school holidays

it's school holidays again, only for 1 week but very good for people who are always stuck in jams. 1 week of relief from jams on the road. i always wonder, why does it make so much difference in traffic between schooling days and school holidays. i can't be that all of the parents with school going children going on leave at the same time.
well i'm not going anywhere. my wife is taking my children for baking class at Grand Blue Wave Hotel in Shah Alam. it quite fun, last year they learned how to fold napkins and baked muffin and chocolate chip cookies. they didn't get to try baking them a home though. guess it's a bit to much work (the cleaning up).
i'm trying to get home early one of these day and take everyone out jalan jalan a bit.

sub plot
last friday i went for a digital movie screening by one of my x staff. tamil movie. but it's got english sub-title. thank God for that or else i would have to had it interpreted to me by my friend who went with me. i haven't watched any tamil movies that have been produced locally but during the Q&A session, many positive comments were given.

what do i think of it ? the movie could have been tighter and more focused. the built up is a bit too long (to build up the characters), the ending a bit too rushed. most of the shots were normal and expected, for me there were only 2 memorable shots, one was when the hero was having a talk with a potential wife in her room, and the other was a tunnel shot which was wonderfully framed, it brought out the mood intended beautifully.

why do i post my comments here ? coz i'm a bit chicken, it was not the right time and he had put in a lot of effort but the lack of crew financial backing took a toll on this film.

it's a very commendable self financed movie. i sincerely hope that he will find a buyer who will buy the movie at a good price. this will help him to continue in his passion.

i've also got an invitation to go for a pre screening of Skali. a movie by perantauan pictures. i know the director. he's also very passionate about making movie and this is his first. he's blessed as he has financial backing and crews. well after watching the film, i shall post my comments here as well. as you would have already known by now, i'm a bit of a chicken, the time won't be right and i know how much effort they've put into it.

taxi drivers

this happened some time back, in fact lots of things happened some time back. accesing the blog through my home computer is a bit slow and me being quite tired from working long hours have shorter patients. this have resulted in irregular posts.
i've not taken the taxi for quite a while now.... must have been around 4 years, i'm always amused by the 'dispatch' girl's voice that seems to be talking to some individuals and i always feel like i'm eavesdropping on them.

my first taxi ride after a long while was to catch a bus to singapore. bus departs from old KTM station at 7.30am. I woke up early, got ready and before you know it it's already 6.40. called the taxi company, you can usually get one in 5-10 mins (or should i say, you used to be able to get one in 5-10 mins), the taxi came at 7.00am. i'm thinking ok, it's still early, no need to panic, 30 mins, is plenty of time.
got into taxi, and the driver was not behaving like a taxi driver. they're re not as fast as they used to be. we were just cruising along. to make matters worse, the legendary Damansara jam was building up. suddenly i doesn't look like i'll be catching the bus, i'm already drawing up plan b in my head. i've never had to deal with this jam as i leave for work at 9.,by then the jam is still there but i guess not as bad.

the taxi driver upon seeing my panic stricken face (turning very pale), asked me what time is my bus. when i told him 7.30, i could almost hear a snigger. this is bad, i told myself. much to my surprise, the driver sprang to 'life', it's like i've given him a purpose and he began to drive like a taxi driver again. jumping q and using alt routes which i did not know existed.

to cut the long story short. i got to the bus station 7.32, the bus was still there. i was the last one on. 2 minutes later i was on my way. feeling good that i did not miss my bus and that the KL taxi drivers are still there for me.

the other taxi ride i took was from Bangsar to KL. this cab driver is the most courteous taxi driver i've met. he told me the route he was going to use to reach my destination and asked if it was ok. me not wanting to look like i did not know what he was talking about just said ok. he tried to make small talk, but i was not in the mood, he saw that and was quite for the rest of the journey.
when i got down, wished me a good evening. how's that. who says there are not good taxi drivers in KL ?