she read little women in secondary one and enjoyed it tremendously. the four sisters in the story had so much fun though sometimes food was scarce on the table.
in fact she imitated their pickwick paper. and dreamed she would be a writer like jo. reading little women for the hundredth time on a hammock with a tin of home-made savoury keropok ubi kayu was paradise. on mellow evenings....
those days reading was entertainment. and undeniably educational too. reading gave one the polished flair in writing and elocution. the ability to utilize grammar, tenses etc. with such ease.
there were no laptops then, no mobile phones to distract attention from gathering invaluable knowledge that will equip her through tertiary education and later in her career.
in fact, there were no television sets in her grandparents' home. just a radio. and a cabinet full of books at the serambi. so she spent most of her time developing a taste for the classics. though she started them in the abridged versions. mark twain, dickens, hemmingway, r.l. stevenson, h. rider haggard, shakespeare, longfellow..... she loved them all though she was only in primary three then.
she then progressed to the unabridged versions of austen, the bronte sisters, elliot, du maurier, hardy, walter scott, byron. keats, the brownings, plato, homer, poe, hawthorne, d.h. lawrence, woolfe, steinbeck, tolstoy..... she was so lucky to be in a boarding school with a very well stocked library which became her favorite hangout.
and she started building a collection of such classics. but mostly second-hand books which she could then only afford. penguin classics with the orange and white covers.
and later sometimes one or two new books a month when she started working. funny but paperback classics were priced less than rm6.00 each then! (now it is only rm9.90) that was how she has a rather grand collection!
a good book,a cool evening, a long cold lemonade, a plate of keropok.....ah....what else could an introvert want in the gentle 60's?
Thursday, 26 September 2013
Wednesday, 25 September 2013
classics additions
she went to mph to get a book but took home 3 - little men by louisa may alcott, the mayor of casterbridge by thomas hardy and great expectations by dickens (a second in her collection).
and she used her pensioner card to get a 10% discount. she didn't know about this before!
she only knew about this fact when lily borrowed her pensioner card when she bought several books and magazines at mph two weeks before.
hmmm... she will certainly gear up in enriching her collection of the classics...
(she laughed heartily every time she remembered when she ended up with 3 copies of austen's persuasion as she wasn't sure whether she already had the book at home each time she saw the book at the bookshop!)
and she used her pensioner card to get a 10% discount. she didn't know about this before!
she only knew about this fact when lily borrowed her pensioner card when she bought several books and magazines at mph two weeks before.
hmmm... she will certainly gear up in enriching her collection of the classics...
(she laughed heartily every time she remembered when she ended up with 3 copies of austen's persuasion as she wasn't sure whether she already had the book at home each time she saw the book at the bookshop!)
an evening in a/s
on sunday she went to a/s with naj, q and bill. they took the old route, past expansive padi fields, rustic villages, people fishing along the canals on both sides of the road.
it was a mellow afternoon, timber houses cool under shades of spreading rambutan trees, chicken ever picking up bits and pieces on the ground, cats sprawled on door thresholds, happy children playing age old games.... she always love going by the old road....so much color and so picturesque....
they bought kuehs at a roadside stall; hot, yummy pulut udang, talam ubi kayu, abok-abok, cara, karipaf, popia goreng....
then they went to p/rabu. she bought serunding ayam, keropok, tapioca chips. she wanted to buy some lovely hot bahulu panas but the kids didn't want any. q said he wanted to buy songkok but she heard congkak, so she led him to the handicrafts section!
then she purchased some lauk from a stall there but was given the lauk plus a huge plastic bag of nasi minyak and macaroni soup too, foc! semoga dimurahkan rezeki.
they looked for the 'office' but went astray out of the town. asked for directions and reached the office, about 3 minutes from p/rabu!
on the way home she forgot to take pictures of the 2 traditional houses she's writing on...
they bought coconut juice from yet another roadside stall. then some really lovely tepung talam and cucur udang. and got free bengkang and extra cucur udang as the seller was about to close his stall. how kind some people are.
