Today, Kakak hits the magic double digit figure.... which also means that we've been parents for a decade...
and we went to this place for dinner. When Kakak was a little girl we used to dine at the place often, but i think the last time we were there was probably four years ago. I know the owner of this award winning fine dining outlet from our local mosque. Years ago, with three friends, we took our then High Commissioner for a dinner-discussion to the very place, which led to the official birth of Persatuan Masyarakat Melayu UK two weeks later at his residence, Rumah Malaysia.
Anyway, we had steamed seabass + chicken paprik + seafood tom yam + tofu-mixedveggie. But Mummy reckons she had better food at The Ivy the other night.
... and earlier this afternoon, i waved goodbye to everybody at my workplace in Blenheim Park. After 2.5 years driving up to 70 miles a day thru a winding scenic rural road, i'm rejoining a local practice which i left four years ago.
Seminggu lebih lalu, atok dapat tawaran kerja di sini. Ofis ni besar, ada byk branches termasuk di overseas. Atok akan kerja di Reading ofis lah, yang mana mainly buat projek2 housing... macam yang atok dok buat for 5 years di tempat kerja lama atok di Calcot dululah, my first job. In fact, ofis ni pun tak jauh dari ofis lama, seberang motorway M4 tu je, di Theale. Boleh kata jarak antara dua ofis ni, dalam 2-3 min drive sahaja.
Dahtu, kawan lama atok di ofis lama pun bagitahu boss lama, atok akan join ofis tu. Boss tu kata, kalau atok nak masuk balik ofis lama, yang atok tinggalkan pada tahun 2003 lalu, bolehlah datang sembang-sembang dan tengok-tengok. Pasal apa, sejak tahun lepas, selepas partner lama pencen, ada beberapa perubahan yang agak menarik telah berlaku.
Jadinya, hari Jumaat lepas, atok pun bergegaslah ke situ lepas kerja. Ofis ni takde lah sebesar dan seglamer ofis yang satu lagi tu... tapi, kalau atok masuk balik, mostly yang kerja situ semuanya dah kenal belaka, kengkawan lama. Takde masalah nak adjust to the working culture, office politics and serba man nenek tu. Hari ni, HR Manager dah email atok, offer jugak....
Package antara kedua-dua ni nak sama je, tak jauh beza. Pening hah...mana satu nak pilih, arghhhh!!!
Malam sebelum event ni, N, the organiser, tepon Atok.
N: "Boleh tak I nak mintak you jadi photographer esok?" Atok: "Mmm... okyalah." N: "Pakai baju Melayu ek. Thanks."
Jadi, setengah jam sebelum event bermula (12 noon utk lunch), dengan langkap bersongkok dan bersampin songket, Atok pun bergegaslah ke Global Cafe tu, tak jauh, 5 min drive je dari rumah. Dah parked kete kat South Street, Atok pun jalanlah ke Cafe. Ada another kawan Melayu lalu with his MPV, lepas hantar kuih kat Cafe, dia nampak Atok... "Eh! Siap pakai baju Melayu!". Atok senyum and angkat tangan.
Di Cafe agak kecoh, banyak lagi belum siap. Caterer yang sepatutnya bawa food tiba lambat, semua orang kecoh sana sini. Meja pun tak siap lagi, tempat bakar satay belum, charcoal belum, macam-macam... kecoh amat. Crew yang filming untuk RTM dah siap sedia... kamera di tripod. Atok pun sibuklah snap sana sini... behind the scene shots la konon.
Tetiba.... S, main guy behind the event datang to Atok.
S: "Can you do me a favour? Our chef cut his finger, can you bring him to the hospital." Atok: "Oh no! Okay... let's go."
Maka bergegaslah Atok ke A&E Royal Berkshire Hospital... tak jauh, another 5 min drive. Chef terluka, dalam juga, jari telunjuknya, nak cepat... buka tin cooking oil. Atok drop dia depan entrance dan pusing gi parked kete tepi jalan. Dah tu, masuk je A&E.
Semua orang tengok.... semestinya bertanya: "Apa jenis pakaian mamat ni? Apasal pakai 'skirt'?"... something like that lah kot. Punyalah ramai pulak orang time tu. Rata-rata, 90% sports injuries... main bola, semuanya kaki... chef sorang je cedera jari.
Dipendekkan kisah... nak dekat 3 jam baru selesai, chef kena 3 jahitan. By the time kami balik ke Cafe, dah jam 3 lebih, even pun dah habis. Atok kata: "Hari ni aku dok model baju melayu di hospital je."
Apa-apa pun, the event tu kira berjayalah. TDC officers (sorang datang from KL) pun puashati. Malamnya, untuk dinner buffet... banyak improvements.
Ada 3 Ahad lagi this event: 15th April, 13th & 27 May. Semua dijemput.
Kakak's 2009 Diary:
>The King & I @ Royal Albert Hall
>The King & I Presscall
>The King & I recall audition II
>BBC Bo The Spirit World audition II
>The King & I recall audition I
>BBC Bo The Spirit World audition
>The King & I audition
>LCB Masterclass Kakak's 2008 Diary:
>LCB Final Audition
>LCB audition
>Lion King Cub School audition
>Scientific Toys photoshoot
>Bicester Village advert casting
>BBC All About Animals photoshoot
>Stagecoach end-of-term show
>Ballet Medal Test '08
>BBC All About Animals casting
>Knorr advert casting
>Zoey 101 magazine photoshoot
>IKEA Commercial casting
>Key Stage 2 SAT Exam
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Grade 4 Exam
>Street Dancing 2008
>Nintendo DS casting
>Clarks International photoshoot Kakak's 2007 Diary:
>BBC Girl Talk photoshoots
>Mawi's London Debut
>Hippie-hippie Shake filming
>OMEC Merdeka Ball
>Merdeka Carnival
>LAMDA Exam
>High School Musical Summer Workshop
>'Walking Bus' Campaign photoshoot
>The Golden Compass re-shoot
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Grade 3 Exam
>BBC's Girls Talk audition
>Honda F1 car launching
>Northern Lights/Golden Compass filming Kakak's 2006 Diary:
>Northern Lights/Golden Compass filming
>Run, Fat Boy, Run filming
>Young Performers 2006
>Philips: The Simplicity Event 2006
>British Airways advert casting
>Ballet Medal Test/Award 2006
>Aladdin pantomine audition
>Zena Holloway underwater photo shoot
>Royal Ballet audition
>CFC-free inhaler promo photo shoot
>Clarks Shoes International photo shoot
>David Beckham Football Academy casting
>Royal Academy of Dance Ballet Exam Kakak's 2005 Diary:
>The King & I UK Tour
>Fashion Photo Shoot - Covent Garden
>Ballet Medal Test/Award 2005
>Cinderella audition
>GMTV recordings
>Nutcracker 2005
>Cinderalla 2005
Previously employed by
Ridge & Partners LLP, Oxfordshire
Syarikat Pembinaan Anggerik, London site office [contract] for the New MSD/Msia Hall project