This is the space for me to think aloud on what I see, hear, feel and experience. Somewhere for me to show off my beautiful children, whom I am crazy about. Perhaps this will also be where I discover a bit of myself which I never knew existed.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Li-anne's 1st birthday
My step-granddaughter, Li-anne, recently celebrated her 1st birthday. In my opinion, she is the cutest baby in the whole wide world and I'm totally biased! I made Li-anne a special Princess Castle birthday cake.
My daughter, Laura, helped with decorating the cake. Laura had some good ideas with the placement of hearts on the steps leading up to the door as well as how to place the flowers and such.
Figurine of baby Li-anne on the cake.
Last weekend was totally crazy but filled with lots of laughter. So much I want to say but just do not know where to begin....
I found out one of my cousins were opening a bakery so I asked her about it. An aunt of ours were also involved. Since it's family, it makes sense for me to be part of it. And so I dove myself into it, supervised the renovation, set up the place and finally it was opened. I trained two members of staff who would be doing the cake decorating.
The shop was opened with much anticipation. Good friends and family members attended the shop opening. Two doors away was a smaller bakery who asked for my advice from time to time.
After the shop opening, something felt different. I didn't feel welcome in the shop anymore. There was some whispering amongst the staff of the smaller bakery. They stopped every time I approached. What was going on?
Things came to a head when my aunt actually said "I'd never asked you to be involved, you know? You barged your way in and I didn't have the heart to tell you No" My world collapsed then. I had put my heart and soul into the place and it was going well. I had assumed to be included because I was family! My dream has just been shattered into a million pieces. As many pieces as my heart. So I packed my stuff to leave a biz I wasn't meant to be involved in. As I was packing, the decorator I trained came over to ask about making some seashells to be used for a sea themed cake. He noticed that if he used the existing mould to make the shells, he will not be able to get a pair of shells that fit. He needed to know what to do, especially when the customer was paying RM2,000 for the cake which isn't going to be a single-tier cake only. That's a freaking lot of money for a cake that size!! And this decorator whom my aunt will be retaining and not me is not experienced enough to handle something like that. I felt so dejected...
As I was walking pass the smaller bakery, I noticed something familiar. A big jar of sugar with vanilla pod inside. Looks like my jar, only the sugar was about to finish. This small bakery had nicked my jar and used up the sugar. I was livid! Gave the owner and her staff a piece of my mind.
"I have always given my all. Any time you needed guidance on cake decorating I've been most generous. Whatever knowledge I have, I'm imparted without holding back and this is what I get back?"
I couldn't hold it in anymore. I started to cry... Then I felt my pillow getting wet. Wait a minute! It's all a nightmare! OMG, it was so real I'd cried in my sleep!
I've just come back from my cousin's wake. He passed away after a brief illness. This is a cousin on my mother's side whom I've not seen for more than 20 years. Not since I grew up and my mother made less visits to her hometown in Teluk Intan. It is unfortunate that we didn't get to know each other better before my cousin passed on.
A few months ago, my uncle (my mother's brother) passed away. No, we did not keep in touch much as well.
My cousin's wake was simple, mostly attended by friends from church. My uncle's was similar. The similarity with both was, the memorial service was conducted by church friends and pastors. We had to listen to long sermons about how they have gone to be with Christ, how God sacrificed his son for our sins and resurrection. I felt really sad and cross. What happened to remembering the deceased? What about recollecting the happy moments shared and the little things that remind us of him/her? What about things that exasperated us about them? It got me thinking of my own funeral. If I had a say in it, this is what I'll like my funeral to be.
