To My RoundBoy

Posted on 29 October