The Story of My Life ZackSaim

The Pandemic

Date 25th July 2021.

It is been 2 days after my first dose of the Sinovac Vaccine. We had been cooped up in the house since the first Lockdown (MCO 1.0) Movement Control Order which was announced on 18th March 2020. 

I had not gone to work for almost one and a half years now. Although I still have a job, my salary had been affected by almost half of my full salary. 

During the second Lockdown (MCO 2.0) which was in November 2020, We decided to open a burger stall in front of our home. Since people can’t move around to buy food, We just thought that We sell homemade burgers to our neighbors and friends. Well, it’s been 7 months, now. We named our burger stall “Bay-6 Burger” 

Why Bay-6? Bay-6 is a short form for Basic. The pandemic really teaches us to be humble and back to earth again. In every sense of the meaning. Back to basic, when you hit the reset button. 

I am in the hospitality industry and we use the word Bay a lot. Bay as to where an airplane is parked. 

FAST FORWARD

Its 28th June 2023

Fast forward to today, it is almost 2 years since I wrote the last note.  Well, It has been a blessing for what has happened.  The pandemic hit hard but We as a family survived the ordeal.  I had been flying again since then. The flights have been picking up and busy. Income has been at a steady pace. But what I realize is that the cost of living had gone up.  We had been cutting short on the grocery list, as the prices of goods had gone up.

What am I doing right now? Well, I am preparing myself for retirement.  Had been working on myself and upskilling. Finding my niche.  Learning new things, and finishing my books which had been on hold.

I am working on my Book, "The Story of My Life" ZackSaim. How does that sound? It will contain lots of bits and pieces of short stories of what has happened during my years living on earth.  Hoping that what I go through will have some significant lessons to be learned from.

I was born in the small town of Parit Yaani, Johor.  My very first memory of that living in the house in Parit Yaani was waking up to a sound of a baby crying. The baby's first-moment taking fresh air, breathing for the very first time. Later only I know she is my younger sister.  It was very early in the morning, could have probably been way before the sun was up. Remembered that short brief moment, and went back to sleep.

The House

The house at Parit Yaani is relatively big for a small toddler, I was about 4 or 5 years old. Remembered myself running around the house, with lots of people coming and going the house.  My mother was very active and busy taking care of the house.  She would cook and send food to the school canteen. The school canteen is very far supposed, I would not know how far, but It's far. In that Era, there were no cars or any form of transport like we do today.  My mother would put all her cooking in a box that she tied to the back of a bicycle and cycle all the way to the school.  I remembered once she brought me to the school, it could take hours just to reach there.  

That is the year when Mohammad Ali rematched fights with Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden, in New York. The television was in black and white. People were cheering for their sports idols. My memory of the time was vivid but bits and pieces. I don't want it to fade away.  Those are the early memories of my childhood.

To be continue