Well for the first time in my 5 years with the Bank I had to work until 2 am in the morning last Friday. It was really no joke having to stare at the paper that I was drafting and making no sense of it. It was even worse when amendments had to be made to the paper which required some skillful typing but my best clerks who had helped prepare the first draft had gone home.
Past 12 midnight and there seems to be a faint throbbing pain in my head. I was dirty, smelly and simply fed up! I had felt the oncoming wave of a blackout but thank God I felt incredible peace (at that time my life group members were meeting in my house and I knew that they must have been praying for me).
When I think about the long hours at work (working till 8 or 9 pm lately) I am really thankful for my late father. He worked 3 jobs to support the 5 of us. He was a full time book keeper, a part time nyonya kuih maker and he also worked on weekends at the turf club taking bets on the horses from potential gamblers. My father did not have any vices and he provided the best he could for the family. While my mum was the homemaker, he was the sole breadwinner. However as he was only a bookeeper there was no way he could sponsor us without the 2 other part time jobs he had. If he was alive today he would probably tell me that the hours I keep in the office are nothing as compared to his working hours when even weekends are not spared!
For this reason my elder sister chose to go out to work after Form 6 so as not to burden him financially. As for me, by God's grace I had a Kuok Foundation loan and a Lim Lean Teng foundation grant.
My third sister had a full scholarship from British Council and she went to England to do her Masters in English. She later did a degree in speech therapist and settled down in England. My dad had to sponsor my youngest sister and brother in their education. Sister no. 4 did ICSA at TAR College and my youngest brother did a Science degree (twinning program) with Campbell University. I remembered that we did not take any of our wedding dinner angpow money. The dinner was sponsored by my mum-in-law and Tim and I was fine with my dad collecting all the angpow given to us from my side of the family to help pay for my siblings' education. Those were the tough years for my dad. He had a heart problem but due to our financial situation chose not to go for any treatment so as not to divert the funds he had set aside for our education. He used to tell us that he did not have anything to leave us except a good education.
Today I hope that my children know the hard work mummy is putting in to see them through University. When friends and family enquired as to whether my children had received any scholarship or PTPN loans, we will always reply that they are on FAMA scholarship (Father & Mother)! How previleged and blessed are my children to have parents who are able to fully sponsor their education till the highest level. Now my eldest daughter has said that she would like to continue with her Masters in England and the youngest one wants to do dentistry. Well, Samuel says he would rather go out and work after his diploma....whatever their plans may be, I have faith that God will provide for them.
I was really touched by my youngest daughter who sms-ed me recently "Mummy and Daddy I just want to say thanks for everything you have given me and I am sorry if I ever take things granted. Thanks for being one of the best parents in the world. I love you both."
To get such an sms from my children makes all the late nights in my office simply worth it!
Thank you to my lovely daughters and handsome son. Please study hard and make us proud of you! And behave uprightly so that you will not bring shame to your parents!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Chinese New Year
In another one week's time, it will be Chinese New Year or CNY. I don't remember much about CNY during my childhood days except that we used to get RM2 angpows from our uncles and aunties. Those days people were not very rich and RM2 was the standard rate, although I had a rich uncle who used to give us RM50!
My mother has 2 sisters and 4 brothers. In Hock Kien (my dialect) we had to respectfully addressed them as tu-an koo for eldest uncle, jee koo for second uncle, sar koo for third uncle and se-an koo for fourth uncle. My eldest auntie had to be addressed as tua-ee and youngest auntie, se-an ee. When we visit them for CNY and vice versa, we had to greet them by their titles as a matter of respect. It was only after greeting that they would hand us the customary angpow. This was the highlight of CNY for us not to mention the delicious jew hoo char and other nyonya food that my mum used to make for the festival.
Mother was a great cook. She used to make those fantastic nyonya stuff like lor bak, poh piah, chye boay, poh lay kan for our reunion dinner. I remember that we did not have sit down families like some families....we just ate whenever we wanted. My husband and I decided that this was not to be so for our own family and every year we have been arranging our own reunion dinner with our children and my mother. This year, Tim and his brother is hosting a dinner for his brothers' wives and children - steamboat.
