Me..now-with-standing Part I

I find myself frequently waking up at around half past one or two in the morning these days. Grateful as I am that I dont have to put the alarm clock on just to log in and see the updates on my FB or approve comments on blogger or schedule postings as well. Maybe because I have some many stuff going on in my head at the same time that I rarely get a good night’s sleep.

I read in the recent copy of Reader’s Digest that most people would rather give up the idiot box a.k.a telle than the internet. This is DH’s first experience on an oil rig and I really dont know what to expect. Maybe am hoping that he’ll leave a msg on FB or something.

Life here is simple one thing. A lot less harder than the struggle we face in the big city. These days everyone – my grandmother, my mak long, my cik azie and my mother has a big tub of tempoyak in their fridge  There’s always durian coming from “nowhere” – either from my grandmother’s orchid or my other relatives.









The abundance of this smelly fruit that I personally feel a heavenly aroma is so great we have had to preserve it – by adding a bit of salt and sugar in an airtight container. That is how tempoyak is born.



This is our butter and instead of a dinner roll, it is accompanied by bird’s eye chillies hotter than jalependo, pounded to perfection with or without belacan.



And we never need to go far for the best greens. The huge backyard my parents have host many tapioca bushes.



Boiled tapioca leaves are the perfect accompaniment to tempoyak.



And my uncle in Sabah was generous enough to give us salted peanut fish or ikan kacang kering. The heavy aroma of this fried will definately linger in ones clothes so we ready to take a clean bath afterwards.



Yes, we the kampung folks love all things that are smelly. Its cheap, readily available, sometimes even FOC and most importantly DELICIOUS LOL.



The remedy of the intense heat this king gives is a queen in royal british color – the mangosteen.



The flesh of this sweet fruit is oozing with goodness.





And sometimes lunch or dinner is finished with me sitting on my parent’s wood floor patio and having handfuls of rambutans. Which I think is healthier than a tub of ice cream 





Part two (tomorrow) – how the kids and me are affected.