gratitude

we attend J2's exit seminar as her PhD journey nears its end. 

i don't pay too much attention to the details because i am busy being impressed by the slides and her style and my thoughts. my baby, i think. that little urchin who shared her fishballs with me. that girl who became a teenager at eight. her own woman today, generous able and strong.

that cup is full to overflowing. may your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.

ming yue

third visit to attempt purchase. first success. 10 packets of your peanut candy please, we murmur. 

word-of-mouth hype meets masterful queue management becomes legend.

middle-aged date

roof top bar on a rainy night. panoramic ipoh skyline, the tag says. 

but it's raining so the doors to the outside are locked.

rest

after the church i wander into the attached cemetery which turns out to be a fully cemented patch of monochromatic headstones and lots crammed together. yet it is a place of repose and cool breeze under an overcast sky and i see chinese characters roman numerals and tamil script beautifully and egalitarianly juxtaposed. this is the malaysia of my childhood. tanah pusaka berbagai bangsa di dalamnya.

though a great world removed from the gaudy chinese cemetery of my childhood which is responsible for many adolescent nightmares and much PTSD.

exciting sighting

if you look very carefully amongst the zinnias there is a special buzzing being that i initially think is a large bee but is actually a hummingbird!!! in the tropics!!!

2024 is shaping up to be the year of the hummingbird.

a pause

i wander into a catholic church on a saturday morning. the caretaker hustles his dog away so i can enter. the church is cavernous quiet and welcoming. i spend a time in stillness with the sound of the flowing water for company.

it is a pity that protestant churches with our energetic outreach strategies do not open our churches for personal meditation on days that are not sundays. also a pity that modern buildings are somehow more utilitarian than contemplative.

insta pot

unboxing ourselves into the modern age.