it was a wonderful outing....business done, great food eaten.....
it was a mellow afternoon, timber houses cool under shades of spreading rambutan trees, chicken ever picking up bits and pieces on the ground, cats sprawled on door thresholds, happy children playing age old games.... she always love going by the old road....so much color and so picturesque....
they bought kuehs at a roadside stall; hot, yummy pulut udang, talam ubi kayu, abok-abok, cara, karipaf, popia goreng....
then they went to p/rabu. she bought serunding ayam, keropok, tapioca chips. she wanted to buy some lovely hot bahulu panas but the kids didn't want any. q said he wanted to buy songkok but she heard congkak, so she led him to the handicrafts section!
then she purchased some lauk from a stall there but was given the lauk plus a huge plastic bag of nasi minyak and macaroni soup too, foc! semoga dimurahkan rezeki.
they looked for the 'office' but went astray out of the town. asked for directions and reached the office, about 3 minutes from p/rabu!
on the way home she forgot to take pictures of the 2 traditional houses she's writing on...
they bought coconut juice from yet another roadside stall. then some really lovely tepung talam and cucur udang. and got free bengkang and extra cucur udang as the seller was about to close his stall. how kind some people are.
it was a wonderful outing....business done, great food eaten.....
painting resumed
she found a shop selling stationery including lots of oil paint! a haven for someone like her.
so last week she bought several tubes of acrylic paint and brought out all the 6 unfinished paintings on stretched canvasses.
while kiko and koko frolicked merrily in the garden she lovingly put paint on canvas. ah... such joy to be able to wax lyrical yet once again.... on a piece of canvas...
the paintings are for her kids....
the vocal movements in myriad shades, subtle, poetic, translates her love for them, her joy, her hopes, her dreams for them .... for ever...
so last week she bought several tubes of acrylic paint and brought out all the 6 unfinished paintings on stretched canvasses.
while kiko and koko frolicked merrily in the garden she lovingly put paint on canvas. ah... such joy to be able to wax lyrical yet once again.... on a piece of canvas...
the paintings are for her kids....
the vocal movements in myriad shades, subtle, poetic, translates her love for them, her joy, her hopes, her dreams for them .... for ever...
Wednesday, 18 September 2013
gulai udang minus udang
for lunch she'd cook a simple yet delicious gulai udang with buncis. however, there'd be no prawns in the dish, just the buncis. eaten with hot brown rice and fried ikan kembung with a dash of the cooked sambal belacan.
and perhaps some crepes for tea.
kiko and koko had kangkung and sengkuang for brunch. and sunflower seeds for tea perhaps.
she reminisced years ago at rose avenue when the kids were small and ever hungry. she came home from the office and started making roti jala. the 5 kids would eat the piping hot yellow roti jala as soon as they were heaped on the plate from the stove.
by the time she finished cooking the plate was empty!
cooking roti jala on weekday evenings home from work was no big deal for her. tomato rice and ayam masak merah on thursdays was a norm. special dishes were not only for weekends.
and the girls lovingly 'blamed' her cooking when they don't look like anorexic supermodels....
cooking is actually not far from designing...... and her kids remember the carrot flowers in their soup, the lavishly decorated fish or chicken dishes on the dining table everyday, the huge chilly 'blossoms' turned into yummy sambal belacan the next day, the red cabbage in the mixed veggy, the little cucumber guppies, the spring onion luxuriant grass, the animal lookalike prawn fritters....
lots and lots of carrots, cabbage and other veggies hidden in the chicken or tuna loaves...
it takes just a little imagination to make meals beautiful for children....
and perhaps some crepes for tea.
kiko and koko had kangkung and sengkuang for brunch. and sunflower seeds for tea perhaps.
she reminisced years ago at rose avenue when the kids were small and ever hungry. she came home from the office and started making roti jala. the 5 kids would eat the piping hot yellow roti jala as soon as they were heaped on the plate from the stove.
by the time she finished cooking the plate was empty!
