IT'S A PANDAN LIFE ...!

About a year ago, a colleague, Megat, asked me whether I wanted to be part of his research team, which was going to produce a documentary about the bird's nest industry in Malaysia. My part, he described, would be to write the text in English and to go for sales-pitch once the documentary is ready. I agreed immediately, as I had worked with him before. He is easy-going and has helped me on a number of occasions. Plus, I am thrilled with the thought of writing the English text for the documentary, which is a great challenge. I haven't been writing texts/scripts for TV for quite some time. This venture would also serve as a break from the monotony of writing my thesis. Recently, Megat took me on a trip to Miri, Sarawak. The writing stage for the documentary has not started yet but he wanted me to get a feel of the shooting/filming process, as well as hands-on knowledge of the bird's nest industry. He had already  stationed his research team at Sandakan. Now, they're m

I guess I had a different kind of Eid celebration this year. The month of Ramadan that preceded it flew so fast. I've been having a lot of emotional turbulences before Ramadan came, so Ramadan came just at the right time. Like what God has ordained, during this entire month, I tried to place more emphasis on my religious actions as opposed to my daily routine and emphasis on worldly matters. The essence of Ramadan, which is to become humble, simple and free from ill-will, anger, and hate, really came through to me this time. I found solace in Ramadan. And in God. Eid came soon after. I felt like a kid, counting the days when I would head home and join my family and  cuddle with my baby nephew, Qaleef. I even baked some cookies, my first-time ever! Luckily they turned out fine. I guess next year I won't have to buy any cookies! Haha. We'll see. I don't know why but this time around I didn't say no whenever my mom asked me if I wanted to join her visit our relati