I've had a few close shaves.
But none has come closer... until today...
Fortunately, I came out of it none the worse.
But the worst thing is I couldn't tell her about it.
Writing about it, at least gave me an outlet to let it out.
I feel much better now.
A lesson learnt, and I'm always a student of the roads.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Greetings from Starbucks@Gentings
Hiho peeps, this is da' man bloggin' all da' way up here from gentings highland.
Why the hell am I in Malaysia anyways? Cos da' man's gotta be attending ma' cousin's wedding in KL. And he's only 24! OMFG! Try getting married in Singapore at the age of 24 and I can assure you of mounting debts you need to clear until your hair turns grey. Unless your dad's Khoo Teck Puat and he left you a slice of his fortunes of cos. =D
I was supposed to start clearing my leave from wednesday but due to something that cropped up I had to cancel my leave for that day to come back to work. Might as well, cos' I would have been very bothered by that niggling feeling of leaving something half done and going on leave. Or maybe I've slowly become a closet workaholic?! The truth is, I switched on my business handphone 24/7 and even brought along my laptop in case I need to do some work from my computer. Shucks. This isn't good. When you're on leave, you're supposed to cut off all contact from work and just relax. If not, don't take leave at all lah. It's to help you recharge, not keep on continuing draining your energy!
Today's the 2nd last day I'll be spending with my relatives. This wedding could not have come at a better time to mend the bridges and reacquaint myself with them. It has been helluva many years since I last saw some of them. Most of my cousins have already grown up so fast I did not even have time to blink my eyes. The sad part is, we've grown distant from each other. No, correction. I was never close to them in the first place, which is quite sad considering the very fact that we're cousins. Being the only relative that resides in Singapore poses a huge obstacle. The problem's not just me alone. My family aren't that close to them as much as we wanted to. The distance and communication played a huge part, not to mention our way of life are very much different also.
In Ipoh where most of my mum's relatives (i.e my uncles and aunties) still live in the same village, maybe just a few units or roads down from each other, their lifestyle are pretty much rural kampung style - not in the derogatory sense, but there's a gulf between us city dwellers in Singapore. Everyone has this wish to improve their lives - sending their kids to school, get good grades, go to university and get a good job so that they can support the parents in old age. In Singapore, the thinking is similar - but we demand more from our kids and we desire more materialistic needs. There is practically no room for failure.
But in Ipoh, they're more forgiving - as long they can get a decent job and carry out their filial duties, it is more than enough. Having said that, this comparison cannot be considered fair. Urban city life and rural life is just so different. While urban dwellers want to have the simplicity and serenity of rural lifestyles, rural dwellers want to possess the material wealth and glamour associated with living in cities. We can never come to an equal ground.
I had also requested to visit my grandma's grave in Ipoh. I feel I should at least pay her a long overdue visit. She passed away in '92 when I was still in primary school. My memories were of her lavishing her grandchildren in Singapore with toys and gifts whenever she dropped by to visit us in Singapore. I think maybe she loved us more than she loved some of her grandchildren back in Ipoh. Spending a few quiet minutes in front of her is the very least I could do, and I hope she's smiling down on us from heaven, giving her blessings in whatever we do.
There's also my auntie (my mum's younger sister) in KL whom I wanted to pay a visit. When she passed away suddenly 2 years ago due to some complication in the disease she was already carrying, I had wanted to rush over to pay my last respects but my mum told me it wasn't needed.
Till today, I still felt bad over it. All along I've been looking for a chance to do that. Even though I come to KL quite frequently, I find it uncomfortable broaching this topic for fear of upsetting my cousin who I feared still haven't really gotten over her shock death. But I found the courage to do so through my mum, but I also felt at the same time it would be quite inauspicious to go praying to the deceased and at the same time, to celebrate the wedding of this particular cousin.
In the end, we didn't go due to some religious beliefs that prevented any of us to visit her on any other days except qing ming. This auntie of mine was like most of relatives in Ipoh, unassuming and very hospitable. She was particularly generous and won't pull the stops in going out of her way to make us feel at home. Like my grandma, she left an impression in me and I had to reciprocate that kindness.
