The way we wash each other’s backs when we shower together every night. The way we take turns to boil the water, without asking each other, the moment water needs boiling. The way you let me choose which souvenirs to buy during our trips abroad. The way I’d show each selection to you, for your approval, before confirming that yes, it’s these kitschy mugs with octopi and elephants that we want to bring home.
The smallest things. Isn’t it amazing how they are everything?
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Copyright © 2011 Kenny Mah Ying Fye. Photograph by Kenny Mah.
Kenny Mah believes in the good in people. He has been blogging for over ten years. No, his hands aren't tired. Yet.
Indeed, indeed, this is so sweet…
@Kopi Soh: But not like diabetes-inducing sweet, right? (Don’t listen to the rest of them!)
you shower together everynight?! gross! i mean showering together is sexy and everything.. and i totally partake.. but EVERY single night? that’s just weird :P LOL
@ciki: Not weird at all, but environmentally-friendly. We take part in saving our world’s natural resources. It has nothing to do with the sexy bit, I assure you. Ahem.
bwahahahaha yeah right kenny, being “environmentally-friendly” and having “nothing to do with the sexy bit”? bite me.
@Jun: Oh woe is me! Why doesn’t anyone believe me? *sobs*
Good things come in small packages. Hmm for your sake I hope the devil’s package isn’t small. Or there’ll be nothing to wash when u shower together every night. ROFL
And Yeah I agree with that bananas sista of mine. The shower’s like alone time u know. Get away from the world and unwind. Try it!
@alilfatmonkey: Ooh, those are fighting words, man! You’re very welcome to come over our humble abode again and check it out for yourself. But you know what they say, quid pro quo – Devil will show you his if you show him yours… *muahahaha*
We get shower alone time in the morning lah. (Mostly cos of rushing to work, and you know, so can do our little business. Thank goodness for two bathrooms!)
GUFAWWWWWW! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA .. kenny, you are digging a hole so deep you ain’t getting out of it.
LUV A LIL FATMONKEY .. LUV JUN! so freakin funny!!!
Kenny listen and learn from your friends u sappy git! HAHAHAHAHA
@ciki: What hole am I digging, dear? (Wait, that didn’t sound right, did it…)
Monkey and Jun are probably anti-green fanatics, out to wreak havoc on our fragile ecosystem. All their showering solo, waste our planet’s precious H2O only. Bad people, them. Hehe.
The shower head serving you two well I hope ;)
@unkaleong: Let’s just say it’s have had to do some heavy-duty work since “moving” into our apartment, hehe.
Seriously though, it’s lovely – thanks so much for this! *hugs*
See! Definitely spicy and hot. Scezhuan chili level even. :P
ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!
@J the chocoholic: Where got Scezhuan chili level? Not even KFC Hot ‘n’ Spicy level lah. *sniggers*
@ciki: I’m gonna take that as a “Yes, you agree with me” sign?
Wah! The two of you really know how to save water & energy! :P
@jemima: I know, I know, we’re like Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, hehe. Save the World! Make it a Better Place! Woo-hoo!
LOL.
You are being environmentally friendly alright. Your words are few too!
Less text = less download time = less electricity used = less ……
@keropokman: Oh dear. This means yesterday’s post was rather UN-friendly to the environment, what with its abundance of words and pictures…
But for that, I blame the Baker, the Baroness and the Delectable Devil… They’re too cute not to spend more time, text and visuals on! Hehe.
Omg, I LOVE the octo mug!! I am currently obsessed with those 8 legged guys. :)
@Shannon: We bought the octo mug in Budapest; quite typical of New Age Tourist Trap Art, haha.
Happy New Year to you! Can you believe it’s been NINE years already since we last met? We so need to figure out some serious plans for catching up – it’s almost our 10th anniversary!
those mugs might look good alongside the mug that i have at home: a pink panther one! :D
you wash each other’s BACKS only?! isn’t that the most uninteresting part of the human anatomy? :P
@Sean: A Pink Panther mug? Now I wonder if you picked this up during your last trip to Paree?
Yup, just each other’s backs. It’s the only parts of our own bodies we can’t decently reach. The other bits are more easily accessible… not that it hurts to have another access them also from time to time.
Self, uhm, access can be fun but not ALL the time, right? Ahem.
yes don’t forget the little things…:)
@rokh: Aye. They tend to build up, over time, to bigger, very important things, don’t they? We just have to get over the dip – focus on the exponential, and not the slog. *winks, winks*
this is where we might differ (again!). you pick up trinkets from practically every foreign destination that you visit, right? i completely sidestep souvenirs. so i have nothing to show from europe except for photographs (and restaurant receipts) :D
ermmm, i’ll also completely sidestep any discussion about ‘access’ and merely note further that i hope you have a large-enough bathroom/shower space, so that you won’t end up bumping into each other all the time. my teeny-weeny bathroom barely fits one person! :P
@Sean: Actually, no. I hate buying souvenirs. So the bit about Devil and me each being so coy and letting the other decide which trinket to buy? It’s more like Tai-Chi – us pushing the job to the other person, haha.
