SOUL SCRIBBLES

I postponed the surgery to the following week. “I have to make some arrangements at work,” I told the surgeon. I lied. I could just go through with it immediately but I wasn’t mentally prepared for the surgery. His nurse penned down the date for surgery. She booked the room and cleared with the insurance company on the necessary payment. I was to be warded the day before for pre-surgical procedures. After the appointment, I went to the office and then back to my own house. My staff thought I had done the surgery the way I was carrying myself. I told them the painkiller was my best friend. Seriously, I have no problem being put under for the surgery. My problem is the pre-surgery procedure, especially having to draw blood for tests. You see, I had a painful and traumatic experience when I was hospitalized for suspected dengue in 1974.  I was poked three times in each arm by an inexperienced nurse. She couldn’t locate the vein on my arm to draw blood. A doctor had to draw bl...

I fell at KLCC. Wait, I know what you’re going to ask. “Macam mana boleh jatuh?” I was asked that every time I relate this story. I don’t know really. The floor may have been wet (it happened in front of Garrett’s, the popular popcorn outlet) or I may have tripped after stepping on my long skirt. Or I may have simply misstepped. I felt a sharp pain on my right shoulder. I knew immediately that something was not right. What I didn’t know then was that I had fractured the head of the humerus bone. The KLCC guest relations officer, who happened to pass by, asked if they can take me to the clinic. I told her I needed a hospital instead. When she told me that the medical centre had closed (it was after 6 pm when it happened), I decided to go to Pantai Hospital. I took the Isetan escalator to the groundfloor and headed towards the taxi stand. It was peak hour. There was no taxi in the queue, except for one waiting for her ride to finish work. The lady driver saw that I was in ...

I was in cab on the way home from terawih on the eve of Ramadan when I saw fireworks lighting up the sky near the apartments where I live. They do start early this year, I told my usual cab driver. “ Tak lama lagi nanti kita baca berita ada yang accident main mercun ni ,” Hasanudin said. He was not far from wrong. Today, a day short of a week into the fasting month, I read that a four-year-old kid lost his fingers when the “A-Boom” fireworks he was playing with exploded in his left hand. No one really knew what happened. Only the boy can tell. He may have thrown the lighted fireworks too late or he may have tampered with the fireworks and it blew up on him. The irony is we only read about these mishaps during the fasting month and well into Syawal too. Yes, only during these times; hardly ever during Chinese New Year although fireworks are big during their celebrations. I played with fireworks when I was growing up and I have had a few mishaps myself. The first incident was...

I never had a “pret a porter” Baju Kurung Telok Belanga or Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. Most, if not all, my Baju Kurung, even those for school, were tailor made. The in-seams are hand-sewn. Only the hems are machined together. The sarong? I was taught by my mother to tie my own sarong, even the sarong I wore to school. I can sew my own Baju Kurung but I would let my mother finished up the neckline. I hadn’t mastered the tulang belut technique. I tried learning from my grandmother and my mother but they gave up on me. They find it difficult to teach a left hander how to do the tulang belut. As time evolves, so have the Baju Kurung Telok Belanga and Baju Kurung Chekak Musang. Today, both baju styles come in a variety of interesting - and colourful - designs, including batik, and other materials. The baju on the rack in departmental stores and boutiques are mostly without the pesak (gusset or insert, as in the seam of a garment, for added strength) and kekek (godet, a triangular pie...

Esok, kita akan mula berpuasa. Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk memohon keampunan di atas segala perbuatan dan percakapan saya samada di dalam keadaan sedar atau tidak. Jua, di halalkan segala makan dan minum. Sesungguhnya, yang baik itu datangnya dari Allah SWT dan segala keburukan, kesalahan dan kesilapan itu datangnya dari diri saya sendiri.  Semoga Allah SWT menerima amalan dan ibadah kita sepanjang bulan Ramadhan ini. Mohon kita semua perkukuhkan ikatan silaratul rahim yang sedia ada, insya’Allah.

It was a missed opportunity. I should have taken out my phone, put the camera setting on and take her photograph. Oh, I would probably ask her permission first before I snap her photograph or maybe not because I would want a candid shot. She was a rare specie in this day of modern technology. She was reading a book while waiting for her order to arrive. Yes, you read it right the first time. She was reading a book when I saw her. This was at Ben’s KLCC two weekends ago. Everyone around us was looking at the mobile phone screens. You know some were scrolling because they were using the index finger in an upward or downward motion on the mobile phone screen. I saw others furiously typing notes, SMSes or messages on Whatsapp, Telegram or whatever message applications they have on their mobile phones. I didn’t see anyone actually talking on the mobile phone. I am guilty of doing the same thing – checking my messages, checking Facebook or reading the links send to by my frien...