Podcasts

August 31, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I used to read the news from physical broadsheet and tabloid newspapers. I’m a little old school like that. Maybe because I used to write business news for a broadsheet newspaper. There’s a tinge of nostalgia whenever I come across physical newspapers that are still printed and circulated. Particularly as these days, news cycles are […]

Prosper thy neighbour

August 24, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

There are six outlets near where I live. Four restaurants and two mini markets or grocery stores. All within a 500m radius. They are literally everywhere. The proliferation of mainland Chinese brands is unmissable. They are present in shopping malls, shop lots, and wherever there is people traffic. In sectors like food and beverage, retail, […]

Opening and shuttering

August 17, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

Businesses come and go. The restaurant looked the same. The only difference was it was buzzing. Teeming with people. There was a queue outside. Not a common ocurrence. Plus, a note requesting customers to wait to be seated. My husband and I don’t queue or wait in long lines, by choice. Not for restaurants or […]

Busy everywhere

August 10, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I wanted to write about this busyness but I’ve had a lot of ‘busyness’, still do, going on in my head and life. I feel like I’m living in dodgem city. Instead of bumper cars bumping into me and surrounding me, its people, vehicles, and … buildings. I knew the trade-offs when my husband and […]

Birthday on Wednesday

August 3, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

My Sinnavan would have been 74 on Wednesday. Not to be. She was a birthday girl. She loved celebrating her birthday. In fact, she had two. The first and actual one is on 5th August. The second is 10 ten days later, on the 15th. Apparently, this date came about because my dad had registered […]

Siblings

June 29, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

My sisters return to their homes in England and Australia tomorrow. The twelve days have gone past swiftly. I’m already missing them. In fact, I’ve been thinking of tomorrow since last Tuesday. It will be heartbreaking saying goodbye. As my mum used to say, ‘If you come, you have to go.’ Particularly because all her […]

Together

June 22, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

Last Thursday, my sisters arrived in KL. Sister number 1 from England. Sisters 2 and 4 from Australia. They are here to be with brother number 2 and me. Five siblings from the original ‘Magnificent Seven.’ We are getting together, I think, I hope, to help us find some solace following sister number 3’s sudden […]

On my mind

June 15, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’ve written six posts about my Sinnavan. This is post number seven. I feel like I want to keep writing about her. I want to keep remembering her. And, keep her present in my life. It’s somewhat like what sister number 1 said to me tearfully over the telephone, ‘If we can’t speak about our […]

What to do

May 11, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

The dominant thought, focus, theme of my every waking moment is my Sinnavan. I think of her. And, I think of her. I don’t want to. Seriously, I don’t. I don’t want to be sad and tearful. But I can’t help myself. Even when I’m doing things to keep my mind from thinking about her, […]

My Sinnavan

May 4, 2026.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’ve lost my sister. My best friend. My confidante. My second mum. My daily chat partner. Yes, everyday sister number 3 calls me between 12noon and 2pm, local time, depending on how long she has managed to sleep the night before in her home in London. When I’ve been out for lunch with family or […]