Thursday 7 January 2010

Meeting old friends in the new year

Another obvious sign that you are reaching the veteran phase of your life is when close friends of your age-group start to marry off their kids. You get invited to their wedding receptions and then start to ponder on when you would be holding such receptions for your own children.

We were in Kuala Lumpur on the 1st of January, to attend the wedding reception of the daughter of a close friend. The reception was held at the newly-built Dewan Serbaguna Taman Tasik Ampang Hilir, just off Jalan Ampang. Tasik Ampang Hilir used to be an anomaly of sorts some time ago. The lake, which I presume to be an old mining pool like many others in and around the Klang Valley, is located in an area bordering Ampang/KL. On one side of the lake, you find upmarket dwellings that include expensive bungalows and residence of foreign ambassadors. On another side, there used to be crammed squatter houses that were visible to traffic plying the MRR2.

The squatters have since been relocated and the lake surroundings were developed into a scenic public recreational park by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. The park is now becoming popular venue among Ampang and Pandan residents as place to jog, picnic and in this case, hold wedding receptions.

Groom and Bride

The beauty of attending such receptions is the opportunity to meet old friends that we have not met for years. This time was no different. There was a sort of small gathering of ex-colleagues who all used to work in an organisation in Johor. All of us left the organisation many years ago to pursue separate career paths. But the close friendship still remain.

Old comrades... literally. L to R : Khushairi Hashim, Fadzullah Hassan (father of the bride), Fadhil Isma a.k.a. Oldstock, Hj. Azman Kassim.

Two old couples smiling for the camera. These friends of ours are parents to the young lady who underwent surgery to correct the scoliosis condition that I wrote about here -> Mending a deformed backbone.

16 comments:

mamasita said...

Hai Oldstock..its always so nice and very delightful to meet old and 'old' friends..
Soon soon..Along kawin dengan orang Arab kot..kalau dia nak kawin oghang Melayu, put one of my girls on the list okay?? I kena mintak recommendation dari Mrs Oldstock..hehe

Unknown said...

Ahhhh! Reunions are sweet erk?

en_me said...

dekat dgn ampang point kannns.. ehehe

DrSam said...

meeting old friends always bring joy to me. Wedding reception is always a good place for such an unexpected encounter.

Lee said...

Hello Old Stock, you mentioned Ampang Hilir.
From your description, I guess that place has change beyond my recognition.

Back in the early 70's I stayed at Ampang Jaya and my next door neighbour was the famous Malaysia footballer Abdul Ghani. Opposite was Arthur Koh.
Used to go fishing with Arthur at those old big mining pools.

I enjoyed looking at your pics here...hey, you look good my friend.
And still have nice trim figure. I guess you jaga bada, huh?
Have a great weekend, best regards, Lee.

Pat said...

Isn't it lovely meeting up with old friends? I met up with one recently - via Facebook - and I was so happy we found each other!

And yes, we've both got children who're soooo old now, and yet, we still feel like we did when we were 17!!! Hahahah!

Are you enjoying growing older? I'm finding it freeing, and I'm discovering what 'old is gold' really means!! ;)

Fadhil said...

Mamasita,

It is a bit to early for my Along to think about that. I'd like him to finish studies first but I leave the choice up to him... susah jugak nak berbesan org Arab ni hehehe...

Fadhil said...

Verse,

These are the friends that we share the tough times with... so that's why meeting up again is always sweet.

Fadhil said...

en_me,

Betul. Across the Ampang Point - MRR2 intersection.

Fadhil said...

Doc,

Bila kawan kita jemput majlis kahwin anak diaorng, kita pun terpikir bila pulak kita akan jemput mereka.

Fadhil said...

Lee,

Ampang Hilir has changed quite a lot. It's a very upmarket area now. The abandoned mining pools all converted to public parks.

I am thin from young, so you can't say that I keep fit, although I'd like to fool myself as such :-)

You keep warm my friend. I understand the cold spell this year is really terrible.

Fadhil said...

Pat,

Yes, I am enjoying growing older. Life is less hectic than it used to be because priorities have changed. Looking forward to more free time and perhaps do more traveling.

Anonymous said...

Mr Oldstock, is this the park near that French Restaurant Ma Maison? I didn't know that they had a dewan there for parties. Interesting. Must check it out soon.

Unknown said...

..old friends are like old wood..they made better fires..:)

Fadhil said...

Andrea,

Never heard of the restaurant you mentioned. But the place is on the road parallel to Jalan Ampang, the one behind Great Eastern Mall, heading towards MRR2.

Fadhil said...

Pakmat,

As always, you have a lovely way of expressing things :-)