Self-indulgence

I had treated myself to a little bit of self-indulgence yesterday ....... Well, all things considered, it was more than "a little bit". Actually, a lot of self-indulgence yesterday.

I took the car for a spin from Bukit Mertajam down to Kuala Lumpur in the morning to test out our latest toy, the Garmin Nuvi 1250. This model's main difference from my old Nuvi 205 is the split screen giving 3D views of major road junctions. Plus, the 1250 is chattier. It just can't keep it's mechanical mouth shut, even warning us whenever we happened to exceed the speed limit or approach a camera junction. Shhh, but I shouldn't be saying this! Anyway, I found it more user-friendly than the 205, a little more accurate, but I can't say that I'm wholly satisfied with the unit. Like all GPS units, the 1250 still has its limitations.

My daughter accompanied me on this trip and she drove much of the way and within KL too. I just sat beside her and talked to her. As I looked at her sitting confidently behind the wheel (her first major drive along the north-south expressway), it struck me that my "little girl" is all grown up. You know how it is like with parents. In our eyes, our sons and daughters are always our "little boys" and "little girls" no matter how big or old they already are. But seeing her beside me, chatting with her and treating her as a grown-up, I realised suddenly that she is my "big girl" now with a life of her own and a career to call her own.

Anyway, we arrived at the Yut Kee restaurant in Jalan Dang Wangi a little after one o'clock in the afternoon. It was packed but it was just the perfect time for our lunch. And just the right day for a slice or two of the restaurant's fabled pork roast. The proprietor's son, Mervyn, saw me and beckoned me to two empty seats near the back of the restaurant. We ordered my all-time favourite Yut Kee French Toast with kaya and of course, their irresistible chicken chop.

Everything else that we did in KL was secondary after that, including a surprise visit to the expanded Dato Arthur Tan Chess Centre at the Wilayah Complex where the 37th Selangor open chess tournament was being played, a leisurely drive to the Mont Kiara Plaza and a short visit to the Mid-Valley Megamall.

Eventually, I arrived back home at 11.30pm last night. Whew, was I bushed, having taken all the major transportation methods available in a single day - car, train, bus and aeroplane - save for the motorcycle and the bicycle. It has indeed been a very long and tiring, but eye-opening, day for me.