Smiley-happy orchids

March 2, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I ‘woke’ up, and continued not sleeping, and walking into my living room feeling tired. Not an unusual start to many mornings for insomniac me. What was different was how quickly I turned smiley-happy. One of the buds of the orchid plant, yes orchird plant, was opening up. It was beginning to bloom. I forgot […]

Testing the waters

February 23, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and I had a four-night, five-day stay at Tanjung Jara recently. It was the longest holiday that we’ve had, locally, in a very long time. We usually do two nights. By the third day, we are ready to go home. And, the last holiday was only for one-night in Malacca, which we thought […]

Happy discoveries

February 9, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I couldn’t, maybe I could’ve, but didn’t in my condominium unit. Last week, my condominium manager sent out a notice for an electricity calibration exercise for the whole building. The notice said there would be temporary power disruption affecting all owners and tenants. Temporary. Hmm. I checked with the manager if temporary meant momentary, not […]

It takes time

February 2, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I went to my temple in SS3, last Tuesday. To do prayers for my eldest brother-in-law. He passed on 1 January. Brother-in-law number 1 was not well for a while. At least not after he had a major heart surgery on 8 March 2023. Recovery was slow and involved many hospital visits. Over that time, […]

Pongal and others

January 26, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I visited my mum for Pongal last week, not at her condominium, but at her final resting home. Pongal was an important celebration for my mum. It marked the beginning of the Thai month, which I, for the longest time thought, was the first month of the Indian calendar. Mainly as it falls in January, which […]

Thevaya

January 12, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I learnt a new word from a local radio station, while I was driving. It was the Tamil word for necessary. I wasn’t particularly concentrating but I think the DJ said something about trying to teach listeners one Tamil word per day. A ‘learn-a-word-a-day’ sort of thing. As it sounded interesting and a bit of […]

A new year

January 5, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

Another new year. No big resolutions. No big wants. No big expectations. For me, 2026 will be a good enough year if I can carry on doing the things I did in 2025. Do a bit more of what I didn’t do as much as I would have liked to. Plus, one or two that […]

Control and choices

December 29, 2025.Reading time 6 minutes.

I knew it all along. And yet, I didn’t quite allow myself to think, understand, and accept it. It took more than a year after my mum had passed, and several books, mainly fiction about relationships, love, emotions, time travel, death, and the harbinger of death, who knew there was such a thing, that I […]

Nice … not nice

December 22, 2025.Reading time 6 minutes.

December is my favourite month of the year. Second only to March, which is my birthday month. Growing up, the final term school holidays was in December. Seven weeks of freedom, starting in middle November. The whole of December was ‘cuti time.’ As a working adult, December was when office parties and get-togethers were held, […]

Money or passion …

December 15, 2025.Reading time 6 minutes.

Money or passion? Interests or needs? A few weeks ago, my husband and I had a good morning at an exhibition by students from a local art college. They were from the illustration department, and they put on an enthusiastic ‘show and tell.’ From the exhibits, we saw that much thought, effort, and time had […]