Friends and family gathering to remember me for who I am. What I'm made of. Remember me for what we've done together, times we've spent and what made you laugh, cry and angry with me. I will expect to hear my friend, Audrey, talk about the time I drove her down to Seremban in my father's rickety Mazda Capella to catch her train back to Singapore 'coz we lost track of time. I will expect Mag, Stephanie, Tina, Ooi Pheng, Soo Ken to remember the times we were at the ice-cream parlour near KDU on Wednesdays 'coz they had a "Buy 1 get 1 free" promo for sundaes. Chwee Peng to remember the good and bad times we've shared together. Lia to talk about the sms marathon we have with each other. My children to say that I was a good mom, even though never a perfect mom. PT to remember how he loved me and that he was loved and how I used to exasperate him with my being a headless chicken sometimes. Remember me for my life and not for my death. Have a drink, bring your own fave and I'm sure ice and mixes will be provided. Have a whiskey & soda on me, that being my fave alcoholic drink. Have free flow of my fave ice kacang from my fave stall 雪花飞 in Glutton Square, SS2. For once in my life, I'll like everything to be about me please! :-P
Laura’s platelet count is going up! Even though her platelet count was low on Day 5, she got back a bit of her appetite. She was eating better and drinking more. Sounds like PT and Laura had a good day together too. It’s good to hear my little girl giggling and joking again. Her paed said she may be discharged tomorrow which is wonderful news!
Platelet count has taken another dip. Aiyo! Tried giving Laura the papaya leaves juice remedy a 2nd time without any honey. Ended up having to get the beddings changed. Nothing went into her. Alright, scrap that! Then we hear from friends that coconut water does the trick as well. PT brought some young coconuts yesterday. More palatable, so we’ll try that. Laura likes coconut water so maybe she’ll drink some. She hasn’t had any appetite, have to be forced to drink. The more she drink and get hydrated, the faster her platelet count will go up. She’s been very tired and listless since last weekend. Our heart ached to see our usual chirpy little girl being so quiet.
I’d gone back to decorate cakes. Adam was very happy to see me at home. In between his Wii games, he came to give me cuddles and kisses. PT stayed with Laura tonight. Sleep in my own bed! Nice…
Finished with cakes, patted myself on the back and hope the customers will be as pleased with the cakes as I was and went to bed. Ahh… I really like my own bed. Adam stirred, opened his eyes. “Mama!” and I got the tightest cuddle ever! Still with his arms around my neck, he fell asleep again.
There never seems to be enough time to do all I want to accomplish in a day. I’m probably just tired. Not getting enough sleep. Today was baking day, baking a couple of cakes to be decorated tomorrow. PT was at the hospital to be with Laura so I can go home to bake. First to collect a couple of dolls needed for cake orders.
I called up Toys R Us a couple of days ago to find out where I could find two dolls I needed. The customer service person, Kala, called me back the next day. She apologized she couldn’t call me the same day as they were checking stock throughout the Toys R Us in the country. She found the dolls I was looking for at Toys R Us in 1 Utama. Been a long time since I’ve experienced good customer service and I am impressed. My friend, Lia picked up the dolls for me. Just in case they sell out or something. I didn’t want to take a chance!
Driving back from Lia’s, I was running through my head what I needed to do. Suddenly I was stopped at a road block for speeding! WTF. I don’t need this! The police asked if I knew I was over the speed limit. “Oo… errr… I was?” The police then asked me “So, how now?” My reply: “If I’d done something wrong then I should be issued a summon.” Then I added “Oh gosh, my daughter is in hospital with dengue fever. I need to go see her” Sounding a little exasperated on purpose. Ok, buying time, trying my luck but I was telling the truth! I was prepared to get that summon anyway. Pause, the police looked at me, looked in the car and then he said “Ok, you can go”. I was like “Huh? Go? Go where?” The police said “Boleh pergi. Kamu sudah susah, tak mahu tambah susah” (You can go. You have enough to worry about – something like dat lah)
Earlier, picking up something from a McDonald’s Drive-thru, I’d forgotten to place order drove up straight to the cashier window. Yup, distracted again. I apologized to the cashier that I forgot to order. She told me I’ll have to go back into the queue. Then she took one look at me, asked me what I wanted. Then she told me she’ll make an exception this time and I got my order without having to get back in the queue!
