The Curious Man

"Spontaneity is the ally of good works."

I can't claim it as mine, for Paulo Coelho taught me a lot in his stories. 

Few days ago I grudgingly promised my aunt to follow them back to Lukut (yes, Malaysia. Again) to visit my grandma. There goes my plans to start preparing myself to settle in for work. But spontaneity always have some surprises in store for anyone, even a grudging soul, I suppose. It's a good time to catch up on my reading, since there is really nothing to do in this lazy town. The relatives and cousins are still occupied with work.

It's feels good to be in touch with words, the drizzle which never stop, the cool wind caressing my skin, long lazy afternoons of reading.

And today we caught up with one of my uncle's friend, visited his apartment which is under renovation. A quirky man in his 60s, divorcee with a partner in Thailand and his family in Australia. Ex-Malaysian, now Australian. Talked about his hobbies and chatted abit longer in a mamak shop. 

I'm curious how his house will turn out to be like in time to come. He's a curious retiree. In the midst of the mess in his house, I think he has good eyes for furnitures and displays. 

This quaint lamp caught my attention. Pretty exotic, the bulky base and lovely details makes it unique. I'd love to have something like this to add character to my house. 

He bought these from the flea market some days ago, dirt cheap (and dirty too) and he polished them himself, no price for guessing which pot underwent his makeover. Well, he claimed to use it for Chinese tea. Which my aunt and I thought it suited Arab tea better.

Two interesting paintings of boats which caught my attention as I nestled on his sofa to enjoy the cozy afternoon breeze.

Apparently his furnitures had good travel stories to tell, some made in Denmark, some donated by his friends (and some were chairs from a conference room!), others made from tweak from England. Gosh, these furnitures, how well travelled indeed! 

This furniture improvised as a coffee table at the balcony. Love how vintage it looked!

Well, he asked if we'd like a cuppa. The coffee machine looked rather complex, I wonder if it would have to take a barista to operate it.

One of his hobbies, and that indeed made the corner come to life.

A look upwards and there you see a rustic fan, well contrasted with the white roof.

I like the marble flooring, don't get to see much of these anymore.

Perhaps you would have the same question as me, "what's mr bean's bear doing here in an old man's place?" And then the chuckle in my heart was greeted with a marvel, this man is rather young at heart! 

The house really is in a mess waiting to be renovated and arranged. The little finds however, tells me that Albert is indeed a man who has quite some stories to tell. 

Sometimes, we just need to open our eyes to beauty in everyday living. 

Looks like a holiday well spent and my grudge slowly dissipated with all the curious finds. :)