PC Fair 2004 (I) - 16-18 April

Have some extra moolah to spend and been looking around for a new piece of toy / gadget / equipment / whatchamacallit?

There might be one waiting for you at the first PC Fair for 2004, which starts today at PWTC.

This discussion thread at the Klang Valley Palm User Group forum offers an interesting read on how to get the best bargains, suggestions of economic gadgets etc.

See you there!

Choczlatey moments

[Kit-Kat chocolate bar. Not available at Chocz.]

Contrary to popular belief and several other ‘published’ opinions (read: blog posts, heheh), my first encounter with the famous Aztec, an unusual drink from Chocz @ RM8.50/cup (excluding service charges) did not:

Sedate me to a state of extreme calmness any more than the usual cup of hot chocolate usually does

Render the world to seemingly revolve at a slower pace on its axis and earth time to pass at a fraction of its usual rate of 60 seconds per minute

Bestow (fancy word for give) upon me a heightened level of perception; or

Make me feel horny, either hormonally-induced desires or in relation to the pointy things that bulls usually have on their heads

The hot drink did, however, possess a certain shock factor from the mixture of the piquant chilli with the dark richness of cocoa; leaving a weird but not unpleasant aftertaste where the shock factor gradually diminishes with each hot sip as the concoction swirled in my mouth and played with my taste buds which kept on shooting messages through the nerve-highway to the taste central in my brain, saying, now-this-is-the-taste-of-a-perfectly-good-drink. And the unique cup, oh, I loved it! Looked a bit like a cream jug to me, all white and curved with its cute little ‘spout’.

The others in our little group were milkshake-devotees, they ordered yummy banana and vanilla-flavored blends. I failed to persuade at least one of them to go for a Nectar, where you get to personally melt chocolate pieces (your choice either white, milk or dark) so the drink will be at the consistency of your heart’s desire, as thick as you like. And the way to drink it is straight from the burner! Sounds heavenly, eh? No need to ponder over what to order during the next stop at Chocz, then.

Anyway, all of us did however feel soooo sleepy and full afterwards (we had some cheesecake, onion quiche and chocolate tarts as well); the plush green sofa seats were so comfy that it took us awhile to finally get our butts off them and say our goodbyes. Now on that, we echo our agreement in unison.

P.S – Do try the chocolate tart – like having a perfect, no-frill solid mass of delicious, top-grade chocolate on pastry. Kenyang, I tell you.
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Read other bloggers' take on Aztec and Chocz (if you haven't already):

My Sweet... My precioussss... (with pictures)
Warning! A Chocz post!
Pheromone Chocolate Aphrosidiac
Nectar from the Cocoa Fruit

Chocful of Chocz!
All About Chocolate

A conversation in the car

"Mama, siapa Timbalan Ketua Pengarah kat (her workplace)?"

"Sekarang, Uncle Shukor."

"Wow, terror kan dia."

"Hmm... one of my best friends, Uncle Shukor tu. I've known him from the time he was a young, unmarried guy and unsure of himself, masa tu nak buat presentation pun takut-takut. Tapi sekarang, tengoklah. I think he's going to be Ketua Pengarah nanti. He's in the right place."

"Mama takde can nak jadi Pengarah ke?"


I try to imagine, see where I might be 25 years from now.

Should I be like Uncle Shukor too? Work hard, be at the right places at the right times, do the right things to climb the rungs up and up over the years? It's already there, one just have to climb it, up up and up when one could.

Or would I ever be brave enough to venture out and blaze a trail of my own, where it's up to me to create the ladder, where I'd have the opportunity to scale the heights as high as I want to, as long and as hard as I am willing to. But I know it won't be easy.

One spells comfort zone, the other a challenge.

I'm not saying it's a breeze, all milk and honey la-la-land where I am now, but there are decisions that I have to make sometime in the future, and I have to start thinking about them now. And it's always one or the other, as choices are wont to be.

All the pros and cons.... I just don't want it to be up to a point where it becomes a Hobson's choice.

Or maybe I do.

Hobson's choice, anyone?

