Summer highlights

Has it really been 7 weeks? By all that is cliched, that sure was quick. Here are some of the highlights.

• The Atkins diet.
  
• Hanging out at the 'open air market' with Jo and Superduperglorious Friend, eating siow bee and gubak mee and ais kacang.
  
• The loss of a friendship that meant a lot to me.
  
• The support of wonderful girlfriends as I dealt with the loss.
  
• Jo's Harry Potter ringtone, which I desperately want.
  
• Opting out of a carol concert a week before the performance because I could never get comfortable with the group.
  
• 3 days in Kuala Lumpur, shopping till I literally dropped in exhaustion.
  
• The alarming population density in Kuala Lumpur's shopping centres - it rivaled Chadstone in the week before Christmas.
  
• The credo of drivers in Asian cities seem to be "Every man for himself" or "Get out of my way, you moron. What, your license kopi-o one-kah?!".
  
• Being devoured by mosquitoes, as usual, when I was in Bintulu.
  
• Listening my cousin-in-law discussing politics with my dad and thinking "He's such an ass", wondering pettishly if he only married my cousin because of our family's political 'connections'.
  
• Feeling relieved and proud of Dad's decision not to take up politics when Granddad retired some thirty years ago.
  
• Watching a miring or blessing ceremony, for the re-naming of a child during our overnight at Dad's longhouse.
  
• Hearing the shrieks and laughter of my cousin's daughters on the evening air as they bathed in the brown river that runs past our longhouse.
  
• Watching Granddad, who's really quite frail now, relishing his food, to the point of ignoring the conversations around him.
  
• Making Granddad pray pray with us.
  
• Rediscovering long-forgotten Iban words as I struggle to communicate with my grandparents.
  
• Basket weaving lessons with my step-grandmother.
  
• Spending oodles of time with Mum, Dad and Darren, but still feeling as if I barely spent any time with them.
  
• Taking Darren to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and watching VCDS with him.
  
• The Two Towers.
  
• Conversing with Darren in Mandarin, and pestering him for the correct translations for specific words.
  
• Helping Darren colour pictures.
  
• Being obsessed with Reese Witherspoon's hairstyle in Sweet Home Alabama.
  
• A week of uncharacteristic snappish behaviour. I told Mark, a long time family friend, to "get out of my kitchen, for one thing" when he offered his help the one time he was over to see Jason.
  
• Discovering family history, and trying to place everyone we met in Bintulu in the family tree. "This is your cousin. He is the son of *eh?*, who is the son of *eh?* who was married to *eh?* who's daughter is cousin to *eh?* who lives in the same longhouse as your father's grandmother." !!!
  
• Alison's wedding.
  
• Running into John H., of all people, when I was having drinks with Alice and Jon in a mamak shop in Bangsar.
  
• Petaling Street and pirated VCDs.
  
• Malaysia.
  

I swear I'm going to cry when I get on that plane tomorrow.