what dinner over traffic jam taught me~

I had to work fairly late last night and ended up leaving office late and in a dire need for food to get into my stomach. As I was driving back about 9.30 at night and of all things to happen, I had to get stuck in a traffic jam.

It was bad enough I had a tough day at work, being stuck in a traffic jam with a hungry, growling stomach really does not make matters any better. Without giving it much thought I took a quick turn into Jaya One, a commercial zone with heaps of eateries. 

Quickly searching for a decent parking lot, I went to look at the eatery directory and I found myself in a state of bounded rationality. Choices, choices, choices, choices...... just too much choices of eateries! Just check out the list below.

Al-Esfan	Banana Leaf	Blk D, Unit 23-G	Palm Square	03-22834336
Al-Esfan	Indian (Mamak)	Blk D, Unit 63-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-22834336 03-79579786
BBQ Chicken	Fast Food	Blk M, Unit 12-G	Palm Square	03-79548722
Brisik	Indonesian	Blk M, Unit 10-1	Palm Square	03-79586681
Brussels Beer Café	Belgian Beer House	Blk L, Unit 20-G	Palm Square
Coffee Bean	Coffee	Blk K, Unit 2A-G	PJLA
Cubes	London Chinese	Blk L, Unit 18-1	Palm Square	03-79586616
Divino	Wine Bistro	Blk M, Unit 6-1	Palm Square	03-22878368
Duck King	Chinese	Blk M, Unit 8-G	Palm Square	03-79579819
Fireman BBQ	Steamboat & Grill	Blk C, Unit 43-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-77277432 03-78800707
Frontera	Mexican & Bar	Blk L, Unit 18-G-1	Palm Square	03-79588515
Gemini Creation	Gifts & Flowers	Blk B, Unit 21-M	Health Wellness	03-79576003
Halo Café	Café & Live Music	Blk L, Unit 16-G	Palm Square	03-89413229
Hanazen Japanese Restaurant	Japanese	Blk C, Unit 43-G	Palm Square
Headquartrs	Fun Pub	Blk C, Unit 37-LG2	Wai Sek Kai
Jaya Noodle House	Chinese	Blk C, Unit 35-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79542639
Killiney	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 55-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79585545
Kinnaree	Thai	Blk M, Unit 12-1	Palm Square	03-79573910
Kissaten		Blk L, Unit 12A-1	Palm Square	03-79541990
Kluang Station	Kopitiam	Blk D, Unit 11-G	Palm Square	03-79579039
Lucky Nine Bistro	Pool & Pub	Blk D, Unit 3-1	Palm Square
Nando's	Fast Food	Blk C, Unit 33-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79606555
Old Town White Coffee	Kopitiam	Blk C, Unit 31-LG1	Wai Sek Kai	03-79555321
Restaurant Oversea	Chinese	Blk J, Unit 35-LG-1	Life Learning	03-79569911
Santini	Italian & Bar	Blk D, Unit 3-G	Palm Square	03-79578866
Secret Recipe	Cakes & Café	Blk M, Unit 10-G	Palm Square	03-79606859
Simply Fusion	Local & Western	Blk D, Unit 13-G	Palm Square	03-79582291
Starbucks	Coffee	Blk M, Unit 6-G	Palm Square	03-79607224
Sun Wong	Hong Kong Café	Blk D, Unit 47/49/51-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79562911
Tappers Café	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 5-G	Palm Square	03-79583198
Tasty Treats	Malaysian	Blk D, Unit 59-LG2	Wai Sek Kai	03-79581770

After staring at the list for a long time, I gave up and just walked into the restaurant right next to the directory. I just couldn't be stuffed thinking about where to eat when my stomach was already screaming out for food. I walked into a fast food chain called Wendy's.

Took my queue, ordered my food and took a nice cushy seat. I was in no particular hurry so I took my time to enjoy my nice 3 layered beef burger. It was at that time I realised I could see a lot of activities going on around me. I found myself really taking the time to enjoy my burger and at the same time just to really observe what was going on around me. 

