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Working between Deepa and Raya

(This is an inane rambling post, not the usual stuff you find here everyday. You have been duly warned)

Today is what I call a sandwich day. It’s a working day sandwiched between two public holiday, or a weekend. The roads were clear today, but not as clear as Bhopal or Chernobyl as I expected. At least I didn’t have to use to first gear on the way here.

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Yesterday evening we went to Mid-Valley for dinner. We didn’t have a clue where to eat, the shop directory smudged with fingerprints wasn’t much of a help. We walked along the lower ground floor and decided on a Japanese fast food place called Yoshinoya. It wasnt very cheap, and it was really small. Instead of serving teriyaki in the usual black compartmentalized tray, they seved the food in small plastic see-through containers, like those you find in Chinese restaurant take-aways. How unauthentic. Heck, talk about unauthentic, this is pseudo-Japanese food in Malaysia. Geez.

The food was just OK, don’t try the veg salad.

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We went to Toys R Us after that, my daughter loves it there. I bought this mechanical wind-up sushi for TWO BUCKS! It could go forward, reverse and do circles, for just TWO FREAKING BUCKS!!! (I’ve got to make it clear to my daughter that it’s mine, not hers. She’s got enough wind-up toys from McDonalds.)

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For some strange reason, I’m reminded of this song today:

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I’m not sleepy and there is no place I’m going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you.

Hah! that’s because i used it in my nanowrimo novel yesterday.

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I remember Raya from yesteryears, my neighbour, this nice makcik would make us a huge tray of Raya delicacies on the night before Syawal. Every year it had the same fare – beef rendang, ketupat, soto, chicken rendang, and my favourite – salty fried chicken. No one makes quite like that makcik.

Too bad she passed on 15 years ago, leaving behind 7 kids, including two pre-school boys.

Lately her eldest daughter Ami has been continuing the tradition, too bad it doesn’t taste the same.

***

Yesterday i stay at home mostly, writing my novel and reading Fortune. The more i write, the more i realise that my style is nothing like Gaiman. Not even Asimov. Damn. There goes my chances of grabbing next year’s booker prize.

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Monday i had lunch with my friend near Bukit Bintang. We had a long chat about stuff – work, friends, money, insurance, and more gossip about our friends. I’ve come to realize I not making enough money, dammit. Damn this capitalistic society we live in.

***

Anyway to all my Muslim friends and readers, have a good Raya.

13 Comments

  • zyrin

    yup, me sandwich-day-worker as well. is there such a thing as a ‘ghost office’? coz that’s what my office feels like. heck, that’s what the whole Putrajaya feels like – ghost town. anybody want to teman me & play batu seremban in the middle of the road??

  • simon

    fashionasia – glad to know i’m not the only guy having to work today…

    fishtail – man, that place is crazy. you probably had to park a kilometer away to go there.

    cyber-red – relax, reta. its only the 2nd of November! 🙂

    zyrin – hah, i remember a few years ago i when i was in putrajaya, i worked through the raya holidays. we had to go to serdang for food.

  • Din

    tomorrow, i will wake up fresh, take a nice long shower, wear my tailored baju raya (the last time I bought a baju raya was in 2000), take a sip of water in the morning (after a month of fasting), call up my dad, mom and siblings……

    …..before I go to work. Yay.

    Selamat Aidilfitri to all.

  • Sharl612

    To get a two bucks toy from the “Toy-r-Us” in this high inflation society
    sounds freakingly cool. Enjoy your moving Sushi. 😉

  • S-Kay

    Yay yay. Raya! I got my first duit raya from the BF (at 2 freaking A M in the morning). Can’t wait to makan the raya food..his mom’s cooking mostly which comes once a year only.

  • S-Kay

    Itu chinese…for Malay, as long as they can earn money then they ‘should’ give to their young relatives but of course tak payah besar2 ler..just ‘cho isu’ only (in hokkien if u understand)

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