Speaking at…

January 25, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

A phone call from a friend, whom I hadn’t texted or spoken to in a very long time, made me wonder about conversations. She and I, two people speaking with each other; exchanging information and updates about each other’s lives. But, that wasn’t what occurred. After asking me how I was, obligatory niceties out of the way, […]

Knee pain and the Net

January 11, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

A few weeks ago, my mum complained of knee pain. She had difficulty standing up from her toilet seat. She has chronic arthritis and osteoporosis. She aches all over. Her pain is constant. Accentuated by phases of more pain. I was concerned. About the pain. About sitting and walking in her condo. About the possibility […]

Christmas 2020

December 28, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

The tree went up on the first Saturday of December. Glittering with ornaments, tinsel and fairy lights. Spirits were lifted and brightened a little. What else? Desserts. Always works for me. A sure mood enhancer and belly pleaser. I decided I’d bake some traditional desserts, not attempted before. To surprise my husband. To fondly remember Christmas 2020. To not […]

Pongal rice, Karthigai and festivals

December 7, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

I helped my mum make ‘Sakkarai Pongal’ or Pongal rice last Sunday. Obviously not biased but she does make the tastiest Pongal rice I’ve ever had. This time around, she also got the thumbs-up from my husband, who doesn’t normally like the texture or taste of sweet rice. He likened it to a really delicious version […]

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 […]

Farewell old favourites

October 26, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

First it was Sri Melaka. Our favourite Nyonya restaurant. My husband and I spent many evenings there. In fact, not a week went past without us visiting Sri Melaka. The exception was when we were out of town. And, it was Sri Melaka that we visited when we returned from wherever. Quite longingly, I might […]

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. […]

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 […]