Slow and
painfully lingering
death of a friendship
when neither knows how to pull the plug
Or both still hopeful that there's something left worth fighting for.
Does your mom suffers from leg pain, back pain and other similar maladies, does she usually walks slow with a limp and getting up from any seating will always be backgrounded with a groan of pain?
Tonight we found a quick and easy relief. When we reached the Pasar Malam, she was about a couple of person next to me. Then I turned to the right, I swear it was no longer than a couple of seconds. I turned to the left, front and back. Nope she's no where within eyesight in the crowded lane. So I hasten my pace to search for her, still looking around me thinking that my eyesight failing me. Nope still no Mama around. As I was about to turn back, I caught a glimpse of her purple shawl about 50 metres away, and she's fast moving away toward her 'solok lada' at the end of lane!
I declare that 'pasar malam' cures all pain that our moms have. No need for orthopedic specialist, painful jabs, acupuncture or chiropractor visits, just good old crowded eye feasting 'pasar malam'. Which was not cheap by the way, she spent more than what she would have at a chiropractor or 10 acupuncture treatments.
And oh, her cough got miraculously cured too the whole time we where there, that is until she got home and the 'I-am-losing-my-breath' cough came back!
So do take your mom to the 'pasar malam', mall or them outlet stores at Mitsui when she complains of persistent pain that no medicine seems to work, hopefully it'll cure your mom like it did with mine, even if it's just a temporary relief. Her smile and laughter made us happy too.
p/s: Shereen, please tag the involved party 😜
Vape can be easily used with synthetic drugs in public with no way of detecting the drug use, there's no smell, nothing so see, positive identification only via lab test. For children as young as 9 now it's far easier to get drug and use it publicly than to get a pack of cigarettes.
The danger outweighs a million fold to the benefit of helping people kick the nicotine addiction. By the way, how many people do we know have managed to kick the nicotine addiction by using vape/e-cigarettes?
Stop supporting something that is going to kill our future. Our children are our future. Shame on those who vehemently supports the so called industry because they are making millions from selling the juice.
Vaping lifestyle is a drug lifestyle. The line is too grey to differentiate between the two. No one in their right mind should publicly support and encourage this, let alone try to implement regulations as to support the industry. If you vape, I see you just as another smoker, no judgement. However, if you try to support it, justifying the goodness of it, or worse if you are in the business of promoting vaping, to me you are are a public enemy, just like the next heroin pusher, crack dealer, pill kuda brother.
CALL FOR TOTAL BAN ON VAPE / E-CIGARETTES AND ALL SIMILAR PARAPHERNALIA.
My future generation deserves to live. So do yours.
silence echoing
deafening stillness
hollow space
restrainted thoughts
bottled up sorrow
frozen river of tears
the raspberries are all gone now
not a hidden lone last one left
I must have blown too hard
I must have ruined it all.
-november '15-
Almost twenty years of Aidiladha in the east coast made me forget how its always been at home. Apart from the Aidiladha morning prayer, it's another break day, some years my parents would take off for a holiday, the rest spent like another weekend. 'Korban' are usually something you pay someone at the mosque to carry out for you or send money abroad to have it performed among the less fortunate Muslims communities. You don't see your sacrificial animal, let alone the whole ritual, all you know is that you've performed the deed.
Now, in the Pasir Mas it's a whole different thing, after breakfast of kuzi and 'roti jala', there's the 'korban' ritual where you are actually there from cow to dish. And the whole bingeing on 'tapai' while you wait for the men to cut and prepare the meat.
Later at home will be the portioning and of course my 'favorite', tripe and intestines cleaning (have you ever tried cleaning the type of tripe that has hundreds of layer? No wonder they call them 'perut kitab', it's like studying for your final!) before the distribution crew go on their route. Satay making will begin after maghrib, and it's always satay for second day of Aidiladha.
There's constantly something to do, entertaining guests and returning their visits, the many many weddings to attend and the constant feasting. Even though I've been a demi-vegetarian again for more than four years, there's always something for me to eat and enjoy, so all the meat and more meat don't bother me at all, in fact I enjoy cooking it for others.
It's the first Aidiladha since Ayah left us, and this year I have to stay back in Penang due to work commitments. We were all set to leave on Wednesday as we always do and the Friday before we found out about the trade show. So I decided to stay, as it's his duty to be there, now more so than ever.
So yes, Aidiladha is a big thing in the east coast, steeped in rituals and tradion, and I've always seen it as that it's as big as Aidilfitri there. It took me to be away from it all to see how meaningful it's been for me all these years.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha everyone.
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kerdilnya aku di antara ratusan ribu pejuang lain. |
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Tuah. 2015 |
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The Flash turns skeleton. He's supposed to Doraemon, complete with battery pack on the back. |
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Protest face, he won't let me snap his photo. Which I later found out was because he's scared that he will get into trouble with Zz (they have some deal going on apparently). Supposed to be Nobita. |
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Just before the first shower. |
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Monster Master and her monster. Oct 2014 |