cooking roti jala on weekday evenings home from work was no big deal for her. tomato rice and ayam masak merah on thursdays was a norm. special dishes were not only for weekends.
and the girls lovingly 'blamed' her cooking when they don't look like anorexic supermodels....
cooking is actually not far from designing...... and her kids remember the carrot flowers in their soup, the lavishly decorated fish or chicken dishes on the dining table everyday, the huge chilly 'blossoms' turned into yummy sambal belacan the next day, the red cabbage in the mixed veggy, the little cucumber guppies, the spring onion luxuriant grass, the animal lookalike prawn fritters....
lots and lots of carrots, cabbage and other veggies hidden in the chicken or tuna loaves...
it takes just a little imagination to make meals beautiful for children....
Thursday, 12 September 2013
parsley sage rosemary and thyme
are you going to scarborough fair
parsley sage rosemary and thyme
remember me to the one who lives there
he once was a true love of mine....
tell him to knit me a cambric shirt
parsley sage rosemary and thyme
without a thread or needlework
then he'll be a true love of mine....
she'd picture green meadows under grey skies, lavender colouring the horizon purple. cold winds curling above narrow lanes, tossing the bluebells every which way...
in a hollow under tall spreading oaks stood a forlorn castle, hardly surviving the angry winds from the nearby ocean.
a solitary raven flew onto a window sill.
then, the sound of horses.....
parsley sage rosemary and thyme
remember me to the one who lives there
he once was a true love of mine....
tell him to knit me a cambric shirt
parsley sage rosemary and thyme
without a thread or needlework
then he'll be a true love of mine....
she'd picture green meadows under grey skies, lavender colouring the horizon purple. cold winds curling above narrow lanes, tossing the bluebells every which way...
in a hollow under tall spreading oaks stood a forlorn castle, hardly surviving the angry winds from the nearby ocean.
a solitary raven flew onto a window sill.
then, the sound of horses.....
Wednesday, 11 September 2013
the song books
it was the 1970's. the school kids were singing '500 miles', yellow river', 'sorrento', 'knock 3 times', 'words', 'new York mining disaster, 'pretty woman, 'song sung blue' ....
they wrote the songs down in thick books, decorated and much prized.
hers was a 1 inch thick yellow covered exercise book. lyrics were traded and exchanged and sometimes were off tangent but sounded real.
there were talentimes in school. she always took part. but she couldn't remember winning.
she was the quartermistress in the red cross (then) society, in charge of games and such to be played each weekly meeting. she'd have singing contests. at other times games from the thick guide book that came with the committee position.
the song books came in very handy.
at home in the evenings after the homework was completed she'd be with her song book, drawing flowers, borders etc.
'sorrento
over the sea the sunlight dancing
waking thoughts of tender feeling
in his eyes I see reflecting
these same lights that make me dream....
as I passed a lovely garden
breathing scents of many blossoms
there's a memory and a picture
of but you within my heart....'
in the lovely long ago....
they wrote the songs down in thick books, decorated and much prized.
hers was a 1 inch thick yellow covered exercise book. lyrics were traded and exchanged and sometimes were off tangent but sounded real.
there were talentimes in school. she always took part. but she couldn't remember winning.
she was the quartermistress in the red cross (then) society, in charge of games and such to be played each weekly meeting. she'd have singing contests. at other times games from the thick guide book that came with the committee position.
the song books came in very handy.
at home in the evenings after the homework was completed she'd be with her song book, drawing flowers, borders etc.
'sorrento
over the sea the sunlight dancing
waking thoughts of tender feeling
in his eyes I see reflecting
these same lights that make me dream....
as I passed a lovely garden
breathing scents of many blossoms
there's a memory and a picture
of but you within my heart....'
in the lovely long ago....
tea leaves on the saucer
iced lemon tea is her all time favorite. thirst quenching. tangy. not too sweet.
but recently she began enjoying daily cups of hot earl grey tea. calming. soothes frayed nerves. not too fragrant. subtle...
