Category: All About Mum

Stopping To Smell The Roses For A While

Difficult it may be for me to tear myself away from writing on disability rights in this blog, I have decided that I have written all that needs to be written in more than 300 entries. I have nothing new to say anymore. It has come to the stage where the points that I raised are repetitions of what I have written many times before. I should really stop flogging the dead horse now.

This hiatus will do me a world of good and perhaps provide a fresh perspective on the entire issue. The work is not done yet but this workman needs to put down his tools for a while to concentrate on some personal pursuits.

I miss those days when this blog was more personal and my entries were more emotional. I hope to egg my writing on to that direction again. This also reminds me that the weekend is almost here. The one thing that I really really wish to do come Sunday is to wish Mum a “Happy Mother’s Day.”

Almost Real

The bed was pushed right up to the walls at the far corner of the room. There were two windows. One had louvers that opened out to a spacious air well where Mum would hang clothes that she had washed. The other opened out to the garden and had cast iron grilles and green window panes.

My eyes were still closed. The familiar sounds of birds chirping indicated that it was already mid-morning. In my mind’s eye, the view beyond the iron grilles was as familiar as the lines on my palms. Just outside the window, a fertile bush of betel thrived. Its vines gripped and snaked around the stakes that looked like rotting wood but were sturdy nonetheless. A coconut tree stood behind, spreading out its fronds in all directions and provided ample shade for everything beneath it.

I strained my ears to catch hints of activity in the garden. Mum would usually be pottering away with her adeniums, orchids and bougainvillas. She was especially proud of her green fingers and skills in cultivating beautiful looking adeniums. Many Chinese households have a pot or two of this plant for its auspicious name which meant prosperity in any of the Chinese dialects.

There were no familiar sounds other than the chirpings. I wondered where Mum was. Perhaps she had gone for her breakfast. I was happy nonetheless, knowing that I was in familiar surroundings. A sense of security and contentment enveloped me. Then reality struck. I realised was reliving a time fifteen years ago. Mum was no longer around and I was 400km from home. And I woke up from that dream feeling empty and lonely.

24-Hour Roadtrip: Kuala Lumpur – Penang – Tanjung Malim – Kajang – Kuala Lumpur

Wuan and I made a quick trip to Penang last Friday evening. I needed to sign some legal documents pertaining to my apartment. We started our journey at 11pm. I drove all the way to this island that I used to call home. Somewhere at the Rawang Rest and Service Area, I nearly crashed into a barrel that was resting indiscriminately in the middle of the expressway. The barrel was used as a barrier for upgrading works along many stretches of the expressway and was somehow knocked off the side of the road and rolled into the middle.

We reached Penang safely at 4am on Saturday. Slept at 5am. Woke up at 8am. Met lawyer at 11am. Signed the documents and left Penang at around 2pm – not before we went to Macalister Road for 2 boxes of Ghee Hiang’s tau sah pneah. The tau sah pneah are pastry balls with green bean paste filling. Peter, his wife and their grandson hitched a ride with us. They wanted to go to Kajang where Elaine, their daughter, is residing now. We turned into Ipoh town to buy the famous Gunung Rapat beh teh soh – flaky pastry with molasses filling – the best I have eaten so far.

We then had dinner at one of the popular restaurants in Tanjung Malim. The menu was braised tofu with dried shrimps and minced pork gravy, deep-fried pig’s trotter, steamed fish and sitr-fried kangkung sambal belacan. For the price we paid, I would expect the food to taste better. I will not be returning to that place for food anytime soon.

After we dropped Peter and family off at Kajang, we reached home at about 12 midnight. It was one of the most tiring road trips Wuan and I have ever taken. We covered nearly 1,000km in 24 hours. Nevertheless, it was a trip well worth the time because I have accomplished what I was in Penang for – one of the few outstanding issues that I had promised Mum I will clear up shortly before she passed away.