With the plugs up her nose, Laura breathes through her mouth which causes her to snore. She doesn’t sleep very well, tossing and turning throughout the night. Every time she opened her eyes, I gave her something to drink so her mouth won’t be dry. Man, can she snore! The difference between a paediatric ward and a regular ward is, the nurses are very gentle and considerate. They were in and out regularly in the night to check Laura’s temperature and also to check her blood pressure a couple of times in the night. We have slept through most of the time.
Every morning, a nurse comes in to take some blood samples for testing. Laura’s fever was still high, hovering between 38 and 39 C throughout the night. According to the paed, that’s unusual as it’s already Day 5. He suspects she may have developed a secondary infection, possibly due to the plugs up her nose. He called for blood tests to check for infection as well as prescribed a course of antibiotics.
PT comes in to spend some time with Laura in the day, which is nice. We get to chat a bit. Something we’ve not had much chance to do with him being in Singapore a lot these past year and a half. When PT comes over, I get to go home to spend some time with Adam. It was good being home to be with Adam. We had dinner together and played a Wii game together. Then some cuddle time before he slept. Sometimes, when one child is ill in hospital, it’s so easy to neglect the other child/ren. Adam has been wonderful though. Very concerned about his sister. Wanted me to ask when his Ci Ci can be home and if she’ll be ok. He heard the public announcement on our local radio about a father losing his daughter to dengue. I think that scared him, thinking that he may lose his Ci Ci to dengue. PT had a chat with him to assure him that Laura will be ok.
Early yesterday morning was Michael Jackson’s memorial in LA. I was too tired to stay up but got up in time to see Shaheen Jafargholi sing. I enjoyed the messages that went back and forth on Facebook but the memorial itself was too OTT for my liking. I wondered how many people were there for their time on TV or for remembering MJ? We’ll never know. I liked some of MJ’s songs and I think he was very talented. He was definitely a showman. He was very messed up too. Thank you for the music, MJ but I hope the media let you rest now.
The symptoms Laura had were high fever, lethargy, nausea and tummy ache. She could not keep much food or liquid down.
Day 2 continued with being on the drip and forcing her to eat and drink. Her blood platelet count dropped to 120+ from 160+ from the day before. She was still complaining of stomachache, so couldn’t eat much. What she ate, drank, if she peed or pooped or threw up had to be recorded. Being hydrated enough was important for her body to fight the fever.
Poor girl did not sleep well with the plug up her nose. She woke up frequently complaining of stomachache, then she went back to sleep.
Several people had recommended a remedy made with papaya leaves. Pound two papaya leaves into pulp and squeeze out the juice. Drink the juice which will help increase the blood platelet level. We are ready to try anything. Papaya is edible, so the leaves should be ok too. A friend whose son had recently recovered from dengue was given the papaya leaves juice remedy too. She recommended adding honey so the juice is more palatable as the juice is extremely bitter. Laura drank down the 2 tablespoons given to her.
The nose plug had to be left on for another night. We didn’t have a choice. Her fever hovered between 38 and 39 C even though she was given paracetamol.
Another restless night but we were more rested. The first night we shared with another little boy who had his tonsils removed in a 4-bedded ward. He must have felt very uncomfortable as he was crying a lot that day. There wasn’t much space in between the beds. Fortunately, only 2 of the beds were occupied.
The nurse call alarm was right outside the room door. Most of the time the door to the room was opened, so every time someone alerted the nurses, the alarm sounded. When the door was opened, the alarm was extremely loud and annoying!
Carer can rent a lazy chair for RM5 a night for sleeping. I have not slept on a lazy chair for a looooooong time. Even so, I had previously slept on one for naps only. Different when sleeping on one for the night! The air con in the room could not be controlled as well as we were sharing with someone else. Man, it was one uncomfortable night.
