Mint leaves

First, I open the tap - fountain of water gushing out with little effort. Water so fresh that it smells a bit like the 50 meter Chiling (water)falls; when you stand just right beneath it. Malaysian are lucky not only because they have natural resources, but because natural resources have not become a curse to us like some countries, say, in Africa. Indeed, with a bit of engineering it is the water from sources like Chiling waterfalls that runs through our taps. Much to say about the more important green-war is in fact far from the backyard of city dwellers; the urban green lungs that won a small city like Kuala Lumpur admiration from its residents and tourists alike.

Ok, water first; then comes the mint leaves. I think this is where the hyper-market complements the good-old traditional wet-market. Mints leaves and parsley is not something commonly found in the wet-markets; nor I enjoy driving to a huge and cold hyper-markets that for just few mint leaves. Perhaps we should consider having a hyper-market at the size of mini-market, like those in Antwerp's Franklin Rooseveltplaats. Countries like Malaysia is a growing baby and we takes in a lot of stuff, outside stuff, but pretty much still figuring how it's best practiced in the context of our society.

Alright, if you not getting impatient by now, I am. Actually I want to wash those mint leaves I bought from hyper-market yesterday and wash-and-clean them so that I can have a good glass of mojito tonight. The cleaning process is important here - because only then I understand immediately why my great-and-wonderful mother can spend the whole morning, washing and cleaning stuff before she even start cooking them. I don't want those dead-brownish mint leaves to be visual as the mojito washing down my throat, nor I want to spend time picking the green fresh one everytime I want a glass. To my surprises, I stand there patiently for a good half hour, cleaning, separating, change the water, cleaning again.

It was an hour later, when those wet fresh mint leaves dried on a piece of yesterday-Sin-Chew newspaper. By the way, the Chinese press reports different stuff, compare to Malay press or Tamil press and vice-versa to every other press and media in the nation. The 1Malaysia concept, like many other concept say New Economic Policy of Malaysia is indeed benign and important - but the fact that those concepts is needed says something about our deep-rooted divide. Neither can we predict the end of those, concepts. But my professor said we should nonetheless do our part with convictions; something which I hold dear ever since.

I promise to be short on the lime - since it is mojito that we are talking about!