Haze…again

September 16, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I bought an air pollution and haze KN95 respiratory mask last week. The mask was designed specifically for the situation at hand. Yes, another year of the same old, same old. Haze. It’s back. It’s choking Kuala Lumpur and many states in Malaysia with its familiar and acrid thick smog. Unwelcomed. Unwanted. But, here it […]

Sisters and brothers

September 9, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Sister number three and I had a chat on WhatsApp a few weeks ago. It started on a general note, as it normally does. With questions about how we were and goings-on in our respective lives. We also talked about family events that are happening in the last four months of this year – our grandniece […]

Liars, leaders and supporters

August 12, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

This is the world I live in now. Not telling the truth isn’t a big deal. It’s almost fashionable to lie. There are no repercussions. There is no price to pay. Even when liars are called out on their lies – with evidence staring them in their faces – they get away scot-free. The liars […]

Women and Men

July 8, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

A former colleague and I inadvertently stumbled upon a discussion about women and men. There was no light bulb moment. We had no clever answers to explain the perennial gender differences. But, he did share an interesting viewpoint about the women-men dynamics, particularly in the personal and domestic spheres. According to him, women expect too […]

Tick-tock

June 24, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I cry easily when I watch poignant, heart wrenching movies about family, relationship, illness and death. In between muffled sobs (I try not to embarrass myself), I silently vow to focus on what’s important in life – family. When my sisters visit from overseas and return to their respective homes, I miss them achingly, and […]

Habits

June 17, 2019.Reading time 5 minutes.

Apparently it takes an average of about 66 days or some two months to form a new habit[1]. This length of time is needed to develop habits like walking 30 minutes every day, eating two or more fruits and vegetables, waking up 15 minutes earlier each morning to reduce the mad rush to work or […]

Precious water

May 27, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

We had a four-day water disruption not long ago. The public, including my husband and I, were duly informed and advised to store water for the duration. We were instructed to check online, using our home address and postcode, whether we would be affected by the disruption. I did the latter and accordingly, didn’t the […]

Birthday money

May 13, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Samsung, cracked, old and broken but still working

I have some birthday money left that is literally burning a hole in my pants. Every year I am given money for my birthday and every year I vow to get myself one big item or a few small things to remind me of my birthday. And, every year, I fail in my quest. The […]

Mishaps and mishaps

May 6, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Rush hour traffic that is going no where

I had to ask, why me? Within a space of two weeks, my car was ‘assaulted’ twice. The first Tuesday, a motorcyclist scratched the side of my car with his pannier after I had actually made space to let him ride past. The chock-a-block traffic and uselessness of the situation put paid to my fleeting […]

Pet peeves

March 18, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

A list of do's and dont's that should include no spitting

The almost serene atmosphere in the KLCC Park was interrupted by a loud and all too familiar sound. The kind that is never nice, and a big pet peeve of mine. It was the sound of some guy trying to suction phlegm out of his lungs. Not once but several times. It was the exact […]