My Childhood Part 2

Dear Bloggy ,

To continue about my childhood..............

Well I have a mother and I have a father ...that's where my life begins ...50 years ago in 1961 . To be exact on the 21 September . Here written down for you just in case you forget my birthday .

I addressed my parents as  " Emak " for my mother and " Bapak " for my father . At times these words are shortened to ' Makkkkkkkkkkk..." when used in an emergency mode and ' Pakk...' . Along the way I found out that my friends called their parents like that too . No big deal indeed .


What do you expect ? That I called them as " Mummy " and " Daddy " ?  Now that is out of this world . Come to think of it ...what  if  ....what if .... all my brothers and sisters addressed them as that ? I think all of us would puke , puke , puke . It was just not right ; so not in our system ....so unreal ...so very the acting you know .  .....not in our blood at all. Do you know why ? Its because both my parents are Malays ( and that makes me a Malay too.... in case you forgot ) .

Anyway these two words were the earliest few words I could vocalized and mastered easily when you were about four or five months old . Bet in my cute little voice my parents could easily detect the sound calling for them were from me ....and not from some other creatures .


Along the way ( which way ...I don't remember ) ...I realized some people who were  my neighbors were different from me .They spoke  another dialect that I least understood . And they called their parents as " Indai " or " Apai " . And the Chinese neighbor across the street called theirs as " Ma " or " Pa " . Cute ain't it .

Now at that time ,  Indians were not in existence in my neighborhood . Indeed a rare species .  I would have added these words  " AMMA " and " APPA " to my vocabulary very much early  if only we had crossed paths at that time  .


Emak and Bapak had always been there in my life . 24 hours a day ....365 days a year . That's because my mother was a housewife and my father's nature of work did not require him to travel far . So we all saw him every day at the end of the day .

My mother was the constant fixture ...she was always there tending to us all . When night fell... everybody would flock back ; take shelter to what we brothers and sisters  called " HOME " .

Yeah....I am proud to say....I am not from a broken up family . And I owe it to my parents for being there for  each other for whatever the upheavals that came their way . I thank God ...ALLAH SWT for everything too.

That's all for today Bloggy . I write some more should I have more ideas .

Loving me...Loving You ....

Dancy.

My Childhood Part 1

Dear Bloggy ,

What was my childhood like ? As I am writing this , I can feel the pressure my brain cells are doing now ; its  flipping thru the pages in my memory . Point is where do I begin ?

I have to stop now . Have to pause and gather my thoughts . That's the best thing to do . In the mean time I dry out my laundry and get my 5 minutes dose of  vitamin D .

See ya soon .

Oh Go Away ....

Hi there Bloggy ,

How do u feel today ....that is if you have any feelings at all...or rather it be the other way round ...me ..pouring out all my feelings to you . That's why I write in this blog dairy right ? Writing down my thoughts ...and perhaps along that way ...part of my feelings are revealed too .

Today I don't feel too good . I have been to the doctor twice ...I have a slight cough,  my nose is blocked ...I don't sneeze and the phlegm is still as thick as ever . That when I coughed now and then its just there ...that not so nice puke sound . Its just not right .

I landed on the sofa early this morning at about 0900.  The medication  made me a bit drowsy . Well I rested  for an hour feeling  good and refreshed after that . By that time I  could  feel my right ear going a bit deaf / block . Am  hoping  all this feeling of unpleasantness will go away soon .

The Indonesian helper came helping  me washed the bathroom upstairs while I cleaned and swept Amir's and Yasmin's room . She mopped the floor . She did  a few other things ...I paid her RM25 for a 3.5 hours of work .

She's one kind of a woman ...calling me now and then when she should come in to clean . There are a couple of  them around ...all looking for jobs and they would be on their bicycles early in the morning ; hoping some housewife would want their help . I guess its very competitive for them . I bet she don't want to lose me . 

Honestly , I do need her to come in and clean now and then ...about once or twice a week . At 50 years old I feel I have other things to do that need more of my energy . At least I don't have to rush ...rush ...rush leaving me feeling exhausted by the end of the day . Sure .. I lose my Ringgit Malaysia ....but on the other hand  I had done some positive work that made me feel good ...like baking buns for my children ...

Till then bloggy .........

Old Routine Is Back

Dear Bloggy ,


By that I meant school break is over . And we are all trying to get back to our old morning school day routine .


Routine for my two children is that they are to go to school , be in their school uniforms , look neat and presentable and to ensure homework is done and no books needed for the day is forgotten .

The routine for me is to ensure Yasmin and Amir are awake ...not much of a chore as so far so good they are able to wake up on their own . If they don't ...well ...you can bet the earful barking orders I can give them should they choose to ignore school day . Unless of course they are sick . That too I will counter check to ensure they are really really sick and not fit to attend class .

Routine for me is to ensure their school uniforms are cleaned and ironed . That they have their pocket money. That they don't forget anything needed for school etc etc etc. That they take their breakfast . That we hit the road by 0700. And that I don't forget to pick them up again at the designated time .

