Ramadhans Past

As I was driving to work today, the sun's glare reflected in my windscreen and all of a sudden, I thought of the times I cycled to school waay back when. Ramadhan used to be really really hot back then, and cycling to school in the middle of the afternoon with the sun baking your back didn't help one bit. It wasn't very far though, certainly not as far as the distances my parents used to quote when giving the Standard Parenting Guilt Trip Speech. You know, the one that goes:

"When I was in school I had to walk x (where x is a variable, derived from z, degree of irritation) miles to school, and your Grandpa would cane us if we didn't do our work!"

I digress. Anyway, back then, my prepubescent mind would be concentrating on how hot it was, and how fast I could pedal without getting into an accident. More often than not though, I'd be fantasising about what kind of cold drinks I'd like to be having at the moment and how I'd enjoy them. A typical fantasy would include:

1) Some sort of bed made of ice.
2) Various pipes delivering cold, refreshing drinks (usually soy milk, or Coke)

Thinking about it now, it's kinda funny, I suppose. But more importantly, it marked a period in my life where the most important thing was getting a drink. It definitely helped move time along though, since usually before I knew it, I'd be home and in front of the telly watching the latest instalment of Rumah Kedai. (If you don't remember, don't sweat it. It was just one of the better Malay series to come along).
Anyhow, life's changed since then. The Daisy/Planta margarine ads are gone, replaced with Perodua/Celcom ones. Jejak Rasul is still going on, although I still believe the first few seasons were the best.

Fast forward 10 odd years and I'm driving to work on a similarly hot day. Only this time I'm not thinking of Coke delivery mechanisms on icy beds. My priorities have changed, like Maslow said they would, and I guess we're all looking for something different. But it's nice to remember a time when things were simpler, Smurfs were on TV, and Yeo's still made those yummy Soya Bean Jellies.

Mmmm.