Kampungkayell

Food, life, and fun in my "kampung,"(village), KL (Kuala Lumpur). Did I mention "food?"


By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Why do people wait until the eleventh and a half hour before they order anything???

Everyone knew Raya was coming up next week. But noooo, they have to wait till Friday evening before they even begin to consider WHAT to order for friends and family!

People, it's a long weekend. Most Malay muslim families are going to be on holiday cum Saturday 21 to 22nd of November. If people take just 3 working days off, they get the entire week.

Guess what? I think that many of them have done that! So asking us to deliver cakes on Monday is going to be an exercise in futility.

But the businessman in me says, hey, if you want to do it, I still will try to accomodate! ;-)

One of the sweetest things in a business like this is that you get to mingle with people who are usually celebrating something.

Yesterday, a lady, let's call her Mrs Lim (not her real name) called and ordered a cake. Her husband saw me doing a song and dance routine at the Kelana Jaya Rotary Club - not literally you understand; I have no wish to e the elephant in the pink tutu from "Fantasia" - and he asked his wife to order a cake from us for their 26th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Lim tells me that in the 26 years they have been married, this is one of the VERY few times he has actually remembered their anniversary and she was literally bubbling over with excitement. She called at least 3 times to clarify her order.

I felt as fuzzy as Abby's ears. And almost as warm.

On a more sombre and sad note however, my cousin's wife's father passed away. I suppose you could call him my uncle. I spoke to her today and expressed my condolences. But what with work commitments and rushing about yesterday, I totally could not attend his funeral and cremation.

Sigh! I felt sooo bad!

Anyway, she was very understanding and frankly, she was taking it all very well. The father was about 80ish, so he had had a long life. And I guess that was what was keeping them going.

We're in the business of celebrating life. But sometimes you get reminded that without that stepping stone we call death, there would be very little to celebrate in the here and now. In a way I think the mortality that we face conditions us to watch ourselves and celebrate the moments.

By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Hmmmm...

How the hell did that arabic get into my last post?

Oh well...I think I was never meant to put those thoughts down or to complete that blog so I'm just going to start a new one. Tried to post it twice but the first time the electricity went off before I could post and the second time, this happens.

Onward ho!

This weekend was a mad mad weekend. We have a relatively large order going out tomorrow and it was one of those weekends where we had to work Saturday, Sunday, AND our usual day off, Monday!

I'm not complaining mind you.

Orders are coming in for the Raya boxes and as Martha Stewart says, "that's a really, really good thing." For those of you who read "Martha Stewart Living" and Weddings, you'll know what I mean.

My Mum, Allan's Mum, Sarm Yee, Tai Yee, Ng Yee, Yue Ling, and sundry other warm and able bodied people came over to help which took a lot of the pressure off the both of us.

Having said that, this is still a stressful time of the year for both of us. And I really need to try to control my temper. Say no more!

It's now 9.11pm according to my computer clock and I'm off to watch Scooby Doo and take a break. Minus the kit kat. But that Lemon Meringue Pie in the fridge is another story!



By Allan Yap & Nigel A. Skelchy

Arggghh!

Wrote something profound on Saturday only to have it WIPED out by a power failure.

Oh well...

Where was I? Oh yes...

What was Tun Mahathir's one pivotal act which defined his tenure as Prime Minister?

IMHO, it was the fact that he resigned. Wait! Wait! Hold the rotten eggs...

For many literal minded people in Malaysia, that would not be a compliment. But for him, it is. 6 months ago, I had doubts that he would actually go through with it. I was not alone in that regard. Heck, forget 6 months ago...3 weeks ago I was speaking with someone and he was of the opinion that a scenario would be invented to keep him on.

I stopped for a moment. While I felt it was too late for him to invent something, when you have a cult of personality around you, sometimes that cult can take on a life of it's own.

Anyway, before I go off to far on this tangent...

Why do I think that his one pivotal act is to resign? And yes, I use the word deliberately.
- آخرين فيلم شيرين نشاط، The Last Word، به دغدغه های يک زن نويسنده ايرانی ميپردازه و به تازگی در نيويورک اکران شده. نميدونم اين فيلم به خوبی فيلم "طوبا"ش که پارسال در موزه هنر های معاصر نشون داده شد هست يا نه. ولی شديدا مشتاق ديدنشم.

- به يک کلاس سفالگری خوب هم نيازمنديم.���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������