A Rearranged Sunday

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoSundays have their own liturgy, and mine began, as it usually does, with football — though today's offering was more passable than gripping, the kind of match you watch out of habit rather than genuine appetite, coffee doing more of the entertaining than the game itself.

Ward round followed, and mercifully it was a smooth one — everything in its place, nothing that demanded more than the usual attention. A good ward round has a way of setting up the rest of the day nicely, like a well-tuned instrument before the concert actually starts.

The concert, in this case, was meant to be a photowalk, plans already half-formed in my head for wherever the light looked best. Dayabumi had other ideas — car park closed, no explanation offered or particularly wanted, and just like that the whole itinerary needed rewriting on the spot. There's a specific irritation to a plan undone by something as mundane as a barrier and a padlock, though I've learned by now that photography days rarely survive first contact with the actual city.

Bukit Bintang absorbed the reshuffle happily enough. Ramen at Lot 10 for lunch, which did the job of resetting the morning's minor disappointment rather effectively — hot broth has a way of putting things back into perspective. From there, books at Starhill, a browse that needed no justification beyond its own quiet pleasure, and a stop for coffee where I tried a Kulai blend — fruity, interesting, and priced as though it knew exactly how fruity and interesting it was. Worth it, probably. I'll decide on the second cup.

Then the rain arrived, as it does in this city with theatrical suddenness, and the mall did what malls do best in such circumstances — became a holding pen for anyone without an umbrella or a plan. I wasn't fighting it. There are worse places to be marooned than somewhere with coffee, books, and air conditioning already accounted for. Anita, meanwhile, was over in Gombak, the day unfolding along two separate tracks that would eventually reconverge over dinner.

That reconvening happened at Ali Cafe, a meal that asked nothing complicated of either of us after a day of rearrangements and rain.

The evening closed on two very different registers. First, finally starting Star City, the For All Mankind spin-off I'd been meaning to get to for weeks — a quiet, unhurried way to ease into the evening. Then the rather more chaotic pleasure of the British Grand Prix, which delivered exactly the sort of late drama Silverstone does so well. Charles Leclerc took the win after the race finished under the safety car, a result that had rather more to do with late misfortune for others than dominant pace of his own, but a win is a win, and he'll not be troubled by the small print.

A day thoroughly rearranged from how it started, and none the worse for it.

Sunday, Slightly Underdone

Please click the photo above to play the daily videoRounds were smooth this morning — in and out with the kind of efficiency that makes you wonder why every day can't be like this. Back well before noon, the Sunday still intact, the afternoon wide open. These are the mornings you bank against the ones that don't go as cleanly.

Anita had plans. Specifically, she had a craving for Pal Gae Ook at KLCC, the Korean place that's served us well in the past. The key phrase there being "in the past." Something had shifted. Several items on the menu were unavailable, which is never an encouraging start, and what did arrive felt like a lesser version of itself. The marinade — the thing that makes or breaks Korean food — had lost its conviction. Not terrible, just diminished, as though someone had followed the recipe but forgotten the point of it. It's a particular disappointment when a place you've trusted quietly lowers its own bar. You don't make a scene. You just recalibrate your expectations and silently cross it off the mental shortlist.

Kinokuniya afterwards, which is always a reliable antidote to a mediocre meal. There's something about wandering a good bookshop that resets the day — the smell of new pages, the unhurried browsing, the pleasant fiction that you have time to read everything that catches your eye. Azul's book was still on display, which gave me a small flush of reflected pride. There's a quiet thrill in seeing someone you know on a bookshop shelf, proof that they did the thing they said they were going to do. Well done, that man.

I also picked up next season's Manchester United jersey, which is either an act of faith or an act of stubbornness depending on how you feel about the current trajectory. New kit, same hope. The cycle continues. It looked good, though, which at this point might be the most reliable thing about the club.

