GLOOMY DAYS

This was what I saw when I looked out from my balcony this afternoon. It was about the same yesterday and on Sunday when Wan SK and I were marooned at Amcorp Mall for several hours. We could not get to my car because of the downpour.

In spite of all this much water falling down on KL, we still have to pay more beginning this month. Now I wish I was back in Merang where cool water from our telaga is free. Wishful thinking aside, I have to face the fact that I have to pay more for water. I am thankful that my backside is not that big and washing it is not as expensive as a sofa-size behind.

With rain came floods. Even in modern Kuala Lumpur, our streets are flooded with each heavy downpour. I must ask my fellow Terengganunese engineer Tan Sri Wan A. whether our engineers designed our streets with the Malaysian weather in mind. To be fair, the Federal Highway in front of my place was built by the Koreans. It got flooded after the rain too. Maybe we should blame the DID people for the clogged drains and rivers. They in turn would blame us for throwing everything, from illegitimate babies to inedible plastic bags into the drain and rivers.

Whatever it is, the days are gloomy. In Terengganu, days like these come with the monsoon. Museng kuala katop (the season when the river mouth is closed.) Some river mouth physically close with the shifting sand. Most would not be navigable. The cure for gloomy days like these would be to pull out some ubi kayu (tapioca, cassava) and roast them and enjoy them with some freshly grated coconut. Throw in some thick black kopi o (preferably kopi deka) and you can forget about the weather. The thing is, there are no ubi kayu within grabbing distance. Even if there are some, they won't taste as good microwaved.