A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

September 7, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ is a beautiful movie about a beautiful person – Fred Rogers. I hadn’t heard of him before and didn’t know that he was a real person when I watched the movie. I thought he was just too nice to be true. His gentle persona. His soft and slow way […]

Mothagam

August 31, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

August 22 was Vinayagar Chathurti. My mum was fretting leading up to the big day for Lord Ganesha. She usually gets excited when there is a celebration on the horizon, particularly Deepavali. But this time she seemed concerned with her ‘To-do’ list. Shopping, cleaning the altar, sprucing up the condo and especially making ‘Mothagam’ or […]

Changing expectations

August 17, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Back in January, I scoffed at the idea of a Fixed Deposit (FD) rate lower than 3%. I usually scour the business pages and online promotions to compare the best FD rates offered by financial institutions. Homework is a must for a safe home for my hard earned money. Especially when the journey was long, […]

DIY

August 10, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am not a DIY- er. I have never tried to make, fix or learn how to repair things that are broken or stopped working. I don’t like DIY. Which by the way is not part of the Malaysian culture. At least, not this Malaysian. It also doesn’t help that I am hopeless at it. That […]

My mum’s recipe 4: Sambar

July 6, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

I learnt how my mum cooks ‘sambar’ or ‘dhal’ in her kitchen a couple of weeks ago. I’ve seen her prepare it many times but have never paid any attention to what it entailed. I now know that it entails quite a lot. Too much dicing and slicing, spices, cooking and slaving over a hot […]

In the present

June 22, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I can feel sad. Surprisingly, suddenly. Without warning. A song. A paragraph in a book. A poignant message on WhatsApp. A scene from a movie. Just a few triggers that make me feel melancholy for no apparent reason other than the trigger itself. The change in emotion is quite dramatic. Thank goodness they are mostly […]

I, me and myself

June 15, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s June. Six months into 2020. I was flipping through my table-top calendar (yes, it’s not digital) to check what I had jotted down in January for the rest of the year. Stopped in March, which was my birthday month, not the whole month. Although I do try to stretch my birthday for as many […]

Onde Onde ice cream

June 8, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Onde Onde ice cream potong? Who would have thought of making ice cream from a traditional kuih or cake/snack in Malaysia? I didn’t. I am glad someone did because it’s fabulously creamylicious. I am familiar with most local cakes, snacks and pastries. Ice cream, I know only too well. Both making and eating them. Which is […]

Serial Netflix

May 25, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

From the start of the year until now, my husband and I have watched over 25 series/movies on Netflix. That’s about one per week in the last 20 weeks. A hefty consumption of entertainment. And, it does not include daytime viewing, despite the Covid-19 lockdown. I’ve worked from home for more than 20 years now. […]

My mum’s recipe 3: Pulut kacau

May 18, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

‘Pulut kacau’ is another favourite ‘kuih’ of mine. And, naturally my mum’s is the yummiest. While not an Indian ‘palavaram’ or cake, it nevertheless makes an annual appearance at Deepavali. My mum’s is not just any ‘pulut kacau,’ it is the pink, rosy, glistening variety. Glutinous rice, creamy coconut milk and sugar. Three yesses. This […]