BACKWATER PROMPT

Swimming, Spirit and Resurgence

Embracing the Chinese New Year

Inspired by John’s Backwater prompt The timing could not be more perfect John asked, What’s your experience with turning points? My heart leapt up with joy For me That’s an easy task!

Each week I begin with a plan it includes an array of new experiences Even an afternoon with friends at karaoke We’ll try new songs Belt out unknown lyrics Dig out forgotten tracks New memories are made Old treasures are restored and rediscovered

Last week we identified a new restaurant Suki-ya, a shabu-shabu outlet It features Japanese nabemoto which means “things in a pot” or one pot dishes There you’ll find Thinly sliced meat and vegetables swimming in broths Make your pick between miso, kimuchi and sukiyaki

I learned to twirl slices of beef around my chopsticks You dip it into the boiling soup for a few seconds while the cooked enoki and shiitake float to the surface Nom nom nom as the Japanese expression Helping myself to fish cakes white radish Chinese cabbages and later blue salted caramel ice cream Not my typical spoils But this week is different No two weeks are ever the same

Turning points Turning points, as John said Yes, turning points are made For me not as new year resolutions but as weekly rituals

This week marks a new year It’s the year of the Dragon Red packets, firecrackers and lanterns everywhere you go dragon effigies abound It’s my favorite time of the year Pineapple tarts love letters and peanut biscuits Salted crackers mahjong and cards at the table Friendship and family We bond from evening till late into the night

John spoke about turning points and climate change Here in Kuala Lumpur the hot season has begun Soaring temperatures Striking the beat starting at 33 degrees Celsius The rainy season has taken its bow It’s now the perfect weather if you ask me for drinking coconut water with aloe vera

The heat sets the stage for the bougainvillea to sing I recommend fresh starfruit juice or cucumber with mint Add a shot of wheatgrass for a vitamin boost This is how we do it in the tropics To fight against the hands of aging Or to sing away your blues

As I was born a fire Dragon in ‘76 I thrive throughout blistering summers The hotter it gets the happier I am Thus, I have nothing to complain but to celebrate This week and next is Chinese New Year holiday The calendar itself marks a major turning point The Dragon and its golden scales calls for everyone to bow our heads and pray for revitalization rejuvenation and resurrection

As I am born a fire Dragon This is my year But as a Dragon it has always been my disposition to be a constant renewal of energy Every week is a turning point like a baby dragon swimming in the sky Painting the clouds with its tail Making velvet cream out of the midnight stars scattered across like corn grounded into gold dust

But where can you find me when I am asleep? Never you might think But playful in the water is where I’ll be surrounded by love circled by her zodiac family Drums beating in the distance Adorned in gold jade citrine and bloodstones

In a few weeks this little dragon will be on an island Far, far away from the city Facing the Andaman sea there she’ll stand on a paddleboard carried by whispers of the ocean she’ll be planning her next turning point Another week, she says Off for another adventure! This little Dragon will find another mountain to peak