My latest Lip Mag piece is up! The Perils of Perfectionism. This was a fun piece to write and research.
My upcoming spoken word performance on Saturday night
I’m thrilled to be part of a “nasheed: light the night” event this Saturday night, 8:30 pm at Talent Lounge. The theme of the night has to do with preparing for Ramadan. Thank you, all the organisers, for including me in this awesome line-up.
I’ll be performing at least one spoken word poem during the event. Please come down for some spiritual rejuvenation, and bring your loved ones!
Raw milk, by Bright Cow
One of the best things about living in Malaysia is our access to delicious, creamy and nutritious RAW MILK!
That’s right folks, unpasteurized and unhomogenised milk is delivered to my doorstep twice a week at the amazing price of 8 ringgit per bottle (1 litre). It is literally the best milk I’ve tasted.
If you’d like to learn more about it, you can hop on over to their website.
Also, Poskod MY ran a lovely article on Bright Cow.
For those curious about the health benefits of raw milk, click here.
Drink some Bright Cow milk and notice the difference!
Love, Marriage and Bipolar disorder – My SISTERS article
I was inspired to write this article after watching The Silver Linings Playbook for the second time. If you liked the movie, you’ll love the book, by Matthew Quick. I can totally see why Jennifer Lawrence won an Oscar for her brilliant performance. Bradley Cooper has really grown as an actor since his days in Alias!
I’d like to thank Tamara Redfern, life coach extraordinaire, for helping me bring my article to life.
I spotted an error in the second paragraph in my article: I’ve interviewed a writer with Bipolar Type 1, Sara (pen name) and her husband, Ali (pen name), who does not have bipolar. I’ve also interviewed Tamara Redfern, Sara’s life coach, who also has bipolar.
Sorry about that, folks. Nobody is classified as an illness!
My first published poems are up!
I’m thrilled to share that my first set of published poems are up!
Please scroll down Cait Meissner’s website and download the free course anthology titled “Armed Only With Our Souls”. Thank you Caits and the lovely ladies of the April Digging Deep, Facing Self group – I am honoured to have tread that path of creative expression and healing with you.
To any woman who is on the precipice of change but feels stuck…I urge you to sign up, do the hard growth work, and marvel at the outcome.
My spoken word poems, on YouTube!
As promised, here are my poems. Enjoy!
My debut spoken word performance! @caitsmeissner @markgonzales @barakablue
The universe has order.
Last night, through a series of unexpected events, I ended up performing during a gig with Baraka Blue and other local Malaysian artists.
When I first stood at the microphone, I had DRAGONS in my stomach (forget butterflies). By the time the local artists and Baraka Blue himself performed, I was alight with creative energy, and ended up closing the event with a poem I wrote only hours before hand, during my poetry workshop with Baraka Blue.
Overall, it was incredible. There is something so magical about performing in the same gig with one my writing mentors. Maktub: it is written.
I performed three of my poems (Bone Marrow, Elder and Nenek), and I’m thrilled to report that I’ve been asked – very vociferously – to join the local poetry slam scene. Last week, I didn’t even know where to look. I’m working on uploading my performances. Stay tuned!
I’d like to thank Jamal Raslan and the Crescent Collective team for making this all possible. Also, special thanks goes to the brilliant spoken word artists who continue to inspire me: Caits Meissner, Mark Gonzales, and of course, Baraka Blue!
Stop the EKVE highway cutting through Selangor State Park
Malaysia needs your help! So much greenery is being cut down to make way for ‘progress’. Rapid deforestation will mean longer droughts, stricter water rationing, and even more polluted air.
Please help the people of Malaysia by signing the following petition about the proposed EKVE highway. Share this with your friends and family. Save our rainforests! The deadline is Monday – tomorrow.
Stop the EKVE from Cutting through the Selangor State Park : Selangor’s Water Tower
Cultivate In the City: Soil Health Part 1/5 – my latest article on Cultivate Central
Check out my latest article on Cultivate Central! It’s an introduction to what we learned with Dr Sultan Ismail, an international guest speaker and soil biologist from Chennai, India. He shared so much with us, and I’m working on creating a series of articles based on his gems of wisdom.
Back to my own garden – I’ll be writing more about my newbie composting experience on Cultivate Central. There is something so satisfying about creating rich topsoil out of grass clippings, brown plant matter and the magic catalysts (coffee grounds and chicken manure). Even if you don’t have a garden, you can compost on your balcony.
We found EARTHWORMS in our second finished compost pile! I saw one big, fat, juicy one, and a few smaller ones, all of which help increase soil health. Mmm, earthworms.
My poem – Nenek (maternal grandmother)
I’m on Week Three of a 30 day writing course – Digging Deep, Facing Self – and my poetry guru, Caits Meissner, has asked each of us to share our favourite piece of work as an exercise of vulnerability and bravery. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my poem. It’s still a very early draft, so be gentle, and please do comment!
Nenek (maternal grandmother)
I was thirteen and
an ill-fitting shoe
in my new country
of vegemite and Uncle Toby’s
I, child of chicken rice and noodles
when Nenek died
Mak flew back with Aisyah
I wish I had gone too
to say goodbye before the end
but only two decades later
when I awoke to the meaning of my ancestry
I lost your blue-stoned ring,
Nenek,
forgive me.
it haunts me
how careless I was
while I grieved for you,
refugees were shipwrecked
drowning
trying to enter the country
I waltzed into (via aeroplane)
“There are no children in detention centres.”
said the national lie
as more and more babies were born
into a cage
Nenek, you fled the communists
on a leaky boat with Datuk
not a cent to your name
your catalyst: being at gunpoint
Datuk told the soldier
“Shoot her first.”
you fled on a boat
like so many around the world
dark night, full moon swallowing the sky
risking death by drowning
you were a boat person
scorned
like the others left bloated
in the water
but you survived
you carved out a new life in Singapore
birthed countless children
showed them how to survive the ache of life
served tea to Datuk even when you could barely walk
Nenek, I am comfortable now
calm, grounded, married
you would have been so proud
I have returned to country you fled from
lifetimes ago
you paid for this, in the terror of your
night-time exodus
huddled next to your husband
towards an uncertain future
you have secured mine.
Raidah Shah Idil, MG Author 