My nyonya grandma was someone really special. She was a grand old dame who, when she was alive, was the uniting factor in her family. Every CNY eve, she would host the best steamboat dinner in town in her little house cum shop in Ayer Itam. Grandma and grandpa ran a shop in Ayer Itam near the famed Kek Lok Si selling famous Penang food stuff like nutmegs, cincaluk, hea kor, tau sar pneah, pong pneah and all sorts of stuff that appeal to tourists.
As children, we used to run in between the red-clothed tables from the back to the front of the shop just taking in the charcoal smell of the steamboat containers and the sight of the delicious raw seafood prepared for the steamboat. My grandma was also a kapur sireh addict and we would roll her sireh for her whenever she wanted. It was fascinating to see the red stains on her from chewing the kapur sireh (translated nutmeg chalk).
However due to the financial constraints of my family, my mum would collect all the angpows from us for recycling purpose. The same angpows will then be re-packed for her to give out to others. As my family was considered a big family (5 of us) we can be regarded as a money spinner indeed! However I never begrudged her because I thought that was what all mothers did with their children's angpow. Later I learnt that most children got to keep their angpows, not surrender them to their parents.
When we grew older, mum heard our grumblings and complaints on this practice and she allowed us to keep 50% of the monies collected.
Today my children do not have to surrender their angpows to us or pay us angpow tax! Thanks to my late father who ensured that we all had opportunities to study up to tertiary level, all my siblings have done well in their chosen profession. Even though we are 4 girls (with one boy as the exception) we were well able to buy houses and cars of our own. We are even able to send money to my mother every month! I hope my children appreciate what we have done for them and not squander away their educational inheritance by being lazy in their studies!
My mother has 2 sisters and 4 brothers. In Hock Kien (my dialect) we had to respectfully addressed them as tu-an koo for eldest uncle, jee koo for second uncle, sar koo for third uncle and se-an koo for fourth uncle. My eldest auntie had to be addressed as tua-ee and youngest auntie, se-an ee. When we visit them for CNY and vice versa, we had to greet them by their titles as a matter of respect. It was only after greeting that they would hand us the customary angpow. This was the highlight of CNY for us not to mention the delicious jew hoo char and other nyonya food that my mum used to make for the festival.
Mother was a great cook. She used to make those fantastic nyonya stuff like lor bak, poh piah, chye boay, poh lay kan for our reunion dinner. I remember that we did not have sit down families like some families....we just ate whenever we wanted. My husband and I decided that this was not to be so for our own family and every year we have been arranging our own reunion dinner with our children and my mother. This year, Tim and his brother is hosting a dinner for his brothers' wives and children - steamboat.
My nyonya grandma was someone really special. She was a grand old dame who, when she was alive, was the uniting factor in her family. Every CNY eve, she would host the best steamboat dinner in town in her little house cum shop in Ayer Itam. Grandma and grandpa ran a shop in Ayer Itam near the famed Kek Lok Si selling famous Penang food stuff like nutmegs, cincaluk, hea kor, tau sar pneah, pong pneah and all sorts of stuff that appeal to tourists.
As children, we used to run in between the red-clothed tables from the back to the front of the shop just taking in the charcoal smell of the steamboat containers and the sight of the delicious raw seafood prepared for the steamboat. My grandma was also a kapur sireh addict and we would roll her sireh for her whenever she wanted. It was fascinating to see the red stains on her from chewing the kapur sireh (translated nutmeg chalk).
However due to the financial constraints of my family, my mum would collect all the angpows from us for recycling purpose. The same angpows will then be re-packed for her to give out to others. As my family was considered a big family (5 of us) we can be regarded as a money spinner indeed! However I never begrudged her because I thought that was what all mothers did with their children's angpow. Later I learnt that most children got to keep their angpows, not surrender them to their parents.
When we grew older, mum heard our grumblings and complaints on this practice and she allowed us to keep 50% of the monies collected.
