The week that was …

December 21, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

On Wednesday, I had to re-order my mum’s favourite Sunsweet Pitted Prunes online. This was after the previous online order failed to arrive. The seller on the first platform did not bother responding to five queries on the prunes’ whereabouts. I complained to the platform. It refunded my money to its wallet. And, explained that […]

My personal robot

December 14, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I don’t always understand technology. I sometimes argue and fight with it. I still don’t get most of it. But for now, this particular technology is quite perfect. The Deebot Ozmo 950. My saviour. My intelligent robot help around the house. He vacuums and mops. Yes, correct. He mops. With water, might I add. I […]

Nine months on…

November 30, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

It still came as a shock when my husband told me that one of his mates had lost his job. I know him and his family. My first thought was his two teenage school-going children, who should be off to university in a few years. My mind was in a tailspin. I was full of […]

Yellow-black banana

November 23, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Bananas ripen and turn yellow-black before I get home from the supermarket. Mangoes develop unsightly spots as I wash, dry and store them. Tomatoes get mushy and even the hardier carrots look scruffy in a few days. Fresh and inviting in the store. Wilted and sad at home. Fresh produce become un-fresh, and spoil at an […]

Not going away

November 16, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

It’s not going away. Not anytime soon. Eights month on and we’re now in a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) in Kuala Lumpur. Various movement restrictions from MCO, CMCO, Recovery MCO, and Enhanced and Semi-Enhanced MCO’s have been enforced in various areas, districts and states in Malaysia, at various times, to control the number of […]

Deepavali 2020

November 9, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum’s most anticipated celebration is happening this Saturday, 14 November. Not easily excitable nor normally demonstrative, this is the only time of year that she’s animated with almost childlike enthusiasm. Deepavali – the Festival of Lights – has always given my mum a sense of joy and excitement. As a child, a wife, mother and […]

Real or fake?

November 2, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Many years ago, my mum used to read a weekly magazine. I forget the name now. It was a Tamil tabloid that carried news on politics, celebrity and lifestyle interspersed with some bizarre short stories. What I remember most is my mum reading, half-believing and relating the whacky snippets to me. The ones that jump […]

Empathy, sympathy, compassion

October 19, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

The definitions of empathy, sympathy and compassion used to be a little unclear to me. Not anymore. I’ve had some recent first-hand experiences to set me straight. My husband fell off Snoopy, his motorcross bike, a few weeks ago. Sustained a number of injuries. Nothing too serious. Not like the ankle bone he broke last […]

PHP 7 – How? What?

October 12, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Its finally caught up with me. No more excuses. The dread of the PHP 7 upgrade. I’ve been dodging the bullet for over a year now. I’ve read enough. I know why I should upgrade/migrate. I sort of get and don’t get what I should do to make the upgrade possible. My head is blurry. […]

My mum’s recipe 6: Upma

October 5, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

I don’t like Upma. I don’t like its taste, texture or look. My mum likes it. So much that she’d probably have it every Friday, her second vegetarian day in the week, if she could. Monday is her first designated non-meat day. My mum’s vegetarian days go up each month correspondingly with the number of […]