The brain

January 31, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I binged watched a Netflix ‘explained’ production about the brain recently. Sat through 4 of the 5 episodes presented. There were some noteworthy nuggets on topics such as focusing, personality, creativity and brainwashing. The one on ‘brainwashing’ piqued my interest the most. It made me think about how the brain can be brainwashed – controlled, […]

Saying goodbye

January 24, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I have to say goodbye to sister number 3 on Thursday. She arrived on Deepavali Eve. Changed her return flight from 21 Dec to 11 Jan. Changed it again to 27 Jan. After 2 months and 26 days she flies back to England. Her 90-day MyTravelPass visa expires on 1 Feb. I am sad now. […]

Masking up

January 10, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s mandatory to wear masks in Malaysia. Surgical, medical, fabric or respirator masks. In all public places. Indoors like shopping malls and restaurants. Outdoors including parks and while walking along roads. The exceptions are when travelling in your own private car, and when engaging in physical exercise like jogging in the open air. There is […]

Happy thoughts in 2022

January 3, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

What will 2022 hold for me? I honestly don’t know. What I hope and pray for is good health, happiness and peace of mind. 2021 was a year I will remember for a while yet. It was a mix bag of all sorts. I was really happy leading up to my 60th birthday in March. […]

Palliative care

December 27, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘Alert and chatty’ is how the palliative care doctor describes my mum, in her log book, after her weekly and sometimes bi-weekly home visit. Positive and encouraging words. Optimistic adjectives. Happily, also true. My mum is sharp witted and cheeky with her answers and responses to questions and queries posed by her palliative team. She […]

Work. Save. Invest.

December 20, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am comfortable. Not rich. It took me many years – more than half my life – to get to where I am now. I worked, saved and invested a little. I took the conventional route. Yes, there are tech and business entrepreneurs who create apps, run mammoth companies and earn mega bucks. Yes, there are […]

Going to the movies

December 13, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

After a 2-year hiatus, due largely to Covid-19 and choice of cinema worthy movies, my husband and I watched ‘No Time to Die.’ A definite watch-in-the-cinema James Bond movie. We didn’t know it at the time but we were amongst the earliest to see it in Malaysia. A day after it was released on Nov […]

Tis the season

December 6, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

Deepavali 2021 was a non-event for me. It was just another day on the calendar. I didn’t feel like it. I didn’t want to celebrate. I didn’t make any Indian cake or ‘palavaram’ associated with the festival. Even my mum was a little subdued due to her ailing health. Deepavali 2020 was much better. It was […]

One night holiday

November 29, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and I had a perfectly enjoyable one night holiday recently. Even my mum, who hasn’t left her condominium since the pandemic except for her vaccine appointments, suggested we stay a little longer in order to have a real break. She is right. It usually takes a day to sort of unwind and relax […]

Returning home

November 22, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and sister number 3 are home now. My husband, after being with his family for seven weeks, following his father’s passing. My sister, on compassionate grounds, to be with my ailing mum. It was not quick nor easy for either of them to return to Malaysia from England. Mainly because Covid-19 is still […]