sometimes she dipped low sodium hi-fibre crackers into steaming mugfuls of the tea. while watching the 103rd re-run of 'enemy of the state' or 'wall-e'. or sitting on her beloved po-ang chair facing the garden dripping with rain...
wondering from which misty mountain slope the tea leaves came from....
and imagining sitting at the table with the mad hatter, the dormouse, the white rabbit and alice...
ah ...dear, sweet alice wandering eternally under autumn skies.....
but recently she began enjoying daily cups of hot earl grey tea. calming. soothes frayed nerves. not too fragrant. subtle...
sometimes she dipped low sodium hi-fibre crackers into steaming mugfuls of the tea. while watching the 103rd re-run of 'enemy of the state' or 'wall-e'. or sitting on her beloved po-ang chair facing the garden dripping with rain...
wondering from which misty mountain slope the tea leaves came from....
and imagining sitting at the table with the mad hatter, the dormouse, the white rabbit and alice...
ah ...dear, sweet alice wandering eternally under autumn skies.....
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
the family house in betong isle
when doing research on rumah seri banai, she came across some similarities with her grandparents' house (built in about 1948) in betong isle, a hillside hamlet on the southwestern tip of pulo pinaom, legally part of the state of Kedah.
both houses are of the rumah bumbung panjang type, with an open berandah, serambi, rumah ibu, dapur; owned by village headmen (ketua kampong or penghulu), the ground floor portions were used for classes for adults in the 1960's.
her grand father was a retired police sergeant later elected as village headman. she still remembered when scores of people from the village flocked to the literacy classes held weekly on the ground floor level. there was a huge blackboard, several long tables and timber stools.
it was quite an event those days. the ladies in their fine kurungs and kebayas with colorful selendangs (the women did not wear full tudungs then) and the men came in shirts and pelekats with kopiahs. even her grand mother who was not allowed to get any schooling when she was a child benefitted from these classes as she learned to read, write and do some simple arithmetics. she could even sign her name.
a bookshelf was placed at the serambi with books for the villagers to borrow. so her grand father's house was also the village library.
perhaps that was the beginning of her love for books besides getting it from her mother too who would read while cooking and at times the fish she was frying would get burned!
ah, but the beloved house is a derelict now..... a twist of fate that left it empty, uncared for, alone in its old age....
both houses are of the rumah bumbung panjang type, with an open berandah, serambi, rumah ibu, dapur; owned by village headmen (ketua kampong or penghulu), the ground floor portions were used for classes for adults in the 1960's.
her grand father was a retired police sergeant later elected as village headman. she still remembered when scores of people from the village flocked to the literacy classes held weekly on the ground floor level. there was a huge blackboard, several long tables and timber stools.
it was quite an event those days. the ladies in their fine kurungs and kebayas with colorful selendangs (the women did not wear full tudungs then) and the men came in shirts and pelekats with kopiahs. even her grand mother who was not allowed to get any schooling when she was a child benefitted from these classes as she learned to read, write and do some simple arithmetics. she could even sign her name.
a bookshelf was placed at the serambi with books for the villagers to borrow. so her grand father's house was also the village library.
perhaps that was the beginning of her love for books besides getting it from her mother too who would read while cooking and at times the fish she was frying would get burned!
ah, but the beloved house is a derelict now..... a twist of fate that left it empty, uncared for, alone in its old age....
the cold monsoon
it is the wet monsoon now. kiko and koko prefer being in their cage, with the door open of course. more cozy inside, and their coat all fluffy...
but when the kitchen door is opened, they both rush to lay on the mat at the threshold. must be warm there. they'd wait for the sunflower seeds treat, their 3 or 4 times daily favorite snack.
sometimes koko would climb on kiko to get at the seeds from her hands. kiko would just be the mild, meek kiko, allowing koko to step on him... but at other times kiko would chase koko from the threshold.... koko scampering into the cage.
but when the kitchen door is opened, they both rush to lay on the mat at the threshold. must be warm there. they'd wait for the sunflower seeds treat, their 3 or 4 times daily favorite snack.
sometimes koko would climb on kiko to get at the seeds from her hands. kiko would just be the mild, meek kiko, allowing koko to step on him... but at other times kiko would chase koko from the threshold.... koko scampering into the cage.
