A Little Bit of Hope

To all Muslims, Selamat Hari Aidilfitri! May you reach your respective destinations safely and be blessed with good luck. This is the Muslim celebration which marks the end of Ramadan (the month in which they must fast from morning to sunset each day). The dates of the celebration are determined based on the sighting of the Syawal New Moon; this year it falls on the 30th and 31st of August. Clashing with Malaysia's Independence Day, it seems. To all you lovely folks, this is an early wish. 

Selamat Hari Aidilfitri!

Back to updates, thank goodness for the people who are holding me together. Sometimes a little hope, no matter how much it hurts, goes a long way. That being said, do you know the Greek Mythology on Pandora's Box? Pandora was a woman who opened a jar and unleashed all evils of mankind except Hope when she closed it again. In other versions, she manages to trap all of them again by opening the jar for Hope to  escape. Is Hope not actually an Evil then?


In reality, hope is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs man's torments. 
 ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Secret Recipe

Of course, don't mistake me for a pessimist. I do believe Hope helps us hold on, reminding us never to back down. At least, I hope so. Ignore the dark humour.

Ah Yee

Secrets are binding all of us together as well. As I cannot say too much, I will touch on the subject of my kaimah ('godmother' in Chinese) teaching us how some of her delicious dishes are made. Here are jars of deep fried seaweed wrapped with a thin layer of popiah ('thin crepes made from wheat flour' in Hokkien). I cannot find any other reason to explain the extensive collection of recipes in her head other than that it's built from secrets of the trade and years of experience.

All gobbled up by now

Also, I've had dim sum (点心) for breakfast. In restaurants, all you have to do here is wait for the waiters to come by with their huge trays full of different little savoury or sweet snacks. When you see one that you like, you just need to lift it off the tray and tuck in. To give you an idea of what sort of dim sum[s] there are, several examples include various dumplings, flavoured buns, fried or roasted meats, congee (or rice porridge), glutinous rice and rice noodle rolls (also known as 'chee cheong fun' in Cantonese). I haven't done much justice here, so perhaps one day I'll write a proper post on this gastronomic subject.

Dim Sum (Small Snacks in Cantonese)

Anyway, it is about time I go to bed. Goodness knows if it is because of stress, but my sleeping hours are starting to fluctuate again.

PS. Do cherish the people around you. And hope that Hope will be a friend to you.