I’ll just say my bathroom’s shower area fits three nicely. Maybe even four, haven’t tested that yet. Hee.
eh, then what’s the point of getting souvenirs then if neither of you want them ar? i’m also now scratching my head over why shops in the hungarian capital sell octopus and elephant-themed mugs as souvenirs? do those creatures even exist in budapest? why not purchase a dignified mug emblazoned with the magnificent image of the buda castle instead? hehehe :D
wah, whoever coined the phrase “den of iniquity” must have stayed with you at some point :P
@Sean: Sometimes it’s nice to get them for friends. Actually you just reminded me we got some stuff for our friends from Tokyo and Budapest and haven’t even got round wrapping them up and gifting them. We are that… lazy? Disorganized? Procrastinators, definitely.
Cos octopi and elephanti are cute. See Shannon’s comment above.
And there are mugs with scenery and architecture on them… We probably bought some. Hahaha…
Whoever coined that phrase must be one lucky fella then. Heh. Heh. Heh.
have u guys made a will?! perish the thought, but should u both, erm, perish in a fiery auto accident, will those souvenirs all go to their rightful recipients? ok, just a thought that will hopefully encourage you into practicing the art of souvenir-giving BEFORE next christmas :D
ahhh, this does spur the imagination to devise ways to describe your abode. be it ever so horny, there’s no place like home? home sexy home? home is where the hard-on is? home is where you hang your … ok, wait, i won’t finish that, since this is a PG13-rated blog :P
@Sean: Yup, I do have a will. You’d be surprised who gets what. Maybe it’s time to update it though. More of a casual add-on, to be held in security by my best friend, who, knowing her, would probably lose the list when one of her soccer-star-named cats eats it.
Who said anything about ‘horny’ and uhm, ‘hard-ons’? Wherever did your imagination end up in? Probably that hole Ciki said I was digging, no less. Ahem.
excellent idea, updating that will! especially now that you know someone who would happily take all your dvds and give them a good home, following your premature demise. ahem. (however, he doesn’t want any mugs) :D
i only went where the flow of logic in our exchange this afternoon led me. therefore, the blame for any misinterpretation is half yours! :P
@Sean: I don’t have that many DVDs lah. But speaking of DVDs, I finally cracked the Criterion Edition of Wong Kar Wai’s ‘In the Mood for Love’ that you lent me… and watched ONE deleted scene. I feel so proud. At this rate, I might well return it to you by 2015.
Kiddin’. Let’s meet up soon for munchies or drinks and I’ll have a deadline to return it to you. So malu. Almost one year di, rite? Or more? *shudders*
I blame Ciki. You should too. It’s easier. Hee.
ya, but i’m sure you have dvds that i haven’t watched. like darren aronofsky’s pi. or tim burton’s ed wood. or maybe even mighty morphin’ power rangers: the movie :P
i suppose before chinese new year is as good a deadline as any. the final week of january then. jan. 24-28. please remind me one week in advance! :D
and yes, i do suspect it’s been a year. just imagine, a baby who had been born on the day you received that dvd would now be able to walk and be almost ready for toilet-training :P
@Sean: Have the first two as .avi files (that my last movie pimp gave to me) but MMPR:TM? I think my nephew and nieces got that. You want?
Eeks. I don’t do well with ranges. Gimme a specific date lah. Then you can pick the place. (So long as it’s not too far from KLCC or Taman Desa or PJ. Hehe.)
Did you just associate a WKW film with toilet-training? How dare you! *readies many weapons of vengeance-seeking, probably props from ‘ashes of time redux’*
many, many years ago, i resigned myself to the harsh reality that i would most certainly live out my life without getting the opportunity to watch MMPR:TM. so i’d rather not get my hopes up right now. my sanity is a fragile thing :D
i do my best work with ranges! or at least by offering others options. but fineeee, january 24 then :P
ashes of time? since that was a crappy movie, it was the perfect title to cite in line with your toilet theme :D
@Sean: You totally have a chance. So long as you have a VHS cassette player. Hehe.
But I agree that bit about your sanity. You may win on that count. Hee.
Jan 24. Yay! That gives me twenty days to watch at least the director’s commentary. Hurrah!
