A pao, or 包, is a steamed bun made of rice flour, stuffed with sweet or savory fillings. The most famous is Char Siew Pao, which is sweet barbecue pork. My favorite is a vegetarian bun.

I like to sit on my front door step in the evening and watch the sky turn to night. Evenings are one of the reasons I love to live in this country. Home is climate. I love these lines from a poem by Salleh Ben Joned:

Kebisuan langitmu tidak mengapa
Kerana rimbamu penuh kata-kata
Dalam kesentiasaan cuaca hakikatmu
Aku rasa suatu kebebasan yang baru

This is the beautiful translation by Adibah Amin:

What does it matter if your skies are silent
For your forests are articulate
In the constant clime of your essence
I taste a new freedom

I first read these lines when I came home from studying overseas in 2005. I’ve lived with them for more than ten years. They are another way home.

Zedeck saw my drawing and said: What about an imPAUsible cat? So I drew that too.

~

Antid Oto – italian for antidote – was one of Leon Trotsky‘s earliest pen names. I also love the Malay word for it: penawar. A few months ago, I started taking regular walks and making drawings afterwards as a way to deal with worry, procrastination, hopelessness, writer’s block, internet rage, and digital distraction. I’ll post a series of them here, one every other day, for as long as I keep making them.