Haze…again

September 16, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I bought an air pollution and haze KN95 respiratory mask last week. The mask was designed specifically for the situation at hand. Yes, another year of the same old, same old. Haze. It’s back. It’s choking Kuala Lumpur and many states in Malaysia with its familiar and acrid thick smog. Unwelcomed. Unwanted. But, here it […]

Holidays – then and now

August 5, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

The days of turning up in a foreign country or even in Malaysia without reservations are over. This was the modus operandi for much of our travels until a few years ago. My husband and I just turned up wherever, and found a place to stay for a night or two before we moved on. […]

Forgetful

July 29, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I didn’t think too much about getting out of bed (albeit a little slower now), and long before daybreak (being an insomniac), until my Achilles heel hurt. The pain hindered my out of bed movements, and made me reflect on things that should be important to me. The heel was just a reminder of the […]

Photograph

July 22, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

There is a baby photo wall in the photo studio where I get my photographs printed. Yes, I do like to own some hardcopy photographs. Especially as all, if not most, of my photos are stored on my laptop or my mobile. The virtual photos on my mobile, I view now and again, before they […]

A little England in Fraser’s Hill

July 15, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

My husband and I have been visiting Fraser’s Hill for the past 20-odd years. Not much changes there. Shops, restaurants and hotels open, move and close, in and around the main town centre, but the general look and feel remains the same. The cooler temperature and quiet familiarity are almost constants in the former hill […]

Access

July 1, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Access. The quicker, the cheaper, the more efficient – the better. Thanks to technological innovations. At least, that’s how it seems to me, and I like it. Speedy access to information, cheaper communication and faster travel. That’s not all. Entertainment at our finger tips, health care options and business opportunities etc., etc. I like quick […]

Tick-tock

June 24, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I cry easily when I watch poignant, heart wrenching movies about family, relationship, illness and death. In between muffled sobs (I try not to embarrass myself), I silently vow to focus on what’s important in life – family. When my sisters visit from overseas and return to their respective homes, I miss them achingly, and […]

Back in the day

May 20, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Things were different in the old days. Coffee didn’t come from Starbucks or OldTown White Coffee. The coffee I knew, growing up in Alor Star, came from a no name tall gold colored tin from the back seat of a bicycle. Seriously. My mum bought artisanal ground coffee from a travelling or mobile coffee man […]

Birthday money

May 13, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Samsung, cracked, old and broken but still working

I have some birthday money left that is literally burning a hole in my pants. Every year I am given money for my birthday and every year I vow to get myself one big item or a few small things to remind me of my birthday. And, every year, I fail in my quest. The […]

Baking Monday

April 1, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

I walked past Famous Amos the other day, and as usual, I shamelessly stole the sweet wafting smells of its cookies and brownies. But what was different this time was the realization that I now know how to bake cookies like the ones that were sitting invitingly in the display cabinet. It might seem and […]