After dropping them off at school ,  I'm off to the Sunday Market looking out for fresh fish , fresh chicken and fresh vegetables and fruits . One can get fresh jungle products too . Like the ' paku pakis .' Then I'm off home enjoying the quietness of the house ...enjoying my own company ..." just me time " at the moment .

Have a nice day to all the folks out there ......

Times In My Life

Dear Bloggy ,

I am not going to be apologetic for the long silence . Not that I am that extremely busssssssssssssyyyyyyy....nor am I that lazyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too.

Life just goes round and round ...the world turns and turns and now its almost end of March . Looking back I have not accomplished much .

My house is still in a mess ; I have clutters here and there . And all over the place . I have not stopped trying to make my house a better place to stay so that cleaning is done so much easier and faster . I am constantly throwing things out . Somehow I never seem to get there . That house that I want ...cosy and neat ...

If I were to meet my long ago colleagues am sure they are bound to ask me " How's life ? What have I been up to ? What am I doing ? " And the most dreaded question " ...How's life as a housewife . It must be boring ...."

Boring ? Wish that word exists in my daily life . I am up to my neck and nose now with  work , work and work . At times I am at a point of being suffocated . Stressful ? U betcha ....!

But I know how to get over it . I just curl myself up in front of the telly ..... a book  in my hand ... put my feet up and Resttttttttttttttttt for an hour  or so . Sometimes 2 or 3 hours ...if there happens to be a good show on the telly .

Okay . Gotta move on now . Got to close up my house for the night . It  needs a rest too yunno .


Till then .hugsssssssssssss

Ponggal

Dear Bloggy ,

A blackout of news from me . Sorry about that . Was still feeling tired and I can't figure out why .

A hive of activity among my neighbors today , Bloggy . Ponggal Day for my Hindu neighbors . The whole episode of being busy busy busy started yesterday of cleaning   up their house and  hosed down their  front porch . Could see them putting up some decorations at their doorways . Mango leaves tied up and strung and sugar canes at their door ways too .

 I could hear bells being rung since early morning . Each house was doing that as they started their prayers . Could hear chantings too being played out loud on cassette players . Quite a riot actually ...my level of tolerance and acceptance at its best now . My nostrils being tested to its maximum as am inhaling a high dose of incense burnt by my immediate neighbor .

I know another neighbor was busy boiling rice and milk in a pot outside their house ....a way of saying thank you to the Sun God ....for the abundance and plentiful harvest they made . None of my neighbors are farmers though ...but somehow they followed  this tradition of saying thank you to the Sun .

A buzz of excitement from my neighbors as the milk started to boil . I did not hear any shouting of Ponggol Ponggol .I wish I could go over and take a few pictures but at times we have to respect them and let them do their obligations in peace and not being  spied on ...

Another neighbor put out a display of fruits ..apples , sugar canes and bananas in the sun . Two sticks of lighted incense stuck into a banana , plus some flowers and the cooked rice and milk in another plate . I saw Arvin ( my immediate neighbor ) with the lamp in his hand praying to the sun .

Ooooo...I just have to close  all my  doors as the incense smell is getting too overbearing . Could caused one to puke and feel nauseated too if inhaled too much . Plus headaches too .

Gotta go now . The need to go marketing and send my children to the library . Now when am I going to do my baking ?

Just me ....

Dancy 

Blast From The Past

Dear Bloggy ,

Can't believe I am in my own house now . Five days ago I was in Miri ....meeting my sister and catching up news with my brothers who dropped by the house . Of course meeting and hugging my darling father was the top most priority . It was good to be home...familiar smell , familiar atmosphere and familiar faces . Home sweet home .

An old childhood friend and her daughters came over to my father's house . It was just great to have met her again ; sharing and comparing news . Yes ...the friendship withstand the test of time . So much laughter as past episodes were dug up and shared with her family . How they laughed and could not believe the antics her mother and me were up to . 

It was sweet of her to take me out for a spin in her car as well as to meet up with somebody from the past . Somebody who had scared the living daylights out of us . How this guy would stop us in our tracks just to check on our bicycles . We were just at his mercy . How we cursed and swore at him after that .

Of course he could not recognized me . But when I mentioned my late brother's name who happened to be his colleague , the puzzles fell into place . We were able to talk of the past and the present . I can't believe he was so well behaved in his ordinary clothes ; and not in his uniform . He had since retired and am now doing his business of selling ' satay ' . 

Ya ...in a way I was glad to have met him again . Bet he can't believe he was haunted by his past ; bet he can't believe somebody got to tell and remind him of the things he did to us when we were kids . Bet he felt sheepish about it to be confronted in his old age . 

Honest to God ...my intention is just to meet him ; how he looked as we all aged . I just want to say I'm sorry too for all the nasty remarks I had made years ago . He was caught by surprise when I asked for his forgiveness . He smiled as we ' bersalam '  and parted ways .

I felt good now that I had met that somebody from the past...somebody who shared a part of my childhood ; who became a part of my memories too .

I gotta go now Bloggy ...plenty of things to do in this house now that I am home .

Till then..........

Dancy