A short trip

July 22, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

Last week my husband and I went on a road trip, of sorts. We didn’t spend too much time planning it. Our destination was the Belum Rainforest in Gerik, Perak. We wanted a stopover. Somewhere half way between Kuala Lumpur and Gerik. Ipoh, the capital of Perak, was the obvious choice as it was close […]

Making time

July 15, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I received a WhatsApp message about celebrating life. About appreciating and enjoying the moments and times spent with family, friends and loved ones. It was a nice message, and one that I agree with. But did I? Do we? Make time, enough time to communicate. Be physically and mentally present. Care and love. Create and […]

Ulaanbaatar

July 8, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

The plan was to post this story on 20th May. It didn’t happen. I trashed it. Last week, I retrieved it from the ‘bin.’ Mongolia was the holiday my husband and I were looking forward to since March this year. We researched and identified tour companies, flights, and hotels. We finalised our bookings when sister […]

Thinking,remembering,writing…

July 1, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I wasn’t sure when my husband first asked me if writing about my mum helped/helps me. I am a little surer now. It does. I’m constantly thinking and remembering things about my mum. Putting my all-consuming thoughts, feelings and memories in writing gives them structure and a home/blog that I can visit and revisit, when […]

It’s ok…

June 24, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband asked me if it helps me writing about my mum. Yes and no. Maybe. I don’t know. It’s been over five weeks since she left. Yes, that long already. It feels a lot longer to me. I’m ok and I’m not. I’m in a state of flux. I go about doing the daily stuff. […]

Missing my Ama

June 17, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My heart continues to hurt. I miss my mum. I can’t see her. I can’t speak or share with her the things that are going on in my life. Not in person. I knew/know she couldn’t have held on much longer. She was getting more breathless and weaker by the day. It was a struggle. […]

Counting steps

May 13, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I count steps now. Before, I just used to walk. I like walking. More than running or cycling. One foot in front of the other, without too much thought. Now, I’m a little more deliberate. I try to hit or surpass 10,100 steps. A target set by my Samsung mobile health app. Why 10, 100? I have […]

Premium chocolate

May 6, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I can quite easily tell apart good chocolate from the mediocre and less nice ones. But I have real trouble differentiating good chocolate that I usually buy from supermarkets and sometimes speciality shops from the luxury, super-duper premium brands. As ‘they’ say, the proof is in the pudding. I’ve had some eye-wateringly priced ‘pudding’ from […]

Bad chocolate

April 29, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’m not a chocolate snob or connoisseur. My chocolates don’t have to come from the finest hand-picked cocoa beans from somewhere along the equator. They don’t have to be single origin, bean-to-bar or artisanal. Hmm… I only just learnt these terms. I’m more of a chocolate monster. I chomp at all things chocolate. I’m happy […]

Old is not cool

April 22, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I get it. Old is not cool. I was young once myself. I’m guilty of not giving much thought about older people. I didn’t know what they liked or needed. I can’t remember spending time with them. I didn’t have friends, who were older than me. Old people in my life were my parents, my […]