Today my children do not have to surrender their angpows to us or pay us angpow tax! Thanks to my late father who ensured that we all had opportunities to study up to tertiary level, all my siblings have done well in their chosen profession. Even though we are 4 girls (with one boy as the exception) we were well able to buy houses and cars of our own. We are even able to send money to my mother every month! I hope my children appreciate what we have done for them and not squander away their educational inheritance by being lazy in their studies!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Handphones
I think the most popular invention of this century must be the handphone.
Handphones are pretty handy as they are portable and can fit snugly into our pants pocket or handbag slots. They also offer the option of verbal or non-verbal communication. You don't want to talk if you don't want to..... just sms. If you need to access the internet using the handphone, just click the required function.
My youngest daughter has 2 handphones which she alternates in using. Mummy picks up the bill at the end of month for one of them. At one time, her monthly phone bill even exceeded mine! She can sms during meals, while travelling, while talking to us or watching TV....if there is a contest or a marathon for the most sms in a minute, I think she can win it hands down!
The other thing about handphones is that they can be stolen easily. I got mine flicked in the monorail while I was travelling home from work. One of my life group member shared on how her daughter was robbed of her handphone by two thugs, one of whom had put a knife to her neck. It was a traumatic experience for her. Another member won a blackberry during an office lucky draw. It was timely for her as she had prayed for a handphone after (also) having lost hers. As for my youngest daughter she had lost her handphone 5 times in a row!
All I can say is that this generation is a blessed generation. In my days, the handphones we had seen looked like a huge walkie talkie. I recalled that they cost around RM3k or more and only the very rich could own them. We communicated with our friends via the conventional phones in our homes or the phones in the public phone booths. These conventional phones are box like gadgets. To use it we had to insert our index finger in the little numbered holes on the slopping surface of the phone and dial. At one time, my late father got very upset with us as the five of us were costing him a fortune in phone bills. He made a decision to buy a mini padlock to lock up the phone! Still we found an ingenious way to dial the nos we wanted despite the lock and all. Well, if I tell my children this they will surely not believe me....my father had to buy a pay phone to deter us from racking up exorbitant bills!
The fact is this, when our young children grow up in adulthood, they discover this phenomenon called 'friends'. Their friends become their confidant and at times even closer to them than their parents. This is because they are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging/identification with a peer group. The phone becomes their networking tool with this new group. Later when boyfriends or girlfriends come into the picture, they will begin to 'boil porridge' over the phone i.e what the Chinese say 'poh chok'.
I guess there is no way to avoid this new invention....we are resigned to this generation being hooked on the handphones or their little 'berry(s)'.
Ok....time to check my handphones for messages...ah...to hear the lovely ringtone indicating that I have mail........
Handphones are pretty handy as they are portable and can fit snugly into our pants pocket or handbag slots. They also offer the option of verbal or non-verbal communication. You don't want to talk if you don't want to..... just sms. If you need to access the internet using the handphone, just click the required function.
My youngest daughter has 2 handphones which she alternates in using. Mummy picks up the bill at the end of month for one of them. At one time, her monthly phone bill even exceeded mine! She can sms during meals, while travelling, while talking to us or watching TV....if there is a contest or a marathon for the most sms in a minute, I think she can win it hands down!
The other thing about handphones is that they can be stolen easily. I got mine flicked in the monorail while I was travelling home from work. One of my life group member shared on how her daughter was robbed of her handphone by two thugs, one of whom had put a knife to her neck. It was a traumatic experience for her. Another member won a blackberry during an office lucky draw. It was timely for her as she had prayed for a handphone after (also) having lost hers. As for my youngest daughter she had lost her handphone 5 times in a row!
All I can say is that this generation is a blessed generation. In my days, the handphones we had seen looked like a huge walkie talkie. I recalled that they cost around RM3k or more and only the very rich could own them. We communicated with our friends via the conventional phones in our homes or the phones in the public phone booths. These conventional phones are box like gadgets. To use it we had to insert our index finger in the little numbered holes on the slopping surface of the phone and dial. At one time, my late father got very upset with us as the five of us were costing him a fortune in phone bills. He made a decision to buy a mini padlock to lock up the phone! Still we found an ingenious way to dial the nos we wanted despite the lock and all. Well, if I tell my children this they will surely not believe me....my father had to buy a pay phone to deter us from racking up exorbitant bills!
