The ORP

Time DOES fly, no matter what we have to say about it.

Case in point: it's Ramadhan again. All over the world people of the Muslim faith observe abstinence from food, drink, ciggies (probably the toughest of the lot), sex, and most other fleshly delights during the day. It's said that the Devil and his minions are shackled throughout the month, which basically means that if you mess up, it's your fault (although honestly, I don't buy the "devil made me do it" excuse ANY time of year, I'm just one of those people big on self-responsibility) and nobody else's.

There's always a difference in the air whenever this month rolls around (yes, this may be purely psychological, but what the hell), as if suddenly everything moves in slow-mo. The days feel longer, afternoons seem hotter, and the last fifteen minutes before breaking fast feels like forever (try sitting in front of a sweating mug of something nice and cool and look at any clock around 6.45 pm tonight if you're in KL). It's always interesting to note how my perceptions of the fast and the things I relate to it change as I get older.

When I was 7, days used to feel EVEN longer, and I'd get excited because I knew I'd be able to spend some time at my grandparents' in Kuala Selangor. I'd usually be sprawled out under the fan, my nose buried in a new Hardy Boys mystery (or failing that, The Three Investigators). We'd go to the night market just opposite my dad's clinic (we lived upstairs) to get food.

When I was 10, the best thing about coming home from school on a weekday was the Smurfs, and Yeo's Soy Cubes (sold in tetrapacks, and damn delicious when chilled). The kids at school would go ga-ga over swapping festive Raya cards (available for about 10 cents a pop), although these days no one really does that, with all the e-cards and online greetings available, or maybe it's just not the same.

From the ages of 13 to 18, I spent a lot of time fasting in dormitories and having mass "buka puasa" outings with teachers, homeroom mates and God knows who else. I think I did the most tarawih in my life during this period.

After that, it was the undergraduate years, where most of my fasts were in absurdly long lectures and pasar malams (one HAS to show off the long mane somewhere). There's a whole period of time I won't go into here, or at least not just yet. One has to keep the readers* guessing, and interested.

Last year, I only spent a couple days here for puasa, because I had to fly somewhere to straighten up a part of my life that until now, has left me a different person than I thought I was.

As I think of the different periods in my life, I remember just how subtle the change in perceptions took hold and how some illusions and beliefs were changed while others stayed, and at the center of it all was the one month period we call Ramadhan.

Interesting, how most of the life changing events I went through occurred during this time, and how..apt some of them were.

There'll be other people blogging about the religious and personal significance of the fast, and I don't think I can add much except to say to me, it's always been personal.

And that more often than not, it turns out to be a very interesting time for me.

Selamat berpuasa to the muslims, and again to my readers**, the Ox will still be churning out entries albeit a little hungrier.

Toodles!

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* yes, hello again, you three
** you do know I mean YOU, don't you?