Yesterday, the hospital didn’t have any single-bedded rooms to spare. There was one today, so we moved. Thank goodness for insurance! What a difference! We had the whole room to ourselves. Felt a bit decadent really. We have a tv with a beat-up remote control held together with sticky tapes. Fortunately, the room is very quiet. We can see Jalan Ampang from our window. Laura was upbeat and cheerful earlier in the day but by evening, she was feeling lethargic and feverish again. At least she wasn’t complaining of tummy ache and could eat and drink more. We had a better night sleep than the first night.
I took Laura to see the paediatrician this morning as she had high fever in the weekend. H1N1 was ruled out as she didn’t have flu-like symptoms. She had high fever and was feeling lethargic which usually comes with high fever. Volren suppository brought the fever down. The paed took a look at Laura and asked for a dengue blood test to be done. He called this afternoon to confirm she had dengue and will need to be hospitalized.
Before leaving for the hospital, Laura had nose bleed. It’s the norm with her as she tends to get nose bleed quite often. Her paed had explained that thinner skin in the nose with some children make them prone to getting nose bleed. I paraphrase as I can’t remember the exact term used.
Being unwell and tired, Laura was not her usual trooper self. Two years ago, Laura fell during sports practice. The fall broke her elbow bone. She was very brave throughout the process of getting her elbow fixed and when taking out the pin that was holding the elbow whilst it healed. The orthopedic surgeon and his nurses were most impressed with her. This time around, she wasn’t quite as brave. I understand as she must be so scared, not knowing what’s happening to her as well as feeling tired and sickly. Her paed has been very good and understanding.
In the evening her nose bled again. The nurses came in to get the bleeding to stop. One nurse whom I could see genuinely likes children, managed to stop the bleeding and there was reprise for about an hour. Then her nose bled again. This time, another nurse was around. I must say she pinched Laura’s nose pretty hard. I felt so sorry for my little girl. Her paed came in to see her. He decided it was something he’ll need to refer to an ENT doctor. The ENT doctor was to come by in an hour to see Laura. Something about a plug for the nose was mentioned.
Poor Laura was so tired. She’s been good the whole day. By the evening, she was feeling better, got her appetite back and was feeling in good spirit. We decided to wash up and get some sleep even though the ENT doctor was expected. Soon after falling asleep, the ENT doctor came by and our ordeal began!
My poor baby was woken up from her sleep, surrounded by strangers and the ENT doctor wanted to start what he planning to do straight away. My poor daughter was traumatized. Even though it’s the paediatric ward, the nurses who were attending with the ENT doctor didn’t have a clue how to deal with children. The ENT doctor offered Laura an ice cream after the procedure. Laura was not interested in the ice cream at all. PT and I have always involved our children by explaining to them what’s to be done so they’re not afraid if they need an injection or needed to take yucky tasting medicine that will help make them better. The ENT doctor and nursing staff did not take that into consideration. It was very obvious that the ENT doctor isn’t very patient with children and do not take the time to make a child comfortable before doing what he needed to do. The nurses were ever ready to hold my child down for the ENT doctor to force what he needed to do. I shouted and put my foot down. Asked for a minute to explain to Laura what needed to be done. Poor girl was so scared. Wouldn’t you be if you were waken up from sleep, be surrounded by strangers who were holding up syringes, unknown liquids and such? I would! I knew he wanted to insert something up Laura’s nose, which will act like a sponge to stop the bleeding. I tried to explain that to Laura as calmly as I could. The whole time I glanced at the ENT doctor who showed his impatience. Obviously he didn’t believe in explaining to children. She resisted but at least she calmed down. Even though she still protested when the ENT doctor flushed out her nostrils with the liquid (which I didn’t have a chance to see what it was), applied a thick coating of gel up her nostril and then inserted a plug, she had stopped screaming or resisting. Only after the ordeal did he explain that the plug was necessary to prevent more nose bleed. As Laura’s platelet count go down, the natural ability for the blood to clot will go down as well. Since Laura is prone to nose bleed, that can pose a problem as she’ll be getting nose bleed more. Now if the ENT doctor had explained that first when he first got into the room, he could have gotten all that he needed to do without traumatizing a 9-year-old intelligent little girl and her mom! In probably less time too!