The fact is this, when our young children grow up in adulthood, they discover this phenomenon called 'friends'. Their friends become their confidant and at times even closer to them than their parents. This is because they are looking for acceptance and a sense of belonging/identification with a peer group. The phone becomes their networking tool with this new group. Later when boyfriends or girlfriends come into the picture, they will begin to 'boil porridge' over the phone i.e what the Chinese say 'poh chok'.
I guess there is no way to avoid this new invention....we are resigned to this generation being hooked on the handphones or their little 'berry(s)'.
Ok....time to check my handphones for messages...ah...to hear the lovely ringtone indicating that I have mail........
Friday, January 7, 2011
Manicure
During our recent family holiday on the cruise ship Libra, my daughter came to me excitedly and told me that the manicure offered by the ship's beauty parlor cost only SGD25 which was 50% off its usual price. She wanted to have her nails done on board as back home, it would cost her about double the amount in Malaysian currency. I was not too pleased as I consider manicure (and pedicure) a luxury. I mean why is there a necessity to do up our nails to have the colours come out a few months later? Also colours that fade off done-up nails are not a pleasant side. They come out like splotches of paint leaving the pink of the nails showing through in odd places.
I was not too keen to fork out the money to pay for the manicure. Considering that mumsie had only one proper manicure done in her entire life and that was before my wedding day, I didn't see why she could not emulate my example. However if you know my youngest daughter, you would not be able to out-talk her (except maybe her father). She argued and pleaded and cajoled us into agreeing with her request. Her rationale was that the manicure would be able to last her for a long long time and that it was much much cheaper than in KL, thus it was really worth it for her to do it on the ship.
My daughter was smiling from cheek to cheek when she showed me her nails. Everytime I see them done up in black with little white polka dots, I really wonder why she finds it so attractive. I still think that our nails are their loveliest when they are in their god-given natural colour, a healthy pink with reddish hues.
Posted by mummy
I was not too keen to fork out the money to pay for the manicure. Considering that mumsie had only one proper manicure done in her entire life and that was before my wedding day, I didn't see why she could not emulate my example. However if you know my youngest daughter, you would not be able to out-talk her (except maybe her father). She argued and pleaded and cajoled us into agreeing with her request. Her rationale was that the manicure would be able to last her for a long long time and that it was much much cheaper than in KL, thus it was really worth it for her to do it on the ship.
My daughter was smiling from cheek to cheek when she showed me her nails. Everytime I see them done up in black with little white polka dots, I really wonder why she finds it so attractive. I still think that our nails are their loveliest when they are in their god-given natural colour, a healthy pink with reddish hues.
Posted by mummy
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Cheese baked rice
On new year's day, we took Amanda and two of her friends for a new year lunch at this new restaurant near our house. I had assam laksa, her girl friends had noodles and Tim had rice. Amanda ordered cheese baked rice which was served last wrapped in foil and steamed in a rattan basket. She had trouble finishing the rice because she said that the chicken tasted rubbery. Unable to finish the dish, she passed it to Daddy to finish. Tim ate a spoonful of it and realized there and then that the chicken was not fully cooked.
We complained to the manager about it and she promptly sent it back to the kitchen and voila, in 15 minutes, a new one was prepared for us! Of course having lost her apetite by then, we requested that the dish be packed for us to take home to Samuel.
If not because of Amanda, we would certainly not be aware of our rights concerning food. We would probably have put the cheese baked rice aside and resolved not to patronize the restaurant again. Amanda often tells us stories of friends who had complained of finding 'things' in their food in restaurants and how by pointing out the same to the management, they would get a replacement meal on the house. Well, all I can say is that this is the first time we had been emboldened to make a complaint about a dish and to receive a new one so promptly.