And ‘Ashes of Time’ (original and redux) is not a crappy movie! It’s merely… misunderstood by folks who get headaches when swords and silk pajamas fly around a lot in desert sand. Grrr…
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…. so sweet. :P
@bosscat: Which bit, the octopi and the elephants? Hehe.
Awwwww… you boil water without being told. So… so… ho hum compared with bathing and buying souvenirs together!! :D
So who stocks up the toiletries?
@gfad: Ah but life isn’t always about sexy showers or even sexier souvenir shopping. Sometimes one has to boil water too. But it’s like clockwork. There’s always boiled water in the house, at least two jugfuls. One of us always does it, somehow.
It’s a mundane magic I truly appreciate.
Hmm, toiletries is basically whoever goes to Isetan (which is something we do together) but the last time we stocked up on Biotherme supplies, it was me.
(Oh gosh, I cannot believe we’re discussing toiletries now in this post. Hahaha…)
Hey Kenny, I have recently stumbled upon your blog and enjoyed your pieces. Its almost like a tete a tete with your audiences.v freshing. Looking forward to your new posts..cheers
@possum: Thanks for dropping by! I certainly hope our random (and sometimes risqué) comment-conversations don’t alarm you. Hehe.
Sense spread in the air, Romance blossoms with your move :)
@Prodigal Lulu: Wow, that’s so poetic, a haiku almost. Thank you. *beams*
P.S. Had to translate your name from Chinese cos I couldn’t read it. Cool name.
Well, if the discussion was about your shower habits, it’s only natural to progress to toiletries, yes? At least we’re not talking about seehum and mangosteen. :D
Toothpaste and toilet paper – small details, but extremely tiresome when they run out when you need it. And the person to finish it, doesn’t refill. :P
@gfad: “At least we’re not talking about seehum and mangosteen.”
Except, you are, now. Sighs. And. Eww.
We’re very good on toilet paper and toothpaste – we always have enough, yet not so OCD like my parents as to store enough for a decade everytime there’s a sale. So yeah, we’re good. Yay.
aiya, the planet’s H2O will also be recycled back to ur shower water. so showering solo or together doesn’t make a difference (except, well, u know, the “sexy bits”). wanna be green? stop using plastic bags ;p
@Jun: Well, Devil and I use reusable grocery bags, so we’re good there. But are you sure showering together has no other environmental benefits? I am almost certain there is.
Let me check with Al & Leo and get back to you on that…
Good that you stock up just enough. But I’m talking about when you’re on the the throne and you reach out and… the rattling empty tube is all you feel. :P
Same with toothpaste. You’re half-awake and blurry and the last time you want to do it to squeeze that last drop of paste from the bottom of the misshapen tube. Although what I do is cut open the tube itself and just smear my toothbrush all over the opened tube. There’s usually enough for one brush.. :D
Re the taboo subjects, I didn’t!! See? I is good. I didn’t even mention them by name..
@gfad: Yeah, that’s what I mean also. We always make sure the last person who uses it and notices there may not be enough for the next round, replenishes it. Easy.
Worst-case scenario: “Dear, we are outta toilet paper! Get a roll for me, please?”
That works also. Heh.
As for toothpaste, we always have the new tube of toothpaste ready to go next to the current one. Easy.
And yes, you is good. Though odd. Devil is asking why are you tagging him on Facebook asking about… lamb and radish stew?
Isn’t he is the cook in the family? I thought meybe he might know mah. :D
@gfad: Ya, he’s the cook in the family… but he doesn’t use recipes wor. We just sorta buy the freshest ingredients and he puts them altogether into an array of delicious dishes. Heh.
can see an interesting conversation going on here from shower to toiletries to environment, dvd ..even seehum..so funny..didnt know devil is a guy. anyway, even the smallest thing can also make a person fall in love.
@lena: Oh wait till you read the rest of the comment threads on the other posts. We go way off-topic really quickly here on Life for Beginners, haha.
I think it’s part of the charm. Ahem.
There’s wayyyy too much info in the Comments section – as usual :-P It’s so funny the way u explain and elaborate stuff here, LOL!
@Pureglutton: Maybe I should rename the Comments section as the Too Much Information Section? Hehe.
Seriously?! Nine years?! That is crazy. I am really feeling old now. :( I really do need to find a way to come out and visit. It’s just one of those that I’d want to not do alone. We have to make it happen though!
@Shannon: Aye. Seriously. Nine years. This blog is, if nothing else, a record of all our adventures and a rather irksome keeper of Time and our Age, unfortunately.
But those were good times, weren’t they?
Come, come! You so gotta visit Malaysia! There’s so much here that you’d love – I don’t even know where to start! Let’s make it happen!