Monday morning. Second day of Deepavali. I know the last thing i saw before I went to sleep was the clock: 6.02am.

Before I knew it, Jeannie was the majordomo: “10.00am. It’s time to wake up. You have to publish an article this morning”, she said. “Slavedriver”, I said of her. She said, I said, we said.😂

She said it is a holiday. People will have more time to read your articles. That is true, I thought to myself.

The real reason for her rushing me is that she wants to go to Mid-Valley, the shopping mall. We have not been there in a while. So, we will be going.

I am currently working on an article which I titled, “THE LAST LAP”. It is a maybe title. Will see how the article pans out in the end.

Jeannie rustled up a quick brunch. Can’t really call it brunch. It is already past 12.00pm. So, it is lunch.

Lunch was good. Jeannie walked to Chuan Kee restaurant (coffee chop) nearby here and bought some achar from the lady who sells mixed rice and chicken rice, too. “Achar” is an Indian word for pickles.

When she got back, she scrambled some eggs, got some chicken sausages pan fried (I think. Not sure how many other ways one can do this) and opened a can of baked beans.

I like the scrambled eggs done this way, where it is dry. At some hotels serving scrambled eggs at breakfast, the eggs are very mushy, with some liquid on the plate. Not sure if it is excess milk or water.

The Ayamas chicken sausages are nice. You should get a packet or two to try them out. The baked beans were good, too.

The achar or pickles is a vegetable type with carrots, cucumber and cabbage. It is slightly sweet but very spicy for those with a low tolerance for spicy food.

The achar is very delicious. I thought it as a good “throw off balance” with what would look like a full western meal. Very Asian. It keeps your “food senses” awake. I did not keep the achar for the last but instead, ate it while eating the others on the plate.

And for dessert, canned ring pineapples, soaked in a sweet syrup. The pineapple was nice. I usually like to drink the syrup with it. We (my siblings, included) always did, since our childhood days. The syrup that this pineapple came in, was not too sweet.

Now, that lunch is over, what’s next? Siesta? Should we have some Mexican music piped in to put us in the mood? The Christmas tree lights are on. The afternoon sky is creating a shadowy overcast. Can’t see the clouds from where I am sitting. But the overcast can be felt as I look out the glass sliding doors.

We will have to get going to Mid-Valley soon. I will be working on my “THE LAST LAP” article while making our rounds in Mid-Valley..

I will be putting a bit more work into my book, too. I am building on the characters involved in the book – some real life, some made up. Not sure if I am doing it right: I seem to be starting up several chapters at the same time. Let’s see how this pans out. Putting these “jigsaw puzzle pieces” together is going to be interesting.

Mid-Valley, here we come. If you can meet me there, if you are there, too; this afternoon.