice. Anita had decided, with the gentle immovability she reserves for these things, that I was going to the KL International Motor Show, and so I was. There's little use arguing with a plan once she's settled on it; the wiser course is simply to find your shoes and go along.

I got the rounds done by ten, and by eleven we were at MiTEC — ahead of the crowd, which on the final day of a motor show is the only sensible way to arrive. Parking, that great barometer of one's timing, was effortless, which told me everything I needed to know about how right we'd got it. An hour later it would have been a different and far more tedious story.

The show spread itself across two halls, comfortably uncrowded, and we managed to see most of it without the usual shuffling and craning. It was, tellingly, mostly Chinese and Japanese manufacturers this year — the balance of the motoring world quietly shifting in real time, on a Sunday, in Kuala Lumpur. We spent a good while at Zeekr and Xpeng, the Chinese marques that seem to have arrived fully formed and rather sure of themselves, all clean lines and large screens and an air of having skipped a few steps the rest of the industry took decades over. I'll admit they're impressive. Faintly unsettling, in the way of things that are clearly the future arriving slightly ahead of schedule, but impressive.

The Perodua, for what it's worth, was not bad at all — a perfectly respectable showing from the home side, holding its own amid the imported confidence. There's a quiet national loyalty that stirs at moments like that, whether you mean it to or not.

We were done in a couple of hours, which is about my natural limit for admiring cars I have no intention of buying, and had a quick lunch at the venue before heading off to PJ. The mission there was specific: wagyu cuts for dinner. Because it was Father's Day, and the dinner in question was one I'd be cooking myself — which is, I'm aware, a small and pleasing absurdity. The father, at the stove, on the one day nominally arranged in his honour. I wouldn't have it any other way. The cooking is the gift, as far as I'm concerned. Standing over good beef with a glass of something nearby is not a chore I need rescuing from.

So I cooked, and it was good, and we ate well — the marbled fat doing its quiet work, the whole thing requiring little of me but patience and a hot pan. And then, simply, we relaxed. No more agenda, no more halls to walk, nothing left to see or do. Just the slow settling of a full Sunday into evening.

A motor show I was talked into, a meal I talked myself into cooking, and a day that turned out rather better than its early start had any right to promise. A good Father's Day, by any measure I care about.

Another Breakdown

It had been a bad Thursday all around. As I was driving back to Subang after settling the school fees in Gombak, the car suddenly made a weird noise. It was in the garage for service only a couple of weeks back, and within a couple of days a warning light appeared. I thought about bringing it back to the garage later but I was just too busy.

It turned out that there was a leak on the water tank and the engine the carburettor had run dry. The engine cut off as I was driving along the highway, and luckily I was able to veer onto the emergency lane to stop. Called the tow truck and later the car was brought back to the garage.

That was when we discovered the leak and for the next few days, the car would be staying at the shop. I would be using my in-law’s car for the time being. I managed to get back to the hospital in time for my afternoon round but missed the lunchtime meeting.

I was lucky that it happened just after lunch, and I wasn’t in that much of a rush. Hopefully this repair would not cost me a bomb!

An Unplanned Stop

Last night, I planned to join Anita at Melawati who stayed late in Gombak since Idlan had tuition there. It would only finish by 10, and I thought of having dinner with her while she was waiting. I only left after Maghrib prayers but the traffic was still pretty heavy all the way from Bangsar then.

While queuing up along MRR2 not far from Bukit Antarabangsa, the engine suddenly felt sluggish. I thought nothing much of that. But suddenly it stopped. Luckily, the traffic was crawling, and I managed to restart the engine, to find somewhere to stop.

I planned to drive first her towards a petrol station but the ringing stopped again about 2 minutes later.

That was it. I parked at the curb and called for a tow truck - luckily I could call one for free as it was covered by my insurance.

Half an hour later the car was safely parked at my in-law's place in Gombak. I was still able to drive the car up and down the tow truck while it was being sorted out, so hopefully the damaged was not too extensive.

My car was already 14 years old, and there was a light indicating the coolant level being low coming on for the last week. I was planning to have the car serviced later in the week, but I was obviously too late. Or maybe the car caught wind that I test drove another car last weekend? Hopefully it wouldn't turn on me again after this....

So, let's see how the damage going to be like later today...

Afternoon at KLPAC

One of my friend works for Mercedes-Benz and they were doing a test-drive event on some new models this weekend. They were showcasing three new models - the GLE, the GLC and the GLE Coupe.

It was a family orientated event, complete with plays and rides the kids while the parents do the test-driving. I drove the GLC earlier and was waiting for the Coupe over lunch.

I thought Anita wanted to try that ...Lunch. And it was really nice!Anita and her churrosIt was still empty when we arrived but people were trickling in while we were waiting. Anita as usual went to have a look at the food truck. Lunch were provided of course and the setting around KLPAC was just nice for chilling.

Weather was also pretty nice and warm, threatening to rain earlier. Not much breeze unfortunately.

More in the test-drive later as I was still waiting for our second go.

Sabotage!

This happened on the evening I was due to travel to Port Dickson last month. I planned to drive my in-law's car anyway but would have to drive back to the apartment to swap.

I left the hospital late since we had a GST briefing that evening. After a quick dinner, I set off to the car. Luckily, I had a quick look around and spotted the left rear puncture. Luckily one of my colleague drove me back to the apartment and I was able to drive from there to PD after a quick shower. The plan was to sort the car out on my return after a couple of days.

A nice dentFound the nailBut no bolt to fix the spare ...After finishing my clinic on my return, I called in a local garage and they sent a couple of mechanic in. But we found out that the screws needed to bolt up the spare tyres were missing. And a replacement was not available at the shop as well. So, the mechanic had to bring the tyre back to the shop while my car was on a jack, got it patched up and returned.

The culprit? A long nail lodged into the tyre. It was a long sharp one, so patching was easy. That should buy me time before getting a replacement. I wonder where I got the nails from?