Laura is asleep now. Trying her best to be comfortable. That is tough to do as she needs to breath through her mouth with the plug up her nose. I can’t look at her sleeping without breaking into tears. Looking at my daughter with two plugs up her nose brings back horrible memories. The last time I saw someone with plugs up his nose was at my father’s funeral. That was after he was gone. I can’t do it. I can’t look at my daughter without crying. I’m glad she’s asleep so she won’t see me cry.
We were informed earlier that our ferry will be picking us up at 7am to go back to Mersing. However, during dinner we were told that the ferry will be coming from Pulau Tioman and will be at resort at 6am. That was ridiculously early but I remember what I was told about having to catch the tide. At 4.50am, we were all waken up by loud blaring of horn from the sea. The ferry was here! WTF!
We got ready quickly to board the ferry. Everyone had gone to bed really late and were forced to wake up early. I let Laura and Adam sleep while Dita and I got ready our things. Woke them up only when we were ready to go down to the boat. They fell quickly asleep again in the boat. We finally left the island at 6.15am.
RinZen asleep in the ferry.
Laura and Adam were next to me. They both rested their head on my lap and slept through the 1 1/2 hour boat ride to Mersing. Most people slept on the boat after having waken up at such a ridiculous hour.
I looked around the inside of the ferry to chart the escape route. I can't help my paranoia having read news about ferry disasters over the years. The ferry took only what was allowed and was not overcrowded. That was reassuring. I noticed that the life jackets were still in their original packing. Will we be able get to them in an emergency?
Breakfast was packed by the resort operator for us to have breakfast in Mersing. We were told that we'll have a picnic by the sea. That sounds really wonderful until we got to the place. We were at a public park area with food stalls which were not yet open that time of the morning. There were rubbish strewn everywhere. The beach was littered with rubbish as far as the eyes can see. So sad that visitors to the islands leave with a negative image of the area. Mersing is a disorganized, messy little town. Ironically, it is also the gateway to all the beautiful islands of Pulau Tioman, Pulau Rawa, Pulau Aur and Pulau Dayang. If the authorities and people cannot keep Mersing clean, how can they be expected to keep the islands clean? How much environmental damage and degradation can the islands take before all the corals are dead and gone? People still endure the discomfort and sorry sight to get to the jewels in the sea. For how long?
It is so wonderful to be children. The grown ups noticed the litter and unkempt state of the place. Kids saw only the potential and the fun. The bus ride back to KL took a long time. Night time was more manageable as kids were asleep, so less stops for toilet. Travelling back to KL in the day, we made several toilet stops along the highway. First stop was for lunch, which was less than 2 hours after a nasi lemak breakfast. It was ridiculous really but we had to because after that, it was stopping along the highway at one of the rest stops. The prospect of letting loose 40 pax at a highway rest stop for lunch and then trying to get everyone to board the bus again was toooo stressful. We had a light lunch and was off again. The restaurant where we stopped were quite disappointed that we didn't order seafood for our lunch, choosing instead to have noodles. Family members heading back to Singapore arrived home before 1pm. We got back to Tim and Vivian's place in Subang Jaya almost 5pm.
Kids and I had dinner at a restaurant called Splendid in Jusco AU2. The place looks like a Secret Recipe wannabe. Food was ok lah. Service was good. I just wanted to go home and rest but kids and helper had to be fed.
What did I learn from this trip?
Do not organize a trip without first visiting it. We didn't get to spend much time with the Higher Authorities as we were out to the beaches while they stayed back at the resort.
