Why Would I Write

  • Trading Lives

    Another child, another wife gone. This was my fourth one, yet I was still here. It was hard to believe she was gone. It was only last week that I was holding her tightly in the hospital ward, waiting for her turn to deliver the baby. After the baby was born, she was selected to be killed. Random, they said. It sure didn’t feel like it.

    We knew it was a risk before we had the child, but she wanted the experience of being a mother – even if it was only for a brief period. It was one of her goals in life. I felt somewhat happy that I helped her to accomplish her dreams, but I was miserable that I had to lose another woman in my life.

    I paced the living room floor, bottle of whiskey in hand, taking a swig of it every time I felt like crying my eyes out. While I was the envy of some of my friends, I didn’t really feel like I deserved it. I mean, who would want their partners dead? I guess some of them did, but their partners didn’t want any kids so they had no way out without ending the relationship (they were cowards, but that’s another story).

    I sat down and continued going through my late wife’s personal belongings. Putting away things to be kept in one box, and those to be disposed in a trash bag. It struck me as odd that she had a lot of letters and writings to God, despite her not being very religious. I don’t even remember the last time she went to church. I finished the bottle in my hand and walked to the kitchen to get myself another one.

    I decided to call up my best friend on the phone. He would know what to say. I hadn’t seen him in years ever since he moved away but we kept in touch. He wanted to get away from here, to start a new life in a new country on the other side of the world. It was late at night where he was but he answered my call after two rings.

    I could hear his sleepy voice on the other side of the phone.

    “Hello?” he croaked.

    I told him my dilemma.

    “Okay,” came the reply.

    “That’s it? I’ve survived four children and all you have to say is okay? Why isn’t this more surprising to you?” I said, slightly bothered by his nonchalant response.

    I could hear the sigh over the phone as I pictured him swinging his feet off the side of his bed, sitting up, putting his fingers on the bridge of his nose and massaging it. It was exactly what he did when he replied, “oh dear, oh dear. You’ve been drinking again haven’t you, Yahweh?”

    Writing Prompt from Reddit: In order to control population growth, every time a baby is born the government randomly selects one of the parents to be euthanized. After four children, you start to wonder why you’ve never been chosen.

  • RIP Uber Malaysia

    So it was announced yesterday that Grab had finalized the deal to purchase Uber in the region and not long after that, I started receiving emails from the company informing me about it. As of now the Uber app still works (I checked, it will stop working on April 8th), so I guess I can still use my weekly promo codes to get around.

    While I have no opinion on monopolies (it has never really affected me since I am an informed consumer who makes choices based on research and opinions), I think it’s kinda shitty that Uber had to fold to its only competitor in the region. After all, Grab was a copycat of Uber – it makes me wonder how an imitator could outdo the original so easily.

    My favorite feature about Uber was its global presence – it didn’t matter which country in the world I was in, I could use the same app on my phone to get a ride. Since I don’t go overseas so often anymore, I guess it’s not much of an issue. But coming this April, I’ll have to install Grab on my phone. I have an account which I used once because I had a promo code, haven’t touched it since.

    I’m not sure if Grab does the same thing, but I enjoyed receiving promo codes every week for free short distance trips. Great for going to Mid Valley on those days where I didn’t feel like looking for parking. Also, I took Uber rides just because of the promo codes.

    I don’t have any complaints about Uber – it has saved me loads of money since I didn’t have to get scammed by non English-speaking taxi drivers in foreign countries. It also saved me the trouble of directing drivers to my destination since the address would be on their phones. I’ve only had one bad experience using Uber here (dude followed Waze blindly, getting me to the airport later than I had planned) and it wasn’t the app’s fault (a shitty driver is a shitty driver). So with a heavy heart, I bid Uber farewell. Grab, make me happy about the buyout.

  • Pan Mee is

    One of the greatest foods known to mankind, in my opinion at least.

    Pan Mee or flour noodles (what I called it growing up), one of the few good things from Malaysia, has been a staple of my diet ever since I was a young boy. There’s just something wonderful about sinking your teeth into juicy chunks of flour dough that’s been cooked in delicious soup. Add in some minced pork, mushrooms, mani cai, deep-fried shallots, a helpful serving of sambal and you couldn’t ask for more. My favorite part about pan mee – when eating the hand-pulled variants, you can finish the meal with just a spoon.

    It’s also deceptively filling. I’m not sure if it’s because the flour expands in your stomach (that’s what I’ve heard), but it’s not hard to get full on a single bowl (especially if you take it with soup). While it’s one of the best dishes available in Malaysia, and it’s not too hard to cook, it makes me wonder why it isn’t a widespread phenomenon yet. It’s not outlandish or filled with exotic ingredients, I can’t believe it hasn’t spread globally yet. I’m pretty sure someone could start up a Pan Mee restaurant in a western country and do well there.

    Pan Mee is widely available in Kuala Lumpur and is cooked in many different styles depending on which restaurant you go to. The most common ones are cooked with soup, dry with black sauce (with optional chili flakes). One of the things I like about the dish is that you can’t really go wrong ordering it – the worst you’ll get is something with insufficient flavor or stale anchovies. Also, super biased opinion, my mom makes the best Pan Mee ever.

    While typing this piece, I realized why I never write about food. I have no idea how to describe flavor. Or appearance. Or aroma. Or whatever goes into describing food. Also, I have no idea why I wanted to write about Pan Mee – I was just inspired after having a delicious bowl of it for dinner. Feel free to drop any Pan Mee restaurant recommendations you have if you think I should check it out!