Tis' the season to be jolly

(No, not Christmas yet, though I have been listening to Christmas music and songs on my iPod lately!)

In the midst of the hurry-burly and hustle and bustle of festive seasons, the news room has been flooded with many goodies from well-wishers. In fact, goodies started pouring in just before National Day with this box of goodies from Petronas - the P. Ramlee memories!

Then, it's the mooncakes. I like the packaging, not the mooncakes. I like the egg yolks in the mooncakes. Last year or probably few years back, my son Christopher suggested that I buy a dozen of salted eggs and eat the yolks instead of digging the yolks from the mooncakes!

This evening when I gave a gift pack from a famous bakery shop here to one of the young reporters to bring back home, he said, "I know the yolks inside are all gone!"

Of course, the Hari Raya goodies! Yesterday in the midst of some unfortunate happenings in the news room, we spreaded these goodies sent in by a five-star hotel for sharing. Even the colours did not delight me. This verse came to mind -

Better is a dinner of herb's where love is
than a fatted ox and hatred with it.
(Proverbs 15:17)

Indeed, who would not prefer to sit down at a table where there is only this "martabak" but a wonderful atmosphere of love, then a table loaded with goodies when everyone growls at each other?

I have just discovered this "martabak" at the Ramadan store just within walking distance from my office. It's all stuffed with vegetables, soft and crunchy inside, crispy outside. Tomorrow is the last day of Ramadan, I think I would change my "meat day" to Sunday and catch up with the last minute shopping for another round of "martabak"!