Recently, I got to see my favourite German product, Kraftwerk. But only one fourth of the Kraftwerk I know was there on the stage; Ralf. Our beloved Florian was missing, replaced by a much younger man.
Delighted to hear Showroom Dummies and Neon Lights. As expected, Kraftwerk changed into their neon grid outfit, after The Robots, when four robotic figures appeared before the laptop stands.
I was a little upset that the present Kraftwerk doesn't do crazy things on stage anymore, like bringing in their ENIAC-like synthesisers and drum machines, dancing awkwardly like how they were in the video for Showroom Dummies. Ralf looked a little sad and grouchy, unlike 30 years ago when he showed no emotions.
It's printed clearly on the ticket that no photography is allowed, but the floor was filled with little LCDs coming from digital cameras.
The show ended at 10, and I waited at the lobby to see if there are any photo-worthy attendees. A massive flock of the tall, well-dressed, after-office-hours kind washed me aside and I can only afford to look at them with hidden glee. Not just from Kraftwerk's show, but from a separate hall where an orchestra performance by middle school students of an international school was held. Later I reunited with my mother, who called the show "not a concert, but a music presentation". We caught a cab an hour later and had chilli crab and fried mantou for supper.
There was a day when I was travelling by cab and found that our driver shared his name with one of the richest man in the country [some time ago].
Back in my homeland, I saw a bus stand with a fascinating roof on my way to a breakfast of Kacang Pool.
And even more recently, I was back in the island formerly known as Temasek for a business meeting with an influential streetwear retailer [unfortunately, not my kind of taste]. My entourage rendezvous-ed with our boss at a lovely neighbourhood centre for a coffee.
Later we headed to the warehouse to survey the merchandise...
I spotted a punch card by the lift lobby that had a very interesting name...
After one hour at the meeting room, we were taken to a mall in the shopping district to visit the shop that we are going to invest in. I examined several bags but that's it. We all had lunch at a local chain restaurant that offered me a membership card because it was my birthday month, which entitles me to get some sort of discount off the bill, or something. I told them that I am a foreigner, and the manager immediately presented me a bottle of wine. Oh! Goodness! Alcohol? I couldn't accept it, so I gave it to our hosts.
As we were about to part, one of our hosts came running with a non-woven shopping bag. Inside it was a present for me, in a form of a backpack. Aww... I haven't used one of these ever since I left secondary school. Now, I plan to use it for work.
Back to the car with the investors and our consultant. One of them announced that we would be checking in to a five star hotel nearby. My brain floated for awhile. The keycard envelope says that my room's rate is around € 200 per night. ?! It's like the moon fell onto my lap. The room number was memorable, too.
Down on the driveway, I saw a row of special cars with the letters 'TMJ' printed on its number plate. My mother pointed out that those cars belong to the Johore royalty [the letters stand for 'Tengku Mahkota Johor']. Oh boy!
For the rest of the day, we were out shopping [but not really buying anything]. I visited my favourite Japanese store, MUJI, to get some stationery and snacks. What does it mean by this?
The next morning, I had a very noisy breakfast by a construction site that is on its way to become a brilliant, unordinary mall/apartment, which is something for a Malaysian like me to cry about. A bookstore nearby is selling a very lovely magazine called apartamento. Another publication that's avoiding glossy paper usage. There were only two copies left when I first saw it; this photograph was taken after I saw a man grabbing a copy.
A very amusing afternoon it was, as I watched our investors deciding on a Ferragamo bag. They gladly sponsored a bag and a pair of shoes for my mother just when she laid her sight on one. After the purchase, one of them asked me, "Aina beli apa?" ["What did you buy, Aina?"]. I answered, "Aina beli... air," [I bought... a drink] while holding up a carton of chocolate soy milk. Haha, we had a giggle as I thought, "Yeah, I can only afford a drink". Sentimental times...
We unexpectedly returned to our homeland at around sunset, and had a fun conversation [where I only listened] in the car while queueing at the Tuas checkpoint. One of the topics we discussed was the Johore royal family tree...
A dinner of spicy Mee Rebus we enjoyed at our investors' home followed, before going to the bus terminal to return to KL. As usual, the talk about comparing Malaysia and Singapore came up when a wafting breeze wandered from the nearby butchery. I don't know how we will pull off Legoland in five years...
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