The Real Deal

There was a massive traffic jam in downtown KL on Friday and Saturday and all because a departmental store had a sale for its members (how low the prices were slashed and how real were the so-called deals, I have no idea). I always find it funny that over here we are more prepared in the material aspect of life when it comes to celebrating Ramadan and Eid – as evidenced by the annual thronging of shoppers along TAR Road and Masjid India come rain or shine and the purchase of cookies and decoration items– than in the spiritual observance of fasting and celebrating Eid. Another example: over here, we are actually overjoyed when Eid arrives, whereas the more knowledgeable among us would actually weep and wonder whether he would see Ramadan again.

Anyway, I went out early on Saturday morning and headed for the MATTA fair. I was pretty sure that when I last visited it in March (yes, I’m a regular visitor and never fail to attend one unless I’m away), there were banners saying that the next fair would be in October, i.e., after Eid, so I was surprised to discover that the fair would still be held in September as usual despite it being a fasting month. I decided to take my time to browse as I did not want to unduly exert myself: from previous experiences, MATTA visits would leave me feeling knackered and hungry. I’m happy to say that I managed to secure some deals, alhamdulillah.

A rainy Saturday afternoon greeted my exit and I thought, just the perfect weather to be in bed under the duvet!

Later that evening, I made my way back to Ampang.

On Sunday Morning, I walked to SPCA to check out its Jumble Sale. There were a lot of things on sale, some in good condition, some not so. There were piles of used clothes (whether gently used or not, I could not tell) with Indonesian and Filipino ladies excitedly rummaging through them (I did buy ‘gently used’ clothes before from Oxfam in England but they were in mint condition); shoes (I spotted two pairs of Bruno Magli!); knick-knacks; small ornaments; toys; kitchenware items; and books and magazines. I ended up buying three books – a paperback Memoirs Of A Geisha, a hardback The Kitchen God’s Wife and a paperback The Wrong Way Home – all for RM7 (or about USD2/GBP1.15/Euro1.4)!!! All three cost less than a single second-hand book at Pay Less Books store, and I dare say, they cost less than some food items too (but alas, you can’t eat books of course. I remember Mummy getting annoyed because I was such a bookworm and would be engrossed in my books that she asked if my books would fill my appetite).

I am so chuffed with the deals I made over the weekend! One thing though: the area where the books and magazines were arranged was the nearest to the animal cages and area and I tell you, I almost gagged at the overpowering stench. I had to cover my nose for the first fifteen minutes before I became accustomed to the smell. Now I’m having second thoughts about volunteering for animal causes (is that bad of me?). I then went to pay some cats a visit: they were so cute and adorable, purring and greeting me from their cages but I can’t adopt them. Because they will all die and leave me alone.

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It was also an International football weekend. England won unconvincingly 2-0 over Andorra and my hero helped David Villa to score for Spain. While I’m delighted that Andy Murray beat Nadal to meet FedEx, I think it’s outrageous of the F1 stewards to penalise poor Hamilton. And so the race for the driver’s title continues.