I was surprise to note that I really observed a lot that was going on around me. I saw a few parents trying to stop their kids from running around the restaurant, I saw a few love birds enjoying their meal together with some couples feeding each other fries, I caught a glimpse of the kitchen and how the cooks handled food with gloves, I saw two guys in a deep discussion probably over a business proposition, I also saw one guy having his hand on his partner's bum as they were walking out the open air sitting area (Hawh! Thought you were discreet right? Guess not buddy!).

Anyway, my point isn't about what I saw while at the restaurant having dinner and waiting for the traffic jam to clear. My point is about taking a break, slow the pace of your lifestyle for a while and just enjoy what the world offers. The world has heaps to offer - from a nice juicy 3 layered burger to a breath of fresh air up on a hill in say, New Zealand. 

So go on out there and see what the world has to offer and slow the pace down. Our bodies like an engine will give way if we go at doing things at high gear continuously.

~Path of Time~ by Micky Foo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Ever tried do nothing useful? It does wonders at times!

You probably think I am crazy with this blog title. As simple as it may sound, I can bet a good majority of us find it difficult to do nothing or may well just find it impossible to do nothing. Everyday, its about doing something - slotting a class time in our diaries, setting a date for dinner, doing the house for a small party, feeding the baby, and doing this, and doing that. Awfully realistic and painful to know that your own life is governed by doing things and finding so little time to do all of it eh?

Recently had lunch with a friend of mine, who is in the advertising line. It was a Sunday afternoon, and he simply couldn't get his mind of work. He was constantly looking around the restaurant, looking at the decor, paintings, pictures, anything around just to find ideas for his work. He simply wasn't given a chance to just enjoy his lunch with a friend and not let work get in the way.

We each in our own ways have an agenda. We are all lobbyists for our own cause, our own opinions, aspirations, status, or career. While there's nothing wrong with getting ahead, whatever that may mean, it can also be an enormous relief now and then to lay down our own cause and enjoy wherever we find ourselves on its own terms.

We all need a reason to do something, find an agenda, set a date, plan something, think about doing something ahead of time...... I think you get the picture. But is that really true? On the contrary, we were groomed that way and we become like that because of how the society perceives life should be - all about making use of our time to DO something!

Last weekend, I drove past a cafe and saw this elderly man probably in his late 50s sipping a cup of coffee and just staring into blank space. That really got me thinking; I mean its not about sipping the cup of coffee as doing something but just really enjoying the surrounding. At a cafe, it really isn't about the coffee or tea that you drink but its about just sitting there, hearing captions of conversations, eavesdropping on what the next table might be ordering, having your own thoughts and just watching what is going on around you.

But no, we must almost find something to do. For most of us, just having a cup of coffee to drink can turn into an opportunity to do something - sms someone, Palm Pilot to put in more chores, Blueberry for news or even checking out a bypassing opposite sex.

The pleasure of doing bestowed upon me when I got home one Sunday after my lectures buggered and just brain freezed from the knowledge overload. Added to the fact my body was still recovering from the gym work I did the day before, my muscles ached all over and I was in a dire need for a warm shower to relax my muscles and my brain.

So I turn on my heater, go as hot as I can take and just step into the water. Seeing the steam coming of my body and the ground was really a good relief. The hot water bouncing off my body really made my muscles feel good and relaxed, the steam cleared my nose.

I didn't realise it but I was standing in the hot water for almost 45 minutes. I did not have any significant thoughts or worries. Not that I was unconscious or I had fainted, but I was merely vacant and simply not preoccupied with any agenda. I trul felt at ease and at peace.

Mabye and hour in a bath may not be your idea of a good time, but the point is not the bath but the rested mind that, in my case, it gave rise to. We all have our own ways. It's not what you don't do, it's the way you don't do it.