A Postcard to a Father

~ Mom's Journal ~

How do we know which particular item would bring back a memory? There were many but as I look through the old photographs that my sister showed me, the photo of our smiling father brings a memory. Amongst the photos is a postcard from my brother, AJ, to our father. My brother went to Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh, Perak, and later to the United Kingdom to further his study.

We seldom or no longer write a letter or send a postcard nowadays. Hence, his postcard reminds me of the time when we wrote to our late father and we addressed him as "Ayahanda" and we refer to ourselves as "Anakanda". When we were in a residential school, we were always elated to receive any news from home, and without a doubt, a registered letter (surat berdaftar) from our father is a bonus!

Ayahanda Abdul Latiff

Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh, Perak

1975: A Postcard to a Father

My brother has his own family now. He is a fantastic father! He raises his children well and they have since graduated from the university. He and his wife have always been generous and thoughtful of us, his siblings, and of many others around him. 

Today, 6th December is his birthday. Happy birthday dear brother, may Allah SWT bless you always with a healthy and happy life.

Lockdown: Plants and Flowers

~ Mom's Journal ~

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many places to go into lockdown. Many people are spending more time at home and catching up on their activities such as gardening. My sisters have shared with me the photos of their beautiful blooming flowers. Sisters and flowers are similar. Flowers bloom in the garden, sisters blossom in the garden of life ❤️ When your flowers start blooming. Gorgeous!

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Adenium obesum

A papaya plant

Stop and smell the flowers.

Bunga Kenanga (Ylang Flower)

Bunga Raya (Hibiscus Flower)

A cat and a Hawaiian Hibiscus flower

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Orchid Flowers

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Limau Purut (Kaffir Lime) and Limau Kasturi (Calamansi)

Daun Kunyit, Daun Kari, Pokok Pandan, 

Serai, Pokok Limau Purut and Kucing

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A Papaya & a Bamboo Plant

Flowers bring colours to our world.

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Wrightia antidysenterica

Moss-rose purslane

Light Blue Jasmine

Bunga Kertas (Bougainvillea Flower)

Pedilanthus Bracteatus plant

                              “Where flowers bloom so does hope” 

                                                           ― Lady Bird Johnson

Thank you, stay safe and take care dear sisters.

It Was 2020

 ~ Mom's Journal ~

Coronavirus or Covid-19 has reached Malaysia in 2020 and it is still here. We have been under the Movement Control Order since Wednesday, 18 March 2020. It was equivalent to a lockdown. Stay home.

We stayed home and watched as the number of cases increased. We learned about R naught and we prayed that everybody adhered to the Standard Operating Procedures in order to reduce and eliminate the virus. Despite all the precautionary measures taken by many countries around the world, the virus spread, and many people were infected. It was soon declared a pandemic.

Security measures were implemented in our country, among them was tracking our movements. As we enter any outlet, we have to scan using the MySejahtera application or write our names and contact numbers in the register book provided by the outlet. This is for the purpose of contact tracing, in case of need, by the relevant authority. The outlet also checked our temperature, people with normal temperature are permitted to enter. 

We were also advised to wash our hands with soap and water and carry hand sanitizer. 

Our government implemented measures to ease the burden of the people as some of us were retrenched or faced with a cut in salary as non-essential services were closed or they were not operating in full capacity. Some of the schemes were cash handouts and also the i-Lestari withdrawal of RM500 per month for eligible contributors.

In the early days, there was not much information about the transmission of the virus, so after shopping, we came back and washed and rinsed our goods, we even washed our money and put them to dry under the sun as we feared the unknown. Thankfully after that many outlets adopted and accepted cashless transactions via cards.

The economic activities almost came to a standstill. The prices of petrol dropped, but traveling was prohibited except for essential services like courier services or food deliveries, so it did not benefit us much. There were roadblocks in many areas.

Our lifestyles have also changed.

No visitors allowed

A busy street turned quiet at 10 p.m.

The children could not go to school or attend an outdoor event like birthday parties or a visit to the Zoo Negara.

"We cannot go to the zoo so mummy brings the zoo to us 😉"

School goes towards Online Learning.

Home. There is so much to do...

For adults, Dalgona Coffee was the craze but apparently, it was not for everyone. Afterward, their attention turned to gardening.

Gardening then was taken up by many as a newfound hobby.

On 1st July 2020, our country recorded zero locally transmitted covid-19 cases. We were elated because the situation had improved. We went back to work.

It did not last long because cases started to increase in October. We went back to a lockdown.

We knew the drill.

Always wear a mask in a public place. Three things to avoid: crowded places, confined spaces and close conversation.

As for the children, they were back to pursuing their hobby online.

And resumed indoor activities at home.

The adults had also found a new hobby.

An aesthetic way of recording activities, they called it "Bullet journal".

Bullet Journal

Inter-district travel was not allowed. We need to apply for a police permit in order to travel for a specific purpose, for example, an emergency case or to sit for an examination to be held in a different district.

A police permit from Cyberjaya, Sepang

Students queued at an examination centre in Kuala Lumpur

The office meetings were held via Zoom:

Waiting for the others to show up...

Also, the plastic chair was upgraded to an ergonomic chair as another directive to work from home again, was issued.

Shopping online also became the norm. At Mail Boxes center in Damansara, Selangor, the outlet was flooded with goods to be delivered to customers. Every precaution was taken to ensure safe delivery.

People were living with the new norm, even a small child knew the importance of practicing good hygiene.

We must take every precaution to ensure the safety of ourselves and the people around us but as mentioned by our DG of the Ministry of Health the virus is already in the community. Hence, it is possible for any one of us to get infected.

 

2021...

An insight sharing of experience at MAEPS Serdang, just to instill awareness and also some advice on self-preparation in case anybody had to be quarantined.

On another note, more offices or buildings have requested for regular cleaning and sanitization services.

Again, as the situation improves, we get to go out with conscious compliance to the Standard Operating Procedure. Social distancing is for everybody.

The children are going back to school under the new norm. They are now wearing face masks and face shields as part of their school uniform.

The forms of birthday celebrations have changed in terms of gifting.

Birthday gifts now came by post! This year's birthday feels longer than just a day, the gifts kept coming every other day via delivery.

Smart scale

As time passes, more employees are allowed to be back working at the office. A celebration at the office was held under the new norm. Individually packed food to be eaten at your own table!

And so we continue to carry on with life under the new norm. 

Even though people are getting used to this new lifestyle, many are still hoping for days to return to normal. Scientists around the world are actively searching for a cure to handle the widespread disease. Recently, vaccinations are being made available to all adults.  Let’s stay positive (and that too is an equally amusing reference for this happening), better days are still ahead of us!

#StaySafe! 

#Lindung diri, Lindung semua, an official tagline from the Ministry of Health Malaysia.