Glimpses of May and June 2009

A lot of things happened over the holidays which ended yesterday. Many photos were taken, but only a few will be shared here. Perhaps some experiences do not require verbose expositions.


26 May: Met up with Alissa for the second time, having picked her up from the Bangsar LRT station the day before. She was on the lookout for a digital compact camera; she has since decided on the RM1300 Fujifilm Finepix F200EXR, having at first considered it too pricey.

I generally recommend Canon cameras, but I think the Finepix F200EXR is easily the most promising digital compact around today. Of course, digital cameras come and go with more randomness than Malaysian politician deaths, so the best today may easily be superseded a few months down the road.

Film is still the best investment, if quality is paramount.


29 May: My primary school, Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Segar. The place has since surrendered its serenity to the hustle and bustle of development.


2 June: The new café at the Faculty of Science. It is coming along well, but Fitrah and I think it is way to small to cater to the faculty's colossal population.


4 June: At the Alumni Conference for Excellence hosted by UPM this year, I discovered that a Victorian, Sabrie Salleh, made his mark in campus politics. He is the immediate past president of UPM's Student Council.


4 June: Sunset over the Mines.

The barbecue dinner that night was really something. The VIP table was vacant until occupied by latecomers. I vividly remember what the actual VIPs (all UPM alumni) said, referring to the serving trays in the centre of the table: "This table is for lazy people." They promptly sat themselves down at the other tables.


6 June: Jessica introduced me to Food Garden at The Gardens, the most peaceful and inviting food court I have ever seen.


9 June: Nigel picked up a Father's Day card for Mr Rode. It would travel with me on adventures to Kuala Pilah and Sekolah Sri Sempurna.


11 June: Dinner at the Bishop's, with his mother, sister Caryn, and sister's friend Hannah. It was splendid, though the onions roasted with the chicken seemed somwhat dehydrated!


16 June: Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, at the Public Forum on Race Relations organised by KITA at the Malaysian Institute of Integrity.

He was rushing for a function at the UM, so it was apt that we, members of the Student Council, attended and stayed throughout the forum!


Marina and Sivin, after the forum.


17 June: The recently very popular teh tiga lapis (three-layered tea), comprising gula melaka (palm sugar) at the bottom, milk in the centre, and tea on top.

Tim, Fitrah and I dubbed it the Bangsa Malaysia tea.


16-19 June was the MPM's planning week for the Orientation and the coming semester. There were many late nights which, unfortunately, ended with quite a bang.


"Daddy's gonna pay for your crashed car," Bono says.

So it was that Father's Day this year was a reminder that I will most likely never be able to repay my father for all that he's done for me, except by paying it forward in the years to come.

Thank you, Dad.