Sunday, 8 September 2013
the students had happy meals
via a very kind benefactor A (thank you so much for making the boys and girls so happy), together with lily she took her students that Friday to lunch at a fast food joint. A's treat couldn't come at a better time. some of the kids will be taking upsr in a few days. its good to make them happy at a time like this.
the 13 kids, from a 7 year boy to a secondary 1 girl, were all smiles and laughter. burgers, fries, ice creams, drinks etc....
she saw them enjoying their food, talking and laughing, having a really good time. for most of them it was the first time at such a joint. the joy on the young faces radiated and infused the ambience, adding a measure of brilliance crisp and infectious.
dear A, if you could see the unending smiles on these young faces, you would also feel their joy and happiness....
the 13 kids, from a 7 year boy to a secondary 1 girl, were all smiles and laughter. burgers, fries, ice creams, drinks etc....
she saw them enjoying their food, talking and laughing, having a really good time. for most of them it was the first time at such a joint. the joy on the young faces radiated and infused the ambience, adding a measure of brilliance crisp and infectious.
dear A, if you could see the unending smiles on these young faces, you would also feel their joy and happiness....
a bird in the tree
she spent this morning in the garden with the happy bunnies. koko was running round and round. kiko was busy munching some water convolvulous.
she smiled as she saw them grooming themselves in the soft breeze. it's good for them to be in the fresh morning air, in the mild sunlight. to be out in the open. to hear birds chirping. to feel the cool wind blowing from the mountains afar.
their eyes were brighter, their actions sharper, they were more alert.
she wish kiko and koko could be in the garden all the time.
when it was noon kiko and koko would be under the car. resting. they would come out again to run merrily once more amongst the green grass in the cool of the gloaming.
suddenly a bird landed gently on a slender branch of the cape myrtle plant, directly in her line of vision. so sweet. the bird (tekukur) stayed on the branch for quite a while, the tiny branch buoying in the wind....
Subhanallah.... it was so beautiful....
she smiled as she saw them grooming themselves in the soft breeze. it's good for them to be in the fresh morning air, in the mild sunlight. to be out in the open. to hear birds chirping. to feel the cool wind blowing from the mountains afar.
their eyes were brighter, their actions sharper, they were more alert.
she wish kiko and koko could be in the garden all the time.
when it was noon kiko and koko would be under the car. resting. they would come out again to run merrily once more amongst the green grass in the cool of the gloaming.
suddenly a bird landed gently on a slender branch of the cape myrtle plant, directly in her line of vision. so sweet. the bird (tekukur) stayed on the branch for quite a while, the tiny branch buoying in the wind....
Subhanallah.... it was so beautiful....
Thursday, 5 September 2013
asam pedas ikan kembung
she normally eat rice once every few days. since quite some time ago. she loved fried bihun, fried mee with lots of vegetables, spring onions, eaten with fried ikan kembung. sardine or tuna sandwiches but instead of bread she preferred crackers.
bilis fritters with slices of potatoes in them. vegetable crepes sometimes filled with shredded fish.
laksa....glorious laksa....
last night she thought of asam pedas ikan kembung!
she cooked it this morning and ate it with hot rice. superb....
simple, healthy yet fabulous dish....
bilis fritters with slices of potatoes in them. vegetable crepes sometimes filled with shredded fish.
laksa....glorious laksa....
last night she thought of asam pedas ikan kembung!
she cooked it this morning and ate it with hot rice. superb....
simple, healthy yet fabulous dish....