Ferries ply the island route several times a day but we had to board ferries at ungodly hours because Pulau Pemanggil, Pulau Aur and Pulau Dayang do not have high tourist traffic. So the ferry operators "force" the island resort operators to take low traffic times which means really early in the morning. We were told it was to catch the tide but I noticed that we left Pulau Pemanggil at the low tide. Now it's all clear why divers and avid anglers choose to charter boats to get to the islands.
The Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board does jack shit for Cuti-Cuti Malaysia judging from the sorry excuse of a port for Mersing. The place was unkempt, cramped and had no facilities. Only one toilet cubicle for Gents and one for Ladies. Most visitors would have travelled from out of town to get to Mersing to go to the islands. We obviously needed to use the toilet. If any one of the toilets were blocked, we would have been screwed!!
Island dwellers and chalet operators know shit about preservation and recycling. They throw things into the sea without a second thought. Visitors see that the island is already dirty, do not think twice about littering the beaches and the sea too. Places like Mauritius have strict regulations, including allowing only environmentally-friendly sunblocks and suntanning lotions. I will be happy just to see the islands treated with more respect. Doesn't take much to clean up the beaches and keep them clean!
I want to visit the islands again but thinking of the long journey and the discomfort of being in Mersing puts me off. Maybe if I have short term memory like most Malaysians do, I'll go again. Organize another big group there? No way!!
During the briefing on the first day, we were told that breakfast will be served at 7.45am. Not quite a relaxing holiday is it? Holiday usually meant sleeping in and eating at whatever time we felt like it. Ok ok, most hotels closes their breakfast counter at 10.00am. The kids were too excited to sleep late anyway. We were given the option of going island hopping or staying in to play indoor games. I believe telematch could have been arranged but we didn't feel like trekking across the rock to the rubbish-strewn beach. Dean was ok with arranging for a speed boat to take us to a nearby beach on another part of the island. 20 of us (a few Higher Authorities, adults and children) opted for that option. 15 pax (adults and children) opted for island hopping. A few of the Higher Authorities stayed back to play mahjong.
Along the beach were abandoned kampung houses and chalets. Dean showed us where lunch was to be brought to us. Loo Keat and I followed him through path which had mango trees on our left and right. There was also a ciku tree and jambu trees. Since nobody occupied those houses anymore, we could help ourselves to the mangoes. They were delicious!
This was the view from the jetty: Large schools of fish swam near the jetty. Crabs hung on to the side of the jetty. We could see live corals in the sea. Adam and I snorkelled around for a long time. The sea was calm and deep enough to snorkel but safe enough without a sudden drop off point. There were lots of dead corals but also lots of live ones. I felt quite sad that these corals may not be there anymore in a few years due to pollution and release of sludge by tankers. We managed to see many types of fishes including some clown fish swimming in and out of anemone. So beautiful!
The view from the jetty was quite amazing too. We even saw turtles! Our group saw 4 turtles (I saw only 2 'coz 2 swam by as I walked away!)
My sister-in-law, Sasha, with Jayden who also swam about in the sea.
We were having some problems with the water supply at the resort that day. So the instruction was to bathe before getting back. That meant standing fully clothed to mandi. I washed my hair on the jetty! Several times, "Survivor" came to mind. We expected to be picked up at 4.00pm but were picked up at 6.00pm instead. When we got back, Dean told us his boat broke down on the way back.
My camera battery went flat at dinner time. Must get some photos taken by my cousins!
When organizing the Big Family Reunion, the criterias I have in mind for a place are:
1. can accommodate 60 and above pax of Big Family members.
2. has a place for the Big Family members to gather to chat and have fun.
3. is accessible to the Higher Authorities who are made up of our parents, aunts and uncles (my father's siblings and their spouse).
4. is within our budget which is not much for such a big group.
5. if possible, by the sea. My cousins, brothers and I used to spend one week every year end school holidays in Penang where we had the most glorious and fun time.
