strawberry tart & cola

He had a huge Takashimaya plastic bag on the chair in front of him. I couldn’t make out what he bought but that’s certainly a lot of shopping stuff. He wore comfy loafers, a nice crisp shirt with long pants and an old sports cap. From where I sat, I could only see his back and his side profile. From the wrinkles on his arm and his head of silver, I reckon he’s about 70 years-old. Maybe he went shopping for toys for his grandchildren. Maybe he bought some new kitchen appliance for his wife. I wondered if he had bought something for himself. The waiter brought his order - a strawberry tart and a glass of cola. I glanced at my watch. It’s eight at night, too late for tea and too early for supper. Is that all he is having for his dinner? Perhaps his wife is at his children’s and this is the only time he can enjoy some sweets and the forbidden glass of soft drink that he would otherwise not be allowed to have at home. He held the strawberry tart gingerly in his hands and peeled back the paper cup. Little by little, he ate the edges of the tart pastry, leaving the strawberry halves and the custard filling for the end. He paused and slowly took a sip of cola. He took his time to finish the tart as I watched him from my corner with fascination.

I wanted to ask, Uncle, can I sit and have dinner with you?

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chop suey

“Something for you so you can make your body presentable to your husband!”
I wish I could show you Ah Tan’s reaction to that. If it was an episode from CSI, the camera shot will travel down her right arm towards her open palm. You will see an electron microscopy close-up of all her bulu roma in their meremang-ed glory before the shot finally lingers at the wrapped up tub of body scrub given by Dandan for Ah Tan’s birthday. Oh no, let’s change that final shot: I’d turn the camera angle upwards and end the shot with Dandan’s huge purposeful grin. Absolutely pukka!!

Supra was here for two weeks recently and Sugeo will be back for two months soon. It vexes me at times to be reminded of how fast the two chikoras are growing up and I have so little time to spend with them together. Thus I am really looking forward to the end of August: wrecking havoc with Sugeo and Supra, cracking up with the PPPS fan club at the Ong clan gathering and the unlimited supply of delicious Muar otak-otak and thick black coffee!

For the past one month or so, there were days when I thought I might have cervical cancer, glaucoma or an overactive bladder. Hypochondria is a possible occupational hazard of my work. Hee… Lish and Pohf assured me that this paranoia will go away once I’ve gotten used to the deluge of medical information. I certainly hope so because I’m working on new therapeutic areas on a daily basis!

Time warps when one is doing meaningful things. The advent of August will signal an avalanche of celebrations till the year’s end. Sugeo’s 25th birthday, October babies’ birthdays, Ah Tan’s bridal shower, three weddings and a work trip to Gold Coast, Australia in between!! October and November are so going to be crazy, and yet, despite the madness, something tells me everything’s going to be poifect!

Live long and prosper, bring on the warp drive!

and the boys grew up

As toAdie and Rose exchanged their marriage vows, I was widening my eyes in an attempt to not shed tears. Such depth of meaning in just a string of simple words. Marriage vows never fail to get to me… Heartiest congratulations to the new couple - Mr and Mrs Ang Peng Hoe!!

The last time we emceed together was Teacher’s Day in school back in 1998. Rashid was his usual confident self while I was pretty nervous from feeling super rusty. Pohf happily reassured Mrs Yong that she had never knew a moment when I had ran out of things to say. Great. Rashid’s golden wisecracks did not fail us that night. Reunited at Rose and toAdie’s wedding with wireless microphones, lame Live Earth comments and with less than an hour to sync our emceeing mojos before the dinner begun, we apparently did a great job! Woohoo… what a relief!

I’m a twit for true love. You could see it acknowledged in the eyes of Rose and toAdie’s family and relatives, their best friends and their wedding guests. Most beautifully, you can see its radiance on the celebrated couple’s faces. You don’t always notice it so significantly at weddings but when you do, your heart cannot help but feel like it contains the warmth of a thousand rising suns. A glowing joy that remains long after the bottles are emptied, the party lights dimmed out and tired friends sent home. It is indeed a blessing to be witness to such lovely people and moments…

Photo credit: Rashid’s Flickr!