16.00
It's embarrassing to admit this but I'm spending a lot of time simply counting down the time to when I can break the fast, or counting the days to the end of Ramadhan. I felt a real delight at getting to Day 15 as that meant I'd gone beyond the halfway point, but then it occurred to me that such an attitude implied I was going downhill in ways other than the one I was counting. At times I remind myself of how impatient I was as a child during the weeks of Advent.
The embarrassment stems in part from my recognition of the childish side of my behaviour, but I must say it's mixed in with quite a bit of humour at the silliness of it all. It certainly prevents any sense of pride at my resoluteness since I don't think I can honestly claim any such quality under the circumstances. I'm pretty sure mature fasters don't do this - Noi, for one, completely loses track of the number of days we've covered.
But there's still plenty of time to go, so new things might be lying out there to learn. Just over halfway through means there's almost half a month left and I already feel like I've been doing this forever. And yet, of course, the time seems at the same time to be rushing by.
Mind you, there are few things I can think of that match the simple enjoyment of breaking the fast, especially when in company. Last night Mei and Boon came to help us polish off a few goodies, with Boon looking amazingly fit after his recent heart attack. He's back at work, for goodness' sake!!
18.25
One way to pass the time is to watch a movie, and I've still got stuff I need to view from the Surabaya trip - indeed, from last December in England. Unfortunately, I'm just not that good at sitting and watching over an hour and a half to two hours. Even with an obviously worthy piece like Doubt, I spread it out over a couple of days, but I've just finished it. Final verdict: good film, tight script, beautiful evocation of the period - the early sixties in the US, specifically in a Catholic school run by nuns. Meryl Streep is sensationally good as the repressive principal. It's difficult to believe this is the same actress that appeared in the Abba movie I bought at the same time. She transforms herself, starting with the curious way she holds her body. There's an odd but entirely convincing, unexaggerated stiffness to everything she does which matches the slightly harsh raspiness of her voice. This is not so much acting as a complete case of possession by another.
19.35
Have just eaten the dates, longans and watermelon that have become our little tradition for breaking the fast. The more substantial fare is to follow, and then we're off to buy some baking trays at Geylang for Noi's cunning biscuitry. She's been occupying the main table today and produced several trays already. I suppose it's yet another jolly part of the blessed countdown.
No comments:
Post a Comment