Not many places can fulfill all these requirement. A few months ago, when I was at my dentist's clinic, I chanced upon a brochure for Lanting Beach Resort in Pulau Pemanggil. P Pemanggil is off Mersing on the way to Pulau Aur/Dayang where PT and I spent a couple of memorable holidays basking in the sun and swimming in the coral filled sea. I checked with a couple of BNI members who have been to the resort (one even has his photo on the brochure). So I got in touch with Dean who is the proprietor of the resort to discuss booking a family reunion at the resort. Dean assured me that the Higher Authorities will be able to access the rooms, I know the sea around the area is beautiful, the place can accommodate 120 pax and it has a huge dining hall where everyone can gather. Best of all, it was within our budget. Viola! We have a place for our Big Family Trip 2009!
Our journey started at night on Friday, 5 June. The drive to Mersing is very long. We were told to get to Mersing before 5.00am to board the catamaran at high tide. To save anyone from driving, or try to keep up and keep together and have the fun begin as soon as we depart for the island, a bus was chartered for our trip. The KL side filled up a 40-seater bus. The Singapore side went to Mersing on an 11-seater van. We were instructed to arrive at the Mersing port by 4.30am to board a catamaran to P Pemanggil. We got into Mersing port by 3.45am and were the first to get there.
We waited for the contact from the resort to arrive so he can sort out our boarding pass. After the Seagull Express incident, the port authorities has become strict with checking that ferries do not exceed the allowed number of passengers. I was relieved to hear that as I really do not want any danger to befall my family members. Unfortunately, our contact did not inform us sufficiently what to expect. The Higher Authorities were getting anxious as more and more people arrive at the port. BTW, the port has only one toilet cubicle each for Ladies and Gents. That will be another post rant.
At 6.15am, we finally boarded the ferry (which was told to be catamaran earlier) to get to P Pemanggil. All of us have been travelling in a bus for hours, waited for hours at the port and now sitting inside a rocking boat. We couldn't use the upstairs which was open air because that section was closed. Everyone was very excited to get to the resort but they also suffered from motion sickness. Mad scramble for plastic bags and sounds of retching later, we arrived at the resort.
The sea around the resort was breathtaking but when I saw the resort from the jetty, my heart sank. The resort did not have a beach. The beach was separated by huge rocks and the rooms were set really high on a hill.
We climbed up the steep steps leading to the dining hall, helping our Higher Authorities up. The resort staff helped carry our bags. Breakfast was to be served shortly. We were all hungry by then. As food was being taken out, Dean went through some house rules. Lots of them were common sense but after the long journey and the rude shock of not having a beach, the list of rules did not go down well with quite a few of the family members. We were not having a good start to the family reunion. We were also allocated our rooms and given our keys then. Our group was allocated rooms nearer to the dining hall. We had to do a bit of reshuffling for the benefit of the Higher Authorities. My brother and I offered to switch our rooms for the seniors but there was not enough bed space for them. By this time, my head was in a cloud yet trying to make the most of the whole situation. I think my cousins were too.
After breakfast, some went on a boat to another beach for snorkelling. Some of us chose to go to a nearby beach which meant walking down many flight of steps and on a huge rock to get to the beach. I wish the beach was kept clean. Such a shame to see such beautiful sea set against a filthy, rubbish strewn beach. The sea was choppy. Kids were squealing and having fun. I was on the alert all the time to make sure none of the kids get pulled out to sea *sigh*
Then we went back to the dining hall for lunch. So far, the best part of the resort was the food. Quite a variety of dishes with lots of vegetable and delicious ulam. The cooking was tasty. After lunch we were given the option to go snorkelling again. Since there wasn't much to do at the resort, a group of us went on the snorkelling trip. We were dropped of at a nearby kampung with a beautiful beach front. Unfortunately, also strewn with rubbish. The sea was crystal clear and calm. Shallow water stretched quite far which made it safe for children to splash about. A few of the cousins who had gone to the island earlier for snorkelling were still there. They were quite upset by then as they've been waiting for the boat to fetch them for hours. It was way past lunch time (3.00pm by then), nobody had told them exactly what time the boat was to arrive to pick them up. The resort brought their lunch when taking us there.