Tomorrow's gonna be the wedding ceremony for my cousin, and its almost 3am here with me and my trusty laptop in Starbucks@Gentings. I shall call it a day for now. Will be back in Singapore monday morning darling, and I miss you lots! =P
Why the hell am I in Malaysia anyways? Cos da' man's gotta be attending ma' cousin's wedding in KL. And he's only 24! OMFG! Try getting married in Singapore at the age of 24 and I can assure you of mounting debts you need to clear until your hair turns grey. Unless your dad's Khoo Teck Puat and he left you a slice of his fortunes of cos. =D
I was supposed to start clearing my leave from wednesday but due to something that cropped up I had to cancel my leave for that day to come back to work. Might as well, cos' I would have been very bothered by that niggling feeling of leaving something half done and going on leave. Or maybe I've slowly become a closet workaholic?! The truth is, I switched on my business handphone 24/7 and even brought along my laptop in case I need to do some work from my computer. Shucks. This isn't good. When you're on leave, you're supposed to cut off all contact from work and just relax. If not, don't take leave at all lah. It's to help you recharge, not keep on continuing draining your energy!
Today's the 2nd last day I'll be spending with my relatives. This wedding could not have come at a better time to mend the bridges and reacquaint myself with them. It has been helluva many years since I last saw some of them. Most of my cousins have already grown up so fast I did not even have time to blink my eyes. The sad part is, we've grown distant from each other. No, correction. I was never close to them in the first place, which is quite sad considering the very fact that we're cousins. Being the only relative that resides in Singapore poses a huge obstacle. The problem's not just me alone. My family aren't that close to them as much as we wanted to. The distance and communication played a huge part, not to mention our way of life are very much different also.
In Ipoh where most of my mum's relatives (i.e my uncles and aunties) still live in the same village, maybe just a few units or roads down from each other, their lifestyle are pretty much rural kampung style - not in the derogatory sense, but there's a gulf between us city dwellers in Singapore. Everyone has this wish to improve their lives - sending their kids to school, get good grades, go to university and get a good job so that they can support the parents in old age. In Singapore, the thinking is similar - but we demand more from our kids and we desire more materialistic needs. There is practically no room for failure.
But in Ipoh, they're more forgiving - as long they can get a decent job and carry out their filial duties, it is more than enough. Having said that, this comparison cannot be considered fair. Urban city life and rural life is just so different. While urban dwellers want to have the simplicity and serenity of rural lifestyles, rural dwellers want to possess the material wealth and glamour associated with living in cities. We can never come to an equal ground.
I had also requested to visit my grandma's grave in Ipoh. I feel I should at least pay her a long overdue visit. She passed away in '92 when I was still in primary school. My memories were of her lavishing her grandchildren in Singapore with toys and gifts whenever she dropped by to visit us in Singapore. I think maybe she loved us more than she loved some of her grandchildren back in Ipoh. Spending a few quiet minutes in front of her is the very least I could do, and I hope she's smiling down on us from heaven, giving her blessings in whatever we do.
There's also my auntie (my mum's younger sister) in KL whom I wanted to pay a visit. When she passed away suddenly 2 years ago due to some complication in the disease she was already carrying, I had wanted to rush over to pay my last respects but my mum told me it wasn't needed.
Till today, I still felt bad over it. All along I've been looking for a chance to do that. Even though I come to KL quite frequently, I find it uncomfortable broaching this topic for fear of upsetting my cousin who I feared still haven't really gotten over her shock death. But I found the courage to do so through my mum, but I also felt at the same time it would be quite inauspicious to go praying to the deceased and at the same time, to celebrate the wedding of this particular cousin.
In the end, we didn't go due to some religious beliefs that prevented any of us to visit her on any other days except qing ming. This auntie of mine was like most of relatives in Ipoh, unassuming and very hospitable. She was particularly generous and won't pull the stops in going out of her way to make us feel at home. Like my grandma, she left an impression in me and I had to reciprocate that kindness.
Tomorrow's gonna be the wedding ceremony for my cousin, and its almost 3am here with me and my trusty laptop in Starbucks@Gentings. I shall call it a day for now. Will be back in Singapore monday morning darling, and I miss you lots! =P
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