Category Archives: Culture & Society

Must Read: First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung

Posted on February 20, 2023 by bookjunkie

I’ve never been so fully engaged in a book. The last one was perhaps Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. The parts of the book touching on the fear and pain of losing a father made me cry. I can’t recall … Continue reading →

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#18. Simple Joys: A Dragon Dance

Posted on January 30, 2023 by bookjunkie

Just when I was thinking my life is so humdrum, I heard a cacophony of cymbals and drums and headed towards it. I felt so uplifted and blessed to be perfectly on time for a dragon dance. And in my … Continue reading →

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Thoughts of My Youngest Cousin

Posted on October 4, 2022 by bookjunkie

What cousin G related to me: I feel totally Singaporean. Sri Lanka has no impact or significance to me. I feel nothing much. More curious about Jaffna, because of my roots and as part of history. (About my eldest cousin … Continue reading →

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Revelations by my Youngest Uncle

Posted on October 4, 2022 by bookjunkie

Uncle S related that it’s very hard for him to recollect a lot of the past as he has memory lapses due to the seizures he suffers from. But I appreciate that he did try very hard to share his … Continue reading →

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Ceylonese Singaporean

Posted on October 2, 2022 by bookjunkie

I am so excited that a novel set in Sri Lanka has been shortlisted for the 2022 Booker prize and I’m hungry to read it. My partner was the one who alerted me to it. He knows me so well. … Continue reading →

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5 Things I Thought I Would Have when I was a Child: Letting Go of My Expectations

Posted on October 1, 2022 by bookjunkie

This is my exercise in letting go of expectations. Sadly life never turns out the way you expect for many, but there have also been treasured joys I never expected as well. When I was a kid I always imagined … Continue reading →

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Fried Mutton with Potatoes

Posted on September 29, 2022 by bookjunkie

My mum learnt how to cook various ceylonese dishes, observing my grandma. Back then she mostly did the menial work like cutting up and grinding stuff. You could say, she was sous chef to the chef (grandma) and she started … Continue reading →

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Typical Childhood in the 1950’s (Uncle A’s perspective), with a Preamble About Recording Stories

Posted on September 26, 2022 by bookjunkie

I’m noting down family details and it’s all these little stories and varying perspectives that may come in useful for a story about a typical Singaporean family that have their ancestral roots in Sri Lanka, specifically Jaffna. Of course no … Continue reading →

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My Blog is a Work in Progress

Posted on September 26, 2022 by bookjunkie

It’s never the finished product, but more like a dairy entry. A diary entry that I can rework easily. I keep editing as I discover embarrassing errors (mostly due to autocorrect), and new information, especially for my biographical posts. I … Continue reading →

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Typical Day in the Life of My Mum in the early 1960’s

Posted on September 25, 2022 by bookjunkie

She couldn’t recall exactly what time she woke up, but it was to the crowing of the neighbourhood roosters and not an alarm clock. They were extremely loud she said. She ironed her uniform the day before. Once adorned, she … Continue reading →

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Family Ties: Aunts, Uncles & Cousins

Posted on September 24, 2022 by bookjunkie

I recently asked my uncle how he felt when his son was just born. “Were you nervous being a father now? Nervous about having to carry a baby.” He said not really, and then I realised my baby cousin (I … Continue reading →

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Were there Tasks You Hated Doing as a Child?

Posted on September 22, 2022 by bookjunkie

I’m asking myself questions and often I go off on a tangent, but that’s my purpose. My method of jogging my memory before it all fades. For me, as I was not made to do any chores, it was mostly … Continue reading →

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What I Admired Most about My Father (Partner Edition)

Posted on September 21, 2022 by bookjunkie

His penmanship comes to mind. It was beautifully and artistically rendered. Calligraphy in fact. I admired his cool signature. He had to stop schooling at Primary 3 because he was biologically the eldest kid and had 5 or 6 younger … Continue reading →

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What do you Admire Most about your Father? Question posed to my Uncle, Aunt & Mum

Posted on September 21, 2022 by bookjunkie

I’ve been exploring prompting questions to ask my relatives, and I thought this was a good one. It really doesn’t matter if the answer goes a bit off tangent as the key goal is to prompt memories about a loved … Continue reading →

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Asking my 76 Year old Mum About her Reaction to the Queen’s Passing and About Life Under British Colonial Rule

Posted on September 11, 2022 by bookjunkie

What follows is in my mum’s words: When I read the news about the queen I thought she looked much younger than her years. I was impressed that she didn’t age that much. I only wish she could live until … Continue reading →

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Is Having Instant Information Helping Us More than Hurting Us?

Posted on September 10, 2022 by bookjunkie

Well for one thing, my concentration is not as good as it used to be with all these new distractions. But these distractions are oh so enticing. It’s no surprise that Tik Tok has grown exponentially to become the most … Continue reading →

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Impressed by the Netflix show Brainchild

Posted on September 7, 2022 by bookjunkie

The tween nieces introduced me to this spectacular educational tv show for kids. It’s edutainment. I was most impressed that the host of the show is of Indian ethnicity. Yay a brown girl and so far from a stereotype. She’s … Continue reading →

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Writing & Discomfort

Posted on September 3, 2022 by bookjunkie

Often after publishing something I feel strongly about, I feel really insecure and uncomfortable. I worry that it’ll be taken the wrong way. I also hate being judged. But that’s part of honest writing. You have to take the brick … Continue reading →

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Do People Still Blog or Read Blogs

Posted on September 2, 2022 by bookjunkie

I started in 2005 when I had a digital camera so it was easy to upload photos and write some accompanying words. So it’s been 17 years of fun. Of course I journal offline too as writing is life. I … Continue reading →

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My Hysterectomy gave me a release I never expected

Posted on August 17, 2022 by bookjunkie

Till age 45 I still felt a vacuum inside and a longing for a child. It’s something I could tell no one. Most of my friends had kids and I felt alienated from them. Even at this late age it … Continue reading →

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What it was like growing up in the 70’s and 80’s – corded, rotary and pay phones

Posted on August 17, 2022 by bookjunkie

To have privacy for my phone calls as a teenager, I had to pull the cord of the only home phone and I couldn’t even shut the door of my room as the cord was thick. You were restricted by … Continue reading →

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My History

Posted on April 4, 2022 by bookjunkie

Some blogs are truly engaging. Often I am so drawn in that I feel compelled to leave a comment. Usually the writer has been incredibly generous and brave with their life story. I can’t help but wonder, am I wasting … Continue reading →

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