However, I now owe said ISP an apology and instead place the blame on the dark, dank, rat infested attic in which two telephone lines in my humble abode snake through. Apparently, the one leading to the kitchen no longer function.
Anyway, here's a recap of yesterday's events.
The 25th of November company dinner is the second one held by Tommy at his upmarket bungalow. Just like the previous on, our chef of honour was the French cuisine master trained Ooi Chuen Theang, who while Chinese, has been mistaken for a Japanese in Thailand.
The day started with me waiting for my mother and sister to rise from the soft, bacteria and dust-mite infested graves we call beds.
After dropping me off at Tommy's house, they went off to a destination I wasn't interested in. Proceeding to the kitchen, I discovered Tommy and Song Han at work preparing the main course for the night, (correct me if I am mistaken) medium-rare beef. There wasn't much to do after the pieces of halal cattle were placed in a spice infused wok half-filled with water put to boil.
If my memory serves me correct, this step was to tenderise the beef and remove the strong cologne cows usually put on when they headed for their big prom at the abattoir.
Tommy then left us to our own devices to freshen up. There was still some mutton and people to pick up. I know, people are an acquired taste, but you will start enjoying them after your first bite.
Tommy emerged, and we followed his lead in smoothly sidestepping the various pieces of wood and metal lying on the ground. In a jiffy, we picked up Chong Yang before heading to... Oh dear, I can't recall what happened next.
Well, excuse my bout of amnesia and fill in whatever you will to the three missing hours of my life to the moment we had lunch in a dilapidated building serving sumptuous and slightly unhygienic chicken rice.
Ah... Now I remember, we picked up the mutton and various chunks of organic matter and sent them over to Tommy's home before departing for lunch.
We very much wanted Peter join us four for lunch, but he didn't seem too attached to his cellphone. Frustration and Boredom conjoined and Epiphany was born. I decided to 'miss call' Peter a hundred times.
Mischievous antics aside, we finally met up with Peter at Gurney's Starbucks for a long heated meeting about our business proposals for the HSBC Young Entrepreneurs competition. Peter set forth to blast my proposal with the usual “Malaysian mentality”, “Asian mentality” and “World apathy” which made my blood boil. Seriously, I felt the veins in my neck swelling with boiling blood.
After all, if the World doesn't even want to spend good money on safer alternatives to save itself, what more can I do? Then Peter will ask me how I will change them. Then I will answer I can't change them, people have to change themselves. Then he will go back in a circle and lament the utter stupidity of the loopholes in my idea, and receive my emotionally charged response before heading to the bedroom for some – Whoa! Angry sex is something everyone should try out with their spouse.
Fortunately, the people surrounding us prevented the latter part from happening.
The discussion was admittedly, fruitful, and a thorough rewrite of my proposal is in order, particularly after finding out the proposal must not exceed 1000 words, not fewer than 1200 words. Quite certainly, I went overboard.
After terminating the meeting, we were dragged into the mall because we still had some time before the pre-dinner preparation, and partly due to a calling some of us had to answer.
I finally picked up my first (discounted, thanks to Peter's Popular Card) Edgar Allan Poe book.
It got late, so we headed back to Tommy's home. Tommy, the chef of honour, headed right to the kitchen, while the rest of us hovered over his wide-screen laptop like drooling geeks over an undressed Alienware machine.
Occasionally, some of us headed to the kitchen as ambassadorial representatives to help Tommy out with the dishes.
Somewhere around 1830 hours, Peter piggybacked to church. Me and Chong Yang stayed backed to give praise to our own gods, Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb.
Soon, my mother and sister arrived to join us for dinner. They patiently waited while Tommy slaved over the first course, fish and cheese.
The fish was marinated in lemon tinged water, then infused with basil, salt and pepper before it was sent into the oven buried in cheese.
Now drool over the picture of juicy fish topped with hot, melt-in-your-mouth cheese.
I learnt to prepare a unusual appetiser from Tommy as well yesterday. Ever heard of boiled Pepsi with ginger? Health concerns aside, it was rather pleasant.
The fish was served half-an-hour earlier than the agreed time, which meant Peter would miss out on the fish. Fret not for you weren't alone - Tommy graciously skipped this meal too as there wasn't enough fish to feed everyone.
The beef was a different story altogether. Medium-rare, topped with gravy, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, it was much more filling than the fish. In fact, my sister ate a Chinese teacup size worth of food for breakfast this morning because of the size of the meat served.
Desert consisted of strawberries with tiramisu. A sweet way to end the dinner.
Before nine, it was all over. And the guys sat down for an impromptu lecture on the facts of life from Dr House.
I fiddled around with Tommy's computer, experimenting with various add-ons for Celestia and installing Picasa 2.
My sister took a go at it too and all too soon, it was time to leave.
Me and my family would like to give a heartfelt “Thank You” to you, Ooi Chuen Theang aka Tommy Ooi and your family for the generosity you have shown us. Not many employers would invite their employees over to their bastion of comfort for a wonderful dinner.
Until then,
Live Long Prosper,
May the Force be with You.