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
was it a dream?
she arrived in the capital city at 4.45am. urghh... some other lucky souls were fast asleep in their comfy beds. and here she was at the express bus terminal, groggy with insufficient intermittent sleep, huge tote bag with laptop, notes etc hanging on her shoulder.... wandering what in the world was she doing here....at her age....
she sat down for a while, looking at the eastern skies, watching out for some glimmer of light...
when it was time she went to the tiny surau for subuh prayers. In the half-light of dawn she approached the stalls. there was piping hot nasi lemak and all related sambals, fried mee and bihun.....
she bought fried mee and 2 packets of iced lemon tea, her all time favorite.
a cab took her to the campus. no one was around at 6.30am in the morning. she went to the surau at the new block, took her medicine, ate the fried mee and drank the refreshingly cold iced lemon tea.
washed herself as best as she could. did the dhuha. the surau, sparklingly new, air conditioned, carpeted, was really comfortable.
at about 10 am she went to the room she shared with 2 other researchers. m and a certain dr t.
she worked till evening when she suddenly felt very hungry. called up her second girl dhyr who said she was on her way to pick her up. her third girl naj was coming too. she heaved a sigh of relief.
they then crawled along in the perpetual city jam to this favorite nasi lemak joint in kg. b, they packed nasi lemak, sambal kerang, bergedil, hard boiled eggs, rendang ayam. more iced lemon tea for her and iced milo for the girls. and they had a sumptuous dinner in the car parked across well-lighted klcc. what better setting for dinner can u get?
she took the 11.30 bus back to the north. and arrived home again at 5 am.
was it all just a dream?
she sat down for a while, looking at the eastern skies, watching out for some glimmer of light...
when it was time she went to the tiny surau for subuh prayers. In the half-light of dawn she approached the stalls. there was piping hot nasi lemak and all related sambals, fried mee and bihun.....
she bought fried mee and 2 packets of iced lemon tea, her all time favorite.
a cab took her to the campus. no one was around at 6.30am in the morning. she went to the surau at the new block, took her medicine, ate the fried mee and drank the refreshingly cold iced lemon tea.
washed herself as best as she could. did the dhuha. the surau, sparklingly new, air conditioned, carpeted, was really comfortable.
at about 10 am she went to the room she shared with 2 other researchers. m and a certain dr t.
she worked till evening when she suddenly felt very hungry. called up her second girl dhyr who said she was on her way to pick her up. her third girl naj was coming too. she heaved a sigh of relief.
they then crawled along in the perpetual city jam to this favorite nasi lemak joint in kg. b, they packed nasi lemak, sambal kerang, bergedil, hard boiled eggs, rendang ayam. more iced lemon tea for her and iced milo for the girls. and they had a sumptuous dinner in the car parked across well-lighted klcc. what better setting for dinner can u get?
she took the 11.30 bus back to the north. and arrived home again at 5 am.
was it all just a dream?
thin cats at a resort
she spent aidilfitri this year at a secluded resort. with lily.
it was a change. the green surroundings were cooling to the eyes and mind. far from the madding crowd.
there were some raised eyebrows of course but she and lily were nonchalant. lily surely had that stubborn streak and couldn't care less attitude from her.
they brought lemang, serunding, kueh raya, huge bottles of mineral water, lots of crunchies enough to last a month.
strolling on the resort grounds in the cold morning, mist hanging like gossamer on deep green trees, she saw a few cats. and they were much too thin. so she went back to the room, took some biscuits, serunding and gave them to the hungry felines.
out for some food at the shops, she looked for fish. she found some salted fish, bought a few and gave them to the thin thin cats who gulped down the ikan sepat wolfishly.
oh it felt so good to bring some cheer to some animals...
it was a change. the green surroundings were cooling to the eyes and mind. far from the madding crowd.
there were some raised eyebrows of course but she and lily were nonchalant. lily surely had that stubborn streak and couldn't care less attitude from her.
they brought lemang, serunding, kueh raya, huge bottles of mineral water, lots of crunchies enough to last a month.
strolling on the resort grounds in the cold morning, mist hanging like gossamer on deep green trees, she saw a few cats. and they were much too thin. so she went back to the room, took some biscuits, serunding and gave them to the hungry felines.
out for some food at the shops, she looked for fish. she found some salted fish, bought a few and gave them to the thin thin cats who gulped down the ikan sepat wolfishly.
oh it felt so good to bring some cheer to some animals...