Hearing that, I chose for my kids and I to return to the resort after the group had finished their lunch, having spent only an hour on the beach. Could it get worse than this??!
We chose to ride in the front of the boat to go back to the resort. Short while after leaving, the boat turned back towards the beach. I thought perhaps they forgot to collect something and was going back. Turned out, someone had spotted a small luggage bag floating in the sea. The resort operator and crew fished out the luggage from the sea. They were very excited to know what was in the bag. Popped open the bag and inside was a journal of sorts with pages of notes and drawings. The bag was very neatly packed. It was quite obvious that the bag hadn't been in the sea for long. In the journal was a passport and photos. I thought that's great. They'll be able to hand over the bag to the proper authorities to return to the owner. When ensued was shocking! The boat crew and resort operator pulled out the things one by one, shouting with excitement of their find. They were no different from pirates who pilfered and robbed. I was so sad that my children had to see what they were doing. My cousins and I were so shocked, we didn't know how to react. They rummaged through the bag to look for cash but couldn't find any. Then the resort operator threw the underwear in the sea deliberately. Any wonder why the beaches were strewn with rubbish? Words cannot describe the disappointment and sadness I felt on that boat ride. Laura and Adam were full of questions about what they witnessed on the boat. Asking if that was what is meant by Finders Keeper. It was very disturbing to realize that the beautiful islands, the jewels of our country, are run by barbarians and hooligans who obviously do not know anything about preservation. These islands are their livelihood and should be their pride, yet they chose to rape, exploit and litter. What is the heritage my children are growing up to inherit? I don't even recognize the country I grew up in anymore.
The resort operator collected vintage items in his resort, old telephones, gramaphones, photos, weighing scales, etc. I looked through the photos hanging on the wall. These were photos collected from various junk yards and sales so were not of any particular families. Most of the photos were from the 40s and 50s. What struck me was how similar these photos were to the ones in my family collection. There was no distinction between the races. Malayans dressed in similar fashion and one couldn't tell if they were Malays, Indians, Chinese or whatever crap the politicians have been trying to ram into us.
Most of us took a long nap in the afternoon, after a long night and rough morning. Night time was spent chatting and kids played by themselves. Adam played Congkak for the first time and enjoyed himself tremendously. The children gathered on the dormitory floor to play. One of the kids fell asleep playing!
I took some time off today to be a mall rat. A rare chance to wonder about aimlessly. Just as I was heading towards a Geox shoe shop, I heard someone calling "Ms Chan"! Didn't think anything of it. Can be anyone lah. Then I see this guy with long hair walking towards me. OMG, blast from the past! An ex-boyfriend whom I bump into once every few years. Guess it's been a few years since we've bumped into each other.
It was good to catch up a bit on what's been happening in our lives. I was shocked to hear he'd lost his younger sister to cancer about 10 days ago. She was only 38. A rude reminder to us not to take anything or anyone for granted. Not to take our health for granted too.
As a family, we make a point to have dinner together unless PT or I are not in town or we have made dinner plans. That's when we sit and chat. This is the time we hear little gems from the children. Today, I started telling my family that I bumped into an old friend but stop short when it came to telling them about my friend losing his sister at a young age. Both my kids are at ages when they question mortality. They're afraid of losing their parents to illnesses and they're asking questions about dying and heaven and hell. They're afraid not to be able to see their papa and mama again. Whenever Laura asks if she will lose either her papa or mama any time soon, I have been telling her we do not know for sure when we will go but I promise to work hard at keeping healthy so hopefully we won't be "going" any time soon. I will not be able to explain to her why someone who is younger than me has gotten ill and died.
Words cannot describe how sad I am for you and your mom, Y, for your loss.