I had a conversation in which the particular phrase turned up (with context to a certain constituency's candidates in a certain recent election - no prizes in guessing which one).
Out of boredom I looked it up.

Hobson's choice \HOB-sunz-chois\, noun:
A choice without an alternative; take the thing offered or have nothing.

E.g.:
1) Fagan's defense revolves around his insistence that he faced a Hobson's choice and had to act.
--Laura Parker, "Discovery of daughters never followed by reunion," USA Today, May 11, 1999

2) The stakes are just as high for the deep-pocketed traditional retailers. A recent survey by Jupiter Communications showed that only 6% of e-commerce sales are new spending. The rest come out of the hides of brick-and-mortar retailers. They're faced with a Hobson's choice: Make the plunge online or face a terrifying alternative--gradual extinction. (Ted: Aiyo so panjang la this example)
--Heather Green, "The Great Yuletide Shakeout," Business Week, November 1, 1999
(Source)

"Hobson's choice" is said to have had its origin in the name of one Thomas Hobson (ca. 1544-1631), at Cambridge, England, who kept a livery stable and required every customer to take either the horse nearest the stable door or none at all. Why? Oh, he had a very valid reason.

In 1914 Henry Ford offered customers of the Model T a famous Hobson's choice, making it available in "any color so long as it is black."

There's also a movie (1953) entitled Hobson's Choice starring Charles Laughton, John Mills and Brenda De Banzie, directed by David Lean (based on an original humorous play by Harold Brighouse, 1915); and a hardcore band of the same name.

If you are bored, like me, pay a visit to the Phrase Finder for the origins of your favorite phrases.

Next phrase, please!

I told you it doesn't take much to keep me amused :)

Numb

I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired, so much more aware
- excerpt from Numb, sang by Linkin Park (as if u didn't know that)

Felt as if I’m in one of the Twilight Zone series (cue theme song) or something the whole morning. I imagine this could be what it feels like to be given a mild tranquilizer shot (or something to that effect). Everything seemed so calm and peaceful, I feel like I could go do anything and nothing will happen. Nothing good and nothing bad. And I don’t feel like doing anything. Not really. This happens, sometimes. So with an ice cream cone in hand (a Baskin-Robbins double scoop special, Majoca-something on top and plain pecan at the bottom), Ted the Numb wandered aimlessly around the mall at lunch (it’s good to have one so near to the office). She read all the posters in the music shop window. She pondered at the various titles at Pay-Less Books. She watched a promo video showing all sorts of useful home appliances at the DIY Depot, but after the clip on that useful window cleaner which could do a million other things as well the screen changed into a blurry feature of black and white fuzz. Okay, time to get back the office.

Oh, but that was then. Back to normal mode now. Window shopping and additional sugar in the bloodstream can do wonders, I tell you. And the thought of a future date at Chocz for an Aztec (blame all of them bloggers who raved and raved about it like there’s no tomorrow), an upcoming play with Jit Murad in it at Actors Studio and a new book to read. Ah… it doesn’t take much to pick Ted’s spirits up.

Anxiety

Do this, says she
I will, say me

Then I did.

Show me, says she
I will, say me

When?
Tomorrow will be a good day.

That day
Is today

Is it good?
Is it bad?
But she makes me wait. And wait. And wait.

Anxiety makes me feel light-headed.

The Melaka Connection

These are what Melaka town means to us, today. While we were going in circles around the place, trying in vain to locate that ever-elusive way to the beach of Klebang, we found that Melaka is the Malaysian town with:

the most number of petrol stations per km squared. Definitely. With an average of roughly two stations every five minutes’ drive.

the most number of mosques, ditto. Average one mosque every 10 minutes’ drive.

the most number of ’Sehala’ (One-way Street) signs, ditto. Forgot to count for average.

No, we didn’t find our way to Klebang beach. Yes, we did ask for directions from the locals. Defeated, we headed back to the highway and had to drown our sorrow in this:

[The perfect concoction to soothe the frustrated souls. Thank you, Baskin-Robbins!]

Other Melaka pics here.

What, you mean I’ve never told you ’What’s the matter?’ got its own Fotopage already?