strangers in the night
it was nearly midnight. she boarded the express bus hoping for much needed sleep on the way north.
how did it happen, 2 passengers with similar seat numbers? the bus driver wanted to know why. she just couldn't care less as there were only 9 passengers in the 35 seater very comfy
bus.
she sat somewhere in the middle, on one of 2 seats. why bother to sit on a single seater when the bus was more than half empty? she placed her laptop on the other seat. and prepared to close her tired eyes for sleep...
but obviously the young man in front who had the same number as her seat was not sleepy. for he started a conversation...with her of all people!
and she found him to be a knowledgeable, good worker and a great father to 3 young kids.
he plays football for his workplace, his village is somewhere near her house, they got to talk about most things under the sun. and a matronly lady way in front turned to take a good look at them, a very unlikely pair.....with so much to talk about!
half-way through the journey they stopped talking and she got her beauty sleep at last.
she always tried to avoid conversing with strangers, especially on buses.... she just loved to be anonymous, incognito....
and that night she remained just that, for in their enthusiasm to talk about as many things as possible, they never asked for names and other personal details...
they will always remain strangers in the night.....
how did it happen, 2 passengers with similar seat numbers? the bus driver wanted to know why. she just couldn't care less as there were only 9 passengers in the 35 seater very comfy
bus.
she sat somewhere in the middle, on one of 2 seats. why bother to sit on a single seater when the bus was more than half empty? she placed her laptop on the other seat. and prepared to close her tired eyes for sleep...
but obviously the young man in front who had the same number as her seat was not sleepy. for he started a conversation...with her of all people!
and she found him to be a knowledgeable, good worker and a great father to 3 young kids.
he plays football for his workplace, his village is somewhere near her house, they got to talk about most things under the sun. and a matronly lady way in front turned to take a good look at them, a very unlikely pair.....with so much to talk about!
half-way through the journey they stopped talking and she got her beauty sleep at last.
she always tried to avoid conversing with strangers, especially on buses.... she just loved to be anonymous, incognito....
and that night she remained just that, for in their enthusiasm to talk about as many things as possible, they never asked for names and other personal details...
they will always remain strangers in the night.....
back to teaching
it has been more than 2 months since she last saw her tuition class.
she had to stop the classes temporarily due to heavy workload writing the book, editing jobs and the r&d.
its exam time now for some of her students. so she will be revising with them this weekend. to remind them of tenses, grammar etc. so the girls and boys of the village will get As. and later help them in their communication skills when they are successful professionals, especially at the international level.
she has high hopes for her students, the young, enthusiastic diligent boys and girls, daughters and sons of lorry drivers, fish sellers, carpenters, runners, padi farmers, fishermen.....
a sound education is the ultimate passport to success...
she had to stop the classes temporarily due to heavy workload writing the book, editing jobs and the r&d.
its exam time now for some of her students. so she will be revising with them this weekend. to remind them of tenses, grammar etc. so the girls and boys of the village will get As. and later help them in their communication skills when they are successful professionals, especially at the international level.
she has high hopes for her students, the young, enthusiastic diligent boys and girls, daughters and sons of lorry drivers, fish sellers, carpenters, runners, padi farmers, fishermen.....
a sound education is the ultimate passport to success...
from garden to kitchen
read in a blog about some steps to economize. the writer mentioned about edible gardens.
just two days ago she craved for nasi ulam. it is such a healthy and simple dish. she went into the little garden, plucked shoots of the lemuni plant, the ulam aja, beluntas, the kadok.
in the kitchen she sliced all the shoots very thinly, added to sliced onions, cooked sambal belacan, fried fish and mixed with plain boiled rice.
simply delicious....
just two days ago she craved for nasi ulam. it is such a healthy and simple dish. she went into the little garden, plucked shoots of the lemuni plant, the ulam aja, beluntas, the kadok.
in the kitchen she sliced all the shoots very thinly, added to sliced onions, cooked sambal belacan, fried fish and mixed with plain boiled rice.
simply delicious....
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