Kick Into Overdrive

What a day.

It began with a trip to the dentist to remove the sutures due to the wisdom tooth extraction I did last week. The dentist was glad that for the past one week I did not feel any pain. I'm gladder, I'd like to think. And I had been a bit paranoid as well - just after the pain medication prescribed by the dentist was finished, I was afraid that I'd feel more pain that I got myself more pain relievers. I liked the dentist for one sole reason: he always took the time to compliment how I got nice teeth. Kui kui. Siapa tak suka dipuji. And he performed the extraction of the stupid-tooth (for a wisdom tooth it sure cost me some headaches and a very hefty sum for it to be removed - RM600, in fact. So it deserved the stupid-tooth name) without me feeling any pain at all. The suture removal went by smoothly and painlessly and less than ten minutes later I was free to roam about for the rest of the day. From the dental clinic I took a cab - which did not use the meters but charged me a somewhat reasonable RM5 to take me to SACC Mall. I had a mission here actually.

I've been wearing the same glasses for two years now - it's high time to get a new one. I kept thinking that two years are just long enough for my myopia level to increase. After getting the budget approved, I went to Focus Point and began browsing around, finally settling on a Soda glasses frame which is priced RM199. The kindly optician did a checkup on my eyes and I found out that I've maintained my 'eye powers' - meaning that I was no more myopic now as I was for the past two years. My myopia degree is high now, if it increases I'll have to consider Lasik or wear Coke-bottle's-base-thick lenses. Whew! Got the glasses done nonetheless - I hated how the pictures turned up to be whenever I wore glasses - the shots always ended up with my glasses reflecting the flash from the camera. The glasses - frames and lenses - plus some special offers, are priced at a modest RM450. Hoped it will turn up well. I kept thinking that it's just so suspiciously cheap for my level of myopia. We'll see how that turns out. Will blog about it separately.

Sempat snap masa tengah try glasses - sebab tak nampak sendiri bila try on the frames. So had to snap the pic of me with the frames, then wear my own glasses to get a good view on it.

Aidilfitri is approaching and there is lots of boutiques in SACC Mall selling Baju Melayu. Decided to get myself a pair since I have worn the same Baju Melayu for two consequtive Rayas. I didn't really have any color set in mind so I just browsed around for the ready made ones, until my eyes fell on two colors which attracted me the most. Two. Couldn't choose which one I liked better so I decided to buy both of them. And I took one kain sampin songket as well that goes well with the two Baju Melayus. However I then found out that the shop did not accept cards and I didn't have lots of cash with me, so I tried a trick from the book - by asking whether the shop can hold the two Baju Melayus with a deposit for a couple of days. The shop had no problem doing so, so I put in RM50 deposit.......and I got...uhhh.....adalah some amount more to pay.....~gulps~ That's it then: no Baju Melayus or sampins until I have finished housemanship at least. That's two years. But after judging the number of times I wear Baju Melayus in a year, I can probably stretch the time till I finish the first two years of M.O.ship as well, since I only wear them for Rayas (Aidil Fitri and Adha) or maybe while attending Tarawih prayers. So that makes four years. However Mom has a different opinion: what if a new color strikes me fancy? Hmmmm.....But, but, but....I still have the Baju Melayu I bought when I was in matriculation (that's seven years ago). I even wore it last Raya while attending open houses because I liked the color a lot.

Then from SACC Mall I took a cab to Shah Alam commuter station, for RM7 without using the meter again. Since the price is still hovering at the reasonable area I decided to just take it since it was raining cats and dogs and beggars can't be choosers. Hopped in the train that took me to KL Sentral for my date today with an exgroupmate - Dr. Vanitha, or as we call her - V! I had V's graduation photos with me since V went back to Malaysia early. When the commuter arrived at KL Sentral, I decided to just wait for the crowd to disperse before taking the stairs, so I sat down and continued reading the storybook I was reading (I will blog about it later). But before I could finish the third line somebody poked me from behind. It was another ex-groupmate - Dr. Umi! Wow. Totally unexpected. Funny how amidst the very crowded KL Sentral we could still meet. And her first comment to me was so unflattering, yet so true - I had gained weight. Hoho. The bane of living in Malaysia where the food is good and cheap, especially when one has lost eight kilos staying in Russia where the food can't be compared to the ones here. That's it then: no more dinners and I've got to stop eating nasi lemak during breakfasts. Ramadhan dah dekat so I better make use of that too. Isk.

Haven't installed Macromedia Fireworks yet so I can't edit new pics, and I forgot to snap some pics of the meet-ups with U and V so I pulled some old photos from and old entry, when I reached quarter century old, back during those good ol' moments in Kursk. The first pic, left is U. The second pic, left is V.

