A Lot To Be Grateful For

It's official: I will not entertain any more tags. Sorry.
It's tiresome, and it's not the purpose of this blog.
Sure they're fun and they give you a reason to blog, for those who don't really know what to do with their blogs.

I got this from February 2008 issue of Reader's Digest.

"To be bored is to stop reacting to the external world, and to explore the internal one. It is in these times of reflection that peole often discover something new, whether it is an epiphany about a relationship or a new theory about the way the universe works. Granted, many people emerge from boredom feeling that they have accomplished nothing."

".....There is a strong argument that boredom- so often parodied as a glassy-eyed drooling state of nothingness- is an essential human emotion that underlies art, literature, philosophy, science and even love."

From the article 'The Joy of Boredom' by Carolyn Johnson.

So, what's this? Boredom in a more positive light? Boredom as the mother of invention? It's by being bored that people look for excitement.

However, it is often the 'bored' teens who go on adventurous escapades on motorbikes as Mat Rempits, and prescribe their own drugs for kicks. Well, it's actually up to the individual to figure out a more postive way to channel their boredom. Everybody feels bored, and that's normal.

This holiday, I have been practicing golf, and not really caring much for my homework. I've also been on food adventures of gastronomic proportions. (I love to eat!)

On the first day of last year's holiday, I went to Ariana Iranian Restaurant in Cyberjaya, and had lamb shank in curry with rice and baked tomatoes with my father. My, was it heaven.

This holiday, the whole family went to Al-Jazera Yemeni Restaurant, which was , like, two shop lots away from Ariana. We had chicken and lamb mendy with salad, and also hummus for appetizer. My siblings and I had tea served Arabic style in cute little cups. It tasted minty.

I wish I brought my camera then, so we'd have snapshots of it, and I might still recapture (and savour?) the sensuality of the meal from the pictures... (yumm..)

On another day, we went for dinner at Pa's friend's ikan bakar stall in Kajang. The simplicity of the meal and the flavours was a blissful dining experience.

Then, today, on Chinese New Year morning,I don't celebrate it, mind you, but I recalled once upon a time in my youth, nenek used to invite us to her house on CNY and we'd eat (she's a great cook, too bad those chef genetics weren't passed down to me), and I think, (if I'm not experiencing 'made-up memories') the little ones would get ang-pau; Pa made some bihun sup. (I know, this paragraph is of one sentence, and the structure itself is weird.)

I recalled my previous Rayas where sometimes my Papa would make spaghetti or Kelantanese laksam, and there was one time when we celebrated at the kampung in Pasir Puteh my Papa made some lamb chops.

Sometimes, back then, we used to have barbecue of all sorts, meats, poultry and seafood. All that with the magic of the electric grill in our backyard.

My mouth is watering already from the thought of it. In five days, I will soon return to school, to dining hall food.

Well, I've been talking about all this food, and it strikes me that not everyone shares this luxury, especially those in war-torn countries, majority in Africa, and it leaves me a lot to be grateful for.