CELEBRATING A FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY AT COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF

I managed to get Mr. Shafiq Jaafar, an ex-colleague of SMK Dato' Jaafar, to go out of school during lunch hour on his birthday. I specifically chose Plaza Pelangi as the venue was near to his working place.

We had Aglio Olio and Tuna Sandwich at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. REASON: Only these two items in the menu were available at that time. Thank God, they were good.

It was only a short dine in session as he had to rush back to school. Wishing Mr. Shafiq a great birthday and thanks for being THE Mr. Handyman who is always willing to help when there is any emergency that requires repair or mechanical-related problem solving issues.

DOING MY BIT FOR SOCIETY

The initial plan was to get fruits from the supermarket at Plaza Pelangi. Then I saw a Blood Donation Drive taking place at the open area of the mall and decided to contribute something to the society.

As I was about to get into my reclining seat, one of the nurses asked whether I am a teacher. So I asked her, how did she know? She told me that one of the nurses on duty is my ex-student of SMK Taman Universiti. I was fortunate enough as I suddenly had someone who had to become a photographer and this time, the whole thing could be documented.

Thanks Ms. Azlina Salam, from SPM batch 2003, for introducing yourself as my ex-student. It is always a pleasure to meet an ex-student after all these years. And thank you for helping me take photographs and she even recorded a video for me.

And there was a bagful of gifts for the donors this time, with all sorts of items inside - mostly food like biscuits, a bun, a cupcake, a mooncake, a bottle of mineral water, 100 Plus in a can and a Milo box drink. Then there were also face masks and a beauty facial mask, a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a red pen. Try to spot the odd one out. 😀

This was the first time I went home with a goodie bag filled with a lot of things inside. I guess if the organizers of Blood Donation Drive could offer something like this all the time, there would be more people coming to participate.

SANDWICHES FOR LUNCH AFTER SCHOOL

It is a 4-day school week and we will be having a longer weekends as the Prophet Muhammad's [PBUH] birthday falls on Thursday. A group of colleagues [of SMK Dato' Jaafar] decided to grab some sandwiches at Subway Restaurant in Pelangi Plaza right after school.

The place was empty when we arrived so we dominated most of the space there. In fact, the whole mall was quite empty and this similar environment could be seen in all the malls in the city. Business has been very bad and there should be some negative impact to the nation's economy.

Once all the food was gobbled down, it was time to head home before we will see each other again in school next Sunday. Thanks to the one who paid for the meal and we will try to gather again after school after this.

ENTERTAINING GUEST SPEAKERS WHO CAME TO SCHOOL

We had this programme where guest speakers for a few subjects were called to school to give talks to form five students on how to score better grades in their upcoming examination. As for English, we had Mr. Bobby Chan, an old friend whom I used to work together for PT3 Exam last time.

Since the canteen was already closed by the time the slot was over, I decided to take Mr. Bobby out for lunch outside so we went to Vivo Restaurant in Plaza Pelangi. We had our chicken chops and coffee and I hope that the meal was good enough to make Mr. Bobby come back again next year. 😁 But it was really good to get the opportunity to sit down and chat again just like old time.

Actually there was another friend from SMK Mutiara Rini who came to give a talk for History subject yesterday. I took Mr. Nazri to have Briyani at Sri Pelangi Briyani in Taman Pelangi for lunch after the session, but I forgot to take a photo there. It was always a pleasure to accept (old) friends as guests and entertain them during their official visits to school.

GROCERY SHOPPING DURING THE MCO PERIOD

Doing grocery shopping is not something new to me. However it is not the same anymore when one has to go to the market during the MCO period. There are just too many restrictions and changes that shoppers have to adapt.

I just chose to visit the hypermarket in Taman Suria which is located near to my house. First of all, it opened up for business very early at 8.00 a.m. as they had to close shop by 8.00 p.m. At the entrance, they were two staff waiting - one would be pumping the sanitizing liquid onto your palms from the bottle while the other would be checking your temperature. If you were healthy, then you would be given a small numbered card so as to keep track of the number of customers in the market at one time. A crowded space should be avoided as this could make the COVID-19 virus spread easily. The whole family members could not now enter the place but only one - specifically one of the parents. Everyone was seen wearing face masks which showed that the precaution measure was taken really seriously.

Do you know what is one the most sought after food items during this pandemic era? Gardenia bread! I was lucky as the new batch of bread just arrived but the shelves were all empty when I first came.

H A P P I N E S S

Everyone was also observing the social distancing directive. Instead of the usual exciting and cheerful mode while doing grocery shopping, the ambience was now sombre and formal. When people passed by in the shopping aisles, they were just eyeing each other suspiciously and was trying to get rid of the other person as soon as possible. Shopping had become an obligation rather than the more relaxed weekly/fortnightly/monthly routine activity. People just wanted to grab whatever they needed and rushed home quickly.

I had been out for more than 14 days so I had to seize the day. I had to maximize the usage of the valuable face mask. The next stop was the Cold Storage Supermarket at Plaza Pelangi because that was the place where I could get better and fresher supplies of fruits. And there were even lesser people. As usual, a staff was waiting at the entrance with the hand sanitizer bottle and thermometer.

GOOD NEWS: Gardenia Bread was in abundance here! If you are looking for your daily supply of Gardenia, it is actually a matter of being at the right place at the right time.

The last place was the market at Kampung Melayu but I did not take any photos there, except of two cats eating. There were still kind people who went out to feed the strays on the streets at time like this.

My first time going out of the house after 2 weeks of self-isolation during MCO period was something to remember. I counted disinfecting my palms, front and back, 5 times - twice at the two supermarkets, and three other times at the pharmacy, the bakery shop and the bank. Wearing a face mask was not a pleasant thing to do, and people got confused really easily. Two people spoke Chinese to me, but that happens to me all the time, even without the mask.

MY HOMETOWN GASTRONOMIC ADVENTURE - MY VERY FIRST VISIT TO SUSHI KING

10th MARCH 2020 ~ It was time to go Japanese for our (late) lunch and Sushi King Restaurant at Plaza Pelangi was the place chosen as planned. It was my first time trying sushi in this food chain outlet but not my first time trying sushi though. Before this, it was either the ones from AEON Supermarket or the sushi I ate when I was on my trips to Japan.

Sushi King was having this Bonanza Offer where most of the sushi cost only RM3.00 per plate. This should be a very good bargain especially if you could gobble down a lot of this rolled rice with variety of topping and filling.

I am not an avid fan of sushi and after some time, all the sushi tasted just the same to me. However, I do not mind coming back just to hang out, chat and try all the moving and colourful sushi on the conveyor belt.

Thanks Mr. Wan Mohd. Nazri for the lunch treat and you should start thinking of another place to go to after school before the fasting month starts.