I watched Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey yesterday. Like most people, I expected breathtaking visuals and larger than life battles. They were all there. But they weren’t what stayed with me. What stayed with me was the loneliness. Odysseus is surrounded by people throughout much of his journey. Warriors. Sailors. Allies….
Personal & Family
A Building of Two Chapters
This building brings back a lot of memories for me. Some really good ones, and some I’d rather forget. For months now I’ve driven past it nearly every day, on my way to and from Print Plus, watching the refurbishment come along quietly in the background of my daily routine….
Brunei & Governance
Dirgahayu Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik: Eighty Years On
Assalamu’alaikum everyone. Today, His Majesty turns 80. It feels a bit strange writing that number down. Eighty. For a country as young as Brunei in its modern form, His Majesty’s reign has basically been the entire timeline most of us have known. I honestly wanted to mark this one properly,…
Faith & Reflection
Everyone of us is broken in some way…
Some of us hide it better than others. Some of us patch ourselves up with busyness, with success, with jokes, with prayer, with caffeine. But scratch the surface, past the polished LinkedIn posts, the Instagram smiles, the “Alhamdulillah I’m okay”s, and you’ll find cracks. Fractures. Battle scars from grief, rejection,…
Brunei & Governance
Healthcare Reform, One Year On: What’s Changed Since
A year ago I wrote about the healthcare reform that ended free treatment for permanent residents and foreign spouses in Brunei. It felt like a big shift at the time, and honestly, it still is. But a lot has happened since, so I thought it was worth revisiting where things…
Faith & Reflection
The Second Time Around
Last November, damissus and I performed our second Umrah. This time we brought the kids along for their first, all except Arief, who had school and couldn’t get away. It’s a strange thing, standing in front of the Kaaba a second time. The first time you’re just trying to take…