Today is Monday but I don’t feel the spirit of the beginning of the week at all. The reason being tomorrow is Hari Raya and everyone is going to enjoy a 2-day holidays. Some people even took annual leave and they had a straight 5 - 9 days holidays.
I had to work full shift today. When I was on my way to work, I noticed that there were not many cars on the road.It usually takes me 40 minutes to reach my work place. The whole journey only took me 20 minutes today!It would be good if the traffic like this everyday. I guess most people would have “balik kampung”. For those who do not celebrate Hari Raya, they would have taken the opportunity to have a trip to “recharge” themselves.
The street was quiet. I rang up a few suppliers but almost half on them were not answering my calls. I thought I would have a quiet day today. Sure enough, it was not busy at all. I just sat there, thinking and sorting what I had to do after the holidays. Time seemed to pass slowly. When I looked at my watch, it was not lunch time yet!
I finally found a chicken rice stall for lunch. There was not much chicken left. The stall owner said he did not prepare much as he did not expect much business today. He would take a few days off starting from tomorrow also.
After work, I went to a shopping complex to get something for my children. It was packed with people who were doing last minute shopping for the festival. There were last minute bargain at most of the shops! Such a big contrast to the area where I work! I joined in the bargain as well and got myself some festive cookies. They were selling at half price!
I could hear fireworks outside my window. I wish everyone a “Selamat Hari Raya and Happy Holidays”.
Such… is what we call the festive season. That is among what defines Malaysia, and depending on how you look at it, it’s actually a beautiful thing.
Narrowband: yeah, I agree. I hope it will be traffic free everyday