I did not check but this probably one of the longest mind being blank when it comes to blogging.
Working 7 days a week including working up to 10 at night on the weekdays sure pulls the energy from the mind. Somehow, I still force myself before the mind goes to sleep to take a late-night shower (I have tried but I could not bring myself to bed without a shower…it simply feels too “sticky”) and sometimes put the clothes for washing.
Then it is off to the bed and wake up again at about 6.30 am (without an alarm) after the alarm goes off at 5.45 am, 5.50 am and 6.00 am (I am rarely aware of the time I switch off the alarm on 3 separate occasions).
I went back home from an overseas assignment for a couple of days and this was just before Father’s Day.
My kids were waiting for me at the front door as I got down from the taxi. First to hear was my youngest’s voice calling me loud and the next is my son rushing to open the front gate. They were indeed very excited to see me back (although it was for a few days).
We slept very late that night with my son having tonnes of stories to tell (as usual) with the youngest chipping in with her own baby language and jumping on my stomach as she often does. When I falling off to sleep, she even passed me her favourite blanket. My wife had a list of her own for me starting with the washing machine which has been giving some trouble (I almost smiled when I heard the washing machine mentioned). She yet to know that I have become an expert using the washing machine.
Yes, I missed my car too. My wife had forgotten to get it washed before I came back but it did not matter much. Driving for that few days and despite being stuck in traffic jam did not deter me from having a great time driving.
Ya, Malaysian drivers are still one of the worst kind out there and pesky motorcyclists remain the parasites of the road but somehow it was different for that few days. Perhaps after almost a month of being driven around from the workplace and to the apartment and judging on how others drive the car made me miss my own driving. Perhaps.
I miss the good old Malaysian food as well (and yes, that includes my wife’s cooking). Somehow the limau panas tasted better than ever and it did not cost me a bomb for me to have a good healthy lunch with plenty of vegetables.
A far cry now where a simple nasi campur have plenty of rice and chicken but almost non-existing vegetables and it cost as much as dining in a 5-star hotel. But I found the perfect place to dine (yes, it is still expensive) but somehow healthier than the other more premium looking place. This is one reason why home is still the best place to be.
It was a short break indeed to tweak my mind to the norms of things at home and soon it was time to fly back for the overseas assignment.
The night before I flew back overseas was great. We had a good dinner and quick shopping for the essentials. My son had wanted to buy a rabbit (he knows the right time to ask me) but there was no time to go to the pet shop. I told him that we will revisit this once I am back.
My son knew that I was flying out the next morning and I saw the sadness in his face but my daughter was still too young to understand things (the same happened to my son when he was small to a point that he thought I worked at the airport).
And that night, my son presented me with his “Father’s Day” wish card which was lovely and very touching indeed. He always has something to say that leaves me speechless and it was the same case this time around.
This morning, I had a good conversation with an elderly gentleman taxi driver (he was 72 years old but drives perfectly) who had served in the Air Force back in the 1960s and at once was attached to the Royal Malaysian Air Force. When he heard that I was from Malaysia, his first question was this – “What had happened to Malaysia?
From a country that had a good chance to be one of the powerful countries in the region, it had turned into a country full of crime, corruption and going down the drain”. I kept my silence. Not that I am not angry with a foreigner speaking badly of my beloved country but because I saw in the old man’s eyes, he was very disappointed.
He was sincere. He knows the nonsense that the so-called leaders are doing on a regular basis (in case you don’t realise by now, the country is running on autopilot on a very regular basis and has come to a point, had become a haven for terrorists from all around the world and religion extremists). There was some truth in what he said. Just like the old man who is a foreigner, we are asking the same question.
Oh, never mind. No point talking about it now. The only way we can clean the house proper is through the elections. I don’t see the logic of the corrupt, the extremists and the short-minded ones to be continued to be voted in to rule this country.
There will come a day when the corrupt, the lazy and the selfish are caught, stripped naked and lashed by the millions on public grounds. We seem to have more bad things lining up compared to good things and this gets amplified when one is abroad where there is more unity among the people, the extreme view of race & religion is non-existence, very strict control & enforcement at the borders to keep the foreign criminals & scammers away (we, on the other hand, are welcoming them with open arms) and there a general direction and accountability from the local politicians (I say “general” because politicians from matter from which country, era or background will never be angels).
That’s all for now, hopefully, I can write something next week if I can get my mind cranking again but for now, I am squeezing all available free time on catching up on sleep.