Archive for August, 2010made aniq stay up to write cards for his teachers and lao shis. managed only four before he gave up. (sorry Teacher Sandra, whoever you are.) as he’d written in all his (almost legible) cards, Thank You, teachers.
(i gotta say, those cheap cheap cartoon stickers from pasar malams are damn useful. … c’mon, don’t say “itch”. :p
barely recovered from The Worst Stomach Flu i’d ever encountered and being comatose and totally devoid of food for almost two days, i was prepared for a shock to my system… well, what’s a celebration without food, after all. it’s something the husband is especially, especially fond of. i think, even fonder of than me ha ha.
and that ice-cream, which i’d taken the liberty of requesting from the wonderful staff of TGIFridays @ JB, was almost regretful on the part of my stomach (no dairy, doc said!)… but i survived, phew.
to the guy who boils me homemade barley for my fever, makes hot tea for my stomach, scours shops for that particular isotonic drink to recover my salts… to many more years of looking after me! HEH HEH. (that, and many more dishes of delish food to enjoy, and drive-home music to sing along to.) (but enough babies, ok? thanks.) for the first time, there is a night bazaar at our estate. the potato spring snack that is sold at the bazaar has been a personal favourite for the family. tastes just like a thicker version of the potato chips.
i didn’t know such a tradition existed until i started seeing lanyards suddenly bedazzled with multi-coloured metal pins, cling-clanging against each other, weighing heavier and heavier around the wearer’s neck as each day passed during the Games. it stirred up my childhood fascination in collecting all things tiny and cute… (seriously, i loved pins when i was small.) unfortunately, i didn’t get many opportunities to meet with the athletes or NOCs personally to practise the pin-trading tradition, nor did i have any to give away in the first place. i didn’t even know the protocol to go about it. TOO SHY LAH. but! a fellow purple-shirted comrade offered her loot to me, collected from her venue. thank you Rafidah Meier!
a fellow purple shirt came by to visit me at ‘work’. he took one of those (infamous) ‘Give Way’ shuttle buses we could hop on to get from one Games venue to another.
and so, Games time ends today. a little sad to part with the company i’ve made over the past two weeks. being involved in this reminded me of the times i’d worked in event management just after i’d graduated, a (much younger) youth myself then, how i liked being a cog in the wheel of things, the challenges faced in intense periods, meeting new people… and in an event as large-scale and international as this, the cultural exchanges were, needless to say, most enriching. oh, and yes, i did learn more about SPORTS too, erm, of course. ha ha. (watching from the sidelines was admittedly more exciting than on tv.) but the time has come for us to sink back to reality, and move on with the ebb and flow of normal (yawn) everyday (yawnn) routines…. sigh. au revoir, Jeux Olympiques de Jeune. it was a great run. thank you, merci, obrigado, gracias, and (my favourite, in russian) – come on, say it with me – “spasibo”!
Available during the month of Ramadan, the porridge has always been one of the dishes for buka puasa. Collected just after Asar prayers, the queue may snaked all the way outside the mosque on certain days. *thanks to FaiQah for pointing me out that Bubur Asyura is NOT Bubur Masjid or Bubur Lambuk as it is called in Malaysia.
the mosque that is always photographed during my annual sholat hari raya, this is the first mosque that i set foot on as a boy which has now become my “official” prayer hall. in maternal guilt, i let them ‘skip school’ on my two off-duty days to gallivant with them, in the hopes of alleviating any abandonment issues that might arise with my long shift hours during the Games. almost drove all of us insane. i think i’m better off at work…
I always enjoy having dates for breaking fast. My current favourite, Medjoul dates, thick flesh, small seed, like durian
half of the languages we’re supporting for the y.o.g…
(am particularly fascinated with russian and find myself inexplicably thrilled rolling their country names off my tongue – azerbaijan, uzbekistan, kazakhstan, kyrzgyzstan, belarus – gah! ok i’m a dork.) a melting pot of youths, foreign and local, speaking in exotic languages, learning about each others’ cultures – needless to say, this deployment was a perfect fit for me. while i don’t provide any interpretation myself (merde, it’s been 12 years since my french and german lessons :p), felt extremely proud watching the volunteers do their job interpreting for the athletes, a first time for most of them, especially in the glare of camera lights, all excited, nervous, yet keeping cool and doing their best. gotta say, i like the energy and enthusiasm of this generation’s youths. (i’m not sure i felt it that much in my days.) and being around teens so much these few days, hey i turned into one myself… *looks at an oily zit on the face*
I will always pass by Auni’s room on the way to the kitchen to prepare for the predawn meal and usually she will be missing from her bed. She will be sprawled somewhere on the floor or under the table in her room. She can’t seems to sleep still. Anyway, its been a routine for us to put her in place How I wish I could be in the pool with them, to take refuge from the blistering hot day.
The Esplanade is always a great site for a picturesque setting. Taken during last night’s YOG opening ceremony, the Marina Bay Sands building in the background adds to the electrifying atmosphere.
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