The meeting with Dr. U was very brief because she and her sister were heading elsewhere and I needed to go and meet V. Waited for a while and V came - and I once again heard the very true-yet-unflattering comment from her. Haha. That's it then. I will make it my resolve to shed off these evil weights during Ramadhan, a thought shared by my uncle as well. There's a gym here in the condo area, and a swimming pool, so I'm so gonna use those. Free for those who live here, and I live here.

Chatted up with V over a drink and a dessert, of how much we did not miss Kursk. Don't know whether we'll be singing a different tune when we've started working, since uni life is supposed to be much, much better than working life, but for now we're glad that we don't have to think of going back to Russia anymore.

Around 3PM I headed back to Subang and took a cab to IOI Mall Puchong - and was charged RM20 sans meter. What is it with taxis nowadays - the effect of the fuel price hike and the domino effect that follows it. Once a couple of weeks back, I got a bit of that daring streak and asked the taxi driver flat out of his reason of not using the meter, and was treated with a sad grandfather story of how this and that are more expensive nowadays and so on and so forth. That may be true, I admit, but the money they're getting... the ones they're feeding their families.... is it by an honest way. By a halal way? Thoughts to ponder about. But since I have agreed on the price, the whole exchange is probably made halal.... Nonetheless I decided to just forget about it. The cab drivers were at least polite about it. Ramadhan pun dah dekat kan....

Lunch at Kenny Rogers. I prefer Kenny Rogers to KFC when it comes to a meal consisting of chickens. Had the 1/4 roasted chicken with mash potatoes and double portion of coleslaws, two muffins and a tall glass of ice blended chocolate. Mana tak gemuk...

Had an early lunch at IOI Mall and got bored soon because I have lost the service of one very good companion today, who has been a loyal and close companion to me for the past two years. It has globe-trekked along my side, to London and some other places in the United Kingdom during my solitary winter holiday in 2007, to Saudi Arabia during summer 2007, the long bus trips during Euro Trip 2008, throughout my boring bus trips to and from the hospitals in Kursk, the long taxi and train journeys from Kursk to Moscow, while I was cooking or doing the dishes and to drown out the nenek tilik's incessant lecturings of why I was still awake at midnight doing the dishes (she couldn't steal stuffs if students are awake that late). Yeah...my MP3 player dah jadi arwah. RIP. I didn't chuck it out just yet with hopes that at least the files inside the USB MP3 player are still retrievable. Still haven't checked it yet. I found out that without my MP3 player I resorted to another way of keeping myself preoccupied - by a storybook Ayman gave me. (will blog about it later as well).

Rest in peace. Arwah Creative MP3 Player, 2006--2008. You shall be missed. Though I don't appreciate how suddenly you died on me, ajal di tangan Tuhan kan so tak apalah, saya redha dgn pemergiannya. Until I get a new one, that is. Menambahkan satu kerja lagi, have to look for a new MP3 player. Mom suggested me to 'hint-hint' on Zayd whether he wanted to pass down his Ipod. Hah. Fat chance.

Replacement of the MP3 Player yang dah mati. The novel is titled Girls of Riyadh. TIME reviewed the book as "Sex and the City, if the city in question were Riyadh". Caused quite a stir I think upon its publication. Frowned at the title at first: sounds a lot like novel for women, but Ayman insisted that it's a good book and he had read it. Him being all macho and all so I thought what the heck, long commuter journeys might as well spend the lull usefully. Amalkan budaya membaca. I'm halfway through it now and I am hooked. Will blog about it later.

From the mall I hailed another cab to get back to my uncle's condominium, and here I was charged a hefty RM15 sans meter. But my feet are killing me, I still have not prayed at the time and couldn't locate the surau at IOI mall, and I just wanted to get out of the mall before I spend more on unnecessary stuff or eat unnecessarily. I don't like it one bit, I really felt that I was conned here.There was a group of taxi drivers there and all of them agreed on RM15. And while it was spitefully amusing to hear them speaking in English to me I still was a bit mad that I got conned in broad daylight, but I kept silence. My uncle have already told me: no taxi in Puchong uses the meter nowadays. I've been warned. Hu hu.

So dead tired, and I'll have to go back to Shah Alam this weekend to get my new glasses and Baju Melayus. And oh yeah....I have to spend the whole Friday studying for a test this Saturday. What test? Ah....that's for later too. But it'll at least solve the taxi problems for me, since I've already got the means to do it, I just don't have the necessary skills yet.

P/s: I know the title doesn't make sense. Saja je.