Thank you Amanda for making us more aware of our 'food rights'!
We complained to the manager about it and she promptly sent it back to the kitchen and voila, in 15 minutes, a new one was prepared for us! Of course having lost her apetite by then, we requested that the dish be packed for us to take home to Samuel.
If not because of Amanda, we would certainly not be aware of our rights concerning food. We would probably have put the cheese baked rice aside and resolved not to patronize the restaurant again. Amanda often tells us stories of friends who had complained of finding 'things' in their food in restaurants and how by pointing out the same to the management, they would get a replacement meal on the house. Well, all I can say is that this is the first time we had been emboldened to make a complaint about a dish and to receive a new one so promptly.
Thank you Amanda for making us more aware of our 'food rights'!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Clothes allowance
When I look at my youngest daughter I wished that I had a parent like me!
Yes, my youngest daughter is now a tall willowy and pretty young lady with long 'brown' hair (dyed, of course) with her own fashion taste. Quite unlike her older sister who dresses simply, this youngest girl of mine has quite good taste in clothes. Back in those days when I was a teenager our 'boutique' was the fashion magazine and there was no such thing as following the trend of the season. A few months before Chinese New Year my mother will take us to a close cousin of ours who happen to be an expert tailor for our 'fittings'. We will be given fashion magazines to peruse. I used to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the lovely designs and wish that I could have all of them but my mother allowed us only 2 or 3 per year. If we like a particular dress we would point them out to my cousin. Our measurements will then be taken and viola, before the festive season we will get to wear our chosen dresses right out from the pages of a fashion magazine! This was not so bad considering that before we got to choose from the 'boutique' my mother used to get my cousin to make us all dresses of the same design and at times the younger ones had to wear hand-me-downs!
My daughter will probably call those dresses of that day and age very 'auntie' yet to us they were special because we chose them and the design was probably the only one of its kind. Today's fashion is so different from our time. My daughter wears trendy jeans, fashionable tops, billowy dresses with jackets made of soft fabrics that drape around her slim frame. If I were to suggest that she go to a dressmaker like I did at her age, I can just visualize the horror on her face. She will probably tell me that the cost will be more expensive and that it would be cheaper for her to visit her favorite shops at Pavillion or Times Square for the latest fashion.
That's why today I had to part with some money for her yearly clothes allowance. I guess it is much easier to shop for clothes given the no. of shopping complex in town and the megasales every now and then.
Posted by Mummy
Yes, my youngest daughter is now a tall willowy and pretty young lady with long 'brown' hair (dyed, of course) with her own fashion taste. Quite unlike her older sister who dresses simply, this youngest girl of mine has quite good taste in clothes. Back in those days when I was a teenager our 'boutique' was the fashion magazine and there was no such thing as following the trend of the season. A few months before Chinese New Year my mother will take us to a close cousin of ours who happen to be an expert tailor for our 'fittings'. We will be given fashion magazines to peruse. I used to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the lovely designs and wish that I could have all of them but my mother allowed us only 2 or 3 per year. If we like a particular dress we would point them out to my cousin. Our measurements will then be taken and viola, before the festive season we will get to wear our chosen dresses right out from the pages of a fashion magazine! This was not so bad considering that before we got to choose from the 'boutique' my mother used to get my cousin to make us all dresses of the same design and at times the younger ones had to wear hand-me-downs!
My daughter will probably call those dresses of that day and age very 'auntie' yet to us they were special because we chose them and the design was probably the only one of its kind. Today's fashion is so different from our time. My daughter wears trendy jeans, fashionable tops, billowy dresses with jackets made of soft fabrics that drape around her slim frame. If I were to suggest that she go to a dressmaker like I did at her age, I can just visualize the horror on her face. She will probably tell me that the cost will be more expensive and that it would be cheaper for her to visit her favorite shops at Pavillion or Times Square for the latest fashion.
That's why today I had to part with some money for her yearly clothes allowance. I guess it is much easier to shop for clothes given the no. of shopping complex in town and the megasales every now and then.
Posted by Mummy
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