Mommy's 70th Birthday

I was going thru some photos...We celebrated Mommy’s 70th Birthday (Chinese age) last January, two days before Chinese New Year, as her Chinese birthday falls on the on the 8th day of the 1st month of the lunar calendar. For the first time after many years we had a gathering for our relatives at Golden Phoenix, Equatorial Penang, mostly aunties, uncles and first cousins from both my father and mommy’s families. Audrey came with her children as James was in India, Eng Chin Koko and his family were there, Si Kuk, Nelly Cha and Chong Koko, Eng Chi, Ong Koko and Jensen, Tony Koko and family, Jimmy Koko. Cheong Koko and his family and all of Mommy’s usual Penang family “gang”, a few of her friends, George’s parents and Dog and his family.

It was good to see everyone, how times has fly as we played with the “younger” generation, which were once us!

Singapore Zoo

Quest of a 4-year old...(3)

The one on Prophet Mohamad's Birthday...
Its a holiday mommy, can I go to his birthday party and give him a present?

The one on precious teardrops...
Next time when I cry, can you capture my tears and put it in the freezer? You think it will turn to ice?

The "men" in my life....Apr 2006, Bukit Tinggi

Quest of a 4-year old...(2)

The one on parenting...
You know if next time when I have a son, I won't just drop him off at school, I will go down and stay till the assembly is finished and after he sings the "Negaraku" song.

It amazes me how my 4-year old has the ability to practice "reverse pyschology" on us as we drove him to school today. He has been bugging me to pick him up from school (Aunty Yeoh is his official transporter). I usually dropped him off in the morning on my way to work and a school teacher will let him into the school compound. Well, he definitely shows traits of being a more dedicated parent for sure!

Kakak Ratuni di Bukit Tinggi

Pramoedya Ananta Toer

....Dihargai Dunia Dipenjara Negeri Sendiri. Ia bagaikan potret seorang nabi, yang dihargai oleh bangsa lain tetapi dibenci di negerinya sendiri. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, seorang pengarang yang pantas menjadi calon pemenang Nobel. Ia telah menghasilkan belasan buku baik kumpulan cerpen maupun novel. Kenyang dengan berbagai pengalaman berupa perampasan hak dan kebebasan. Ia banyak menghabiskan hidupnya di balik terali penjara, baik pada zaman revolusi kemerdekaan, zaman pemerintahan Soekarno, maupun era pemerintahan Soeharto. Di zaman revolusi kemerdekaan ia dipenjara di Bukit Duri Jakarta (1947-1949), dijebloskan lagi ke penjara di zaman pemerintahan Soekarno karena buku Hoakiau di Indonesia, yang menentang peraturan yang mendiskriminasi keturunan Tionghoa.... tokohindonesia

Read this vivid and touching novel set in 3 days 3 nights, Keluarga Gerilya, as part of STPM syllabus in 1989.

Snowflower and the Secret Fan

By Lisa See, intricately revealing...of how a perfect bound feet of 7cm will find you the richest husband..of how traditions and believes determine the destiny of your fate...

...Lily is haunted by memories - of who she once was, and of a person long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now as she recounts the tales of snowflower and ask the Gods for forgiveness...

Crab Version "Iwan"

My baby drew this (he referred to a picture), still its the best looking crab!

Quest of a 4-year-old...

The one on sibling…
Mommy, how ah? How do you think I can get a brother or a sister?

The one on marriage…
Mommy, if I have a sister I will marry her…oh we cannot marry our sister or brother? OK la then I will marry Carmen.

The one on beauty…
Carmen is pretty because she ties her hair.

The one on sleeping arrangement of our visitors…
Can Dylan sleep with me on my bed and Uncle Raymond sleep in between you and daddy on the big bed?

The one on sweet nothing…
Mommy when I see a rainbow I will take it for you.

The one on ambition…
When I grow up I want to work in a tau-foo-fa shop.

Amazing Literature

The Arrow and The Song

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow..a peom we chose for our wedding invite.

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend.

the curious incident of the dog in the night-time

By Mark Haddon, an absolutely delightful book written in the prespective of an autistic teenage boy...

Kueh Ko Chi Santan

My personal "top" rating amongst all nyonya kueh...usually packed like a miniature "otak-otak", it is a green dumpling stuffed with shredded coconut in brown sugar (gula melaka) and topped with coconut milk (santan) on the outside...to better describe it YUMMY!

Only in India...

In my recent trip to Bangalore, I boarded a Jet Airways flight to Chennai with this boarding pass, as my flight was delayed and I had to make a connecting flight on MAS back home!

An all time favorite

Her last wish is for us to celebrate her life…

My Tua Kim celebrated her 75^th birthday on 16 March 2006 with the people she loved most - Say Leong, Ai Lian, Mei Fong, De Xian and Hui Min – complete with a birthday cake and lam mee, then early the next morning she passed away. She was diagnosed in the late stages of liver cancer; stomach cancer as the primary, 12 days prior. Anyone who had known my Tua Kim would know that she is a woman in control, petite and well groomed, she is someone who indulges in and who knows how to appreciate the finer things in life, from clothes, food to everything else. She is also known to lavish others with the same – the finer things in life. I did not say goodbye in person but I had her family shared the last days of her life with me at the wake, it touches me in an indescribable way. I was and still am not sure if it is because it relates to the taboo subject of death but the only words I could use to describe it was “beautiful” and there is a strong need for me to pen this down.

She requested for her family to not to cry for her, death is inevitable. She said she has been praying to Mother Mary and would like to be baptized as a Catholic at a specific church. Her family arranged for that. She distributed her heirlooms and keepsakes to them explaining the stories behind each precious piece to the new custodians. She played a part in planning her funeral, who to call after her departure. She requested for a sea burial and she must have chosen her attire cause she looked beautiful! She wrote her will and did other “little” things in life that seems unimportant. Above everything else she and her family had the chance to communicate things that may on an ordinary day seems trivial. Till the very end she was in control and ready to move on but understands that only the lord can take her life, and so true is her obituary…

....She exemplifies a woman who enjoys life and beauty to their fullest, who attracts people to her, is adaptable and strong-minded, and while at times stubborn, is always forgiving and who loves adventure and a good laugh...Her last wish is for us to celebrate her life...