A cappuccino at Smith & Wollensky rounded things off nicely — good coffee, a comfortable seat, the kind of pause that makes a Sunday afternoon feel properly earned. KLCC humming away beyond the window, the weekend winding down at its own pace.

And then the phone. A case in ICU, which is the sort of call that doesn't negotiate with your afternoon plans. Back to the hospital, the shift in gears now familiar if never entirely welcome. You go, you do what's needed, you come home. The day bends around it.

Dinner was quiet — just Anita and me, nothing elaborate, the kind of meal that's more about proximity than presentation. The evening settled into that particular Sunday stillness, the week ahead not yet asserting itself but faintly visible on the horizon. A mixed day, really. Some of it exactly what you'd want from a weekend, some of it less so. But that's the texture of things. Not every Korean marinade can be perfect, and not every Sunday stays uninterrupted. You take what the day gives you and call it enough.

Kopi Susu

The name invoked a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying a warm drink while watching the time pass by. That was also the title of an exhibition at White Box Publika of the work by the artist Soraya Yusof Talismail.

I thought that the subject matter would be happy faces and jovial scenes. Far from that. It was more of Kampung scenes, devoid of people. Just you and nature. And no coffee in sight.

I just missed the forum when I entered. The artist was still in the hall speaking to the visitors.All the photos were monochromic, hence the reference to Kopi Susu or Latte. It was more of the technical process of printing in the end I think. And that may explain the size of the prints. They were too small for the subject matter for my liking. This point was brought home by the impact from a few of the prints which were bigger. Those carried more impact!

There were around 20 artworks on display but no narrative. 

I was there on a Sunday but due to work, I missed the couple of forums organised for the day to supplement the exhibition. Maybe if I were to attend those, I would have appreciated the program a bit more.

Now, this how big the prints should be ....Some background reading and information would have helped a great deal to those casual art and photography lovers like myself. As it was, it was not worth the effort for me going out of my way to see it.

KL International AV Show 2018

This is a yearly event which I was always keen to attend. Not much of an audiophile nowadays but I like good recording. The current hifi setup I had was bought after attending one of this event a couple of years back and it was a good event to see new gears and just have a good look.

This year's venue was a departure from the last one. It was held at Sunway Putra Hotel, right next door to the old The Mall opposite PWTC.

I'm legit!The venue was smaller than before - JW Marriott at Bukit Bintang. But the concept were the same. Using hotel rooms emulate our living room to a certain extand, which gave better acoustics rather than open spaces. But walking through hotel corridors did pose some unique problem. The traffic flow around the venue as well as queue for the lifts proved testing.

So, did I hear any good stuffs? I sure did.

This must have been the most expensive kit on display Some of the gears were deduct loudly expensive and relatively unknown. The rigs were too big and difficult to maintain. I wanted a streaming system which is more practical and would fit both my budget and space.

The one which caught my eyes were the system from Linn. Not an all in one like my Naim set, but sounded excellent. The units were not yet available in Malaysia though. The unit on show were from Singapore although I was welcome to order.

There were some good clearance deals as well as it was the last few hours of exhibition. And I was guilty of picking up a Bluetooth amplifier. I have yet to get a speaker for it at the minute but the deal was just too good to ignore.

Now to the poor man's area ...Headphones were also seemed to be making a comeback ...There were units going in excess of RM100k with great sound. But it would depend on the source. Just a plain CD would not be enough to explore the real quality of the system. Most of the units either use a specialized streaming unit or turntable. Not practical really for casual users like myself.

I may have a closer look at the Linn system once a local unit is available. The sound were good enough for me ...

Cempedak Luar Pagar

My late father loves jack fruit. There is a small plot of land opposite his house on which he planted a few trees. One of them was a jack fruit and for the last few years it had been yielding some fruits.

Not bad actually. And fresh from the tree, my Mum would fry it. I went to visit Mum last Sunday and we had exactly that. Good stuff actually. Yum yum!