Take heed

September 28, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I smelt gas as I walked out of the lift to my condo. I sniffed harder. There was the smell of gas in the air. I walked into our condo and asked my husband if he smelt it. He opened the cupboard that housed the gas tank. Nothing. But the cupboard adjacent to the electric […]

Forgiving

September 14, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I had watched the movie, ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.’ The same week, my mum told me a story about her estrangement with her stepsister’s sister-in-law. It made me think about family and friends. People, who have fallen out, and have not spoken or visited for years. Deleted from each other’s lives. With no […]

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 […]

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 5 : Agar Agar

August 3, 2020.Reading time 7 minutes.

I like Agar-Agar. Why? The thought of something cold and tasty on a hot day, which is practically every day in Malaysia, is reassuring and refreshing. Oh alright… we have more than a few rainy days in the wet season. But it’s still hot, maybe a little less hot and certainly humid. It is weather […]

Mask police

July 27, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I don’t want to be a mask police. I don’t want to police people or business. That said, in one week, I had to question the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) at two well established restaurants. Staff with no masks or masks worn under the chin. I was disappointment. I expected better. One, situated along Jalan […]

Sound of music

July 20, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

Caught in a massive back to before Covid-19 traffic congestion. Searched endlessly for a bay in a multi-storey, not cheap, car park. I was running late. And, on the verge of turning a little green and grumpy. When just like that. My mood lifted. A smile spread across my face. ‘Limbo Rock’ was being played […]

Stork King and Queen

July 13, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

If the lion is the king of the jungle, then the stork reigns in Zoo Negara, Malaysia’s national zoo. They live, eat, nest, fly, walk and roam freely just about everywhere. To me, they are the kings and queens of the 110 acres of land that is home to over 5137 specimen from 476 species […]

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 […]