I'd usually drop by the 7-eleven right behind my block almost every single day, just to get my daily dose of the tabloid paper. Sometimes, I'd add a packet of Milo to quench my thirst. (No wonder I bloomed tremendously in those days.) The Malay lady at the counter recognised me each time I entered the store. Even the Chinese lad, whom I had a slight crush on at some point in time. A few doors down would be the Konika photo shop, where my dad would send me to get his film. (He was an avid photographer in those times.) I'd be the first to view the ready pictures and dad would scold me for doing so, since he claimed that by exposing the newly-ready pictures to sunlight, it'd affect the quality of their glossiness. I still don't know if that was true.

When I had a hair disaster that resulted in a football-field do, my mam took me to the female salon which was right beside the 7-eleven store. That was the one and only time that I'd stepped in there to have a haircut. On previous occasions, I was only present to accompany my mam. She'd had various styles including the tomboy look, the bob, the permed effect and many more, only to have them covered with her tudung. And when my dad decided to paint the house for Eid once, he simply popped into the paint shop right at the end to purchase some cans of white. However, the paint shop was converted to a bridal boutique some years later. I spent a significant number of years admiring the wedding gowns and accessories plastered in the window.

Some friends used to come over when my parents weren't home, given that both of them were working at the time. Especially on Saturdays, when I'd be home alone, 2 particular people would come by. We'd arrange a week in advance and decide the most appropriate time. I'd prepare some refreshments and tidy the house up a bit on the day itself while waiting for them to arrive. Once they came, we'd make up some games on the spot or watch TV. They'd browse through my photo albums, music magazines or tape collection. Oh, I had so many self-made tapes! We even compared bands and pop stars and criticise whoever we didn't like. I didn't really felt alone even though I was an only child at that time.

When I had nothing to do at home, I'd peer out of the kitchen window. Living on the seventh floor at the time brought along with it quite a picturesque view. I'd scrutinise the vehicles passing by and admire the seemingly-large green fields situated in the nearby school compound. Sometimes I'd look up at the clear blue sky and pretend I was a bird, free from worries and troubles. The breeze would blow into my face and calmness would sooth my soul. I felt at peace a gazillion times. I'd even have the radio on, blasting out the songs from that teenybopper radio station. It's quite distinct in my mind, that it was on a Sunday afternoon that I first heard of Humpback Oak's "Circling Square" during then-DJs Lance Alexander and Mark Richmond's A-Picks. The song brought tears to my eyes and still does, sometimes, to this day. On other days, I'd just stand by the grilles and wait for my turn to enter the bathroom, while my dad would be inside, washing clothes by hand.

Night times in the old house used to scare me, ever since my dad told me ghostly tales as my bedtime stories. Even after he left the room, I'd tell him to leave the bedroom door open so that I could still hear and peek out occasionally at him and my mam talking in front of the television. I'd begged dad to leave the light on in my room but he had objected, so I could only console myself with the feeble reddish light from the living room. At even one time, when the entire house was asleep (except for me), I heard a noise in the kitchen. Not daring to leave my room, I shut my eyes and waited for morning, only to find out that a cat had gobbled up the fish on the kitchen counter. It had probably entered through the windows in the living room, balancing itself on the steep ledge. Dad took precaution ever since by shutting those windows. On other occasions, I myself stood before those windows with binoculars in hand, pretending to be Nancy Drew, not realising that I was intruding into other people's privacy. It was also in the night with those very same binoculars that I sat awake, gazing at the stars and trying to differentiate the planets from them. By the time that I was properly interested in astronomy, I'd already shifted to my dad's old room which was opposite my old room. That old room was where the new nursery lay for my newborn brother in that particular month of year.

Ah! Memories, memories. With this entry, I've brought myself back in time. Seems not so long ago that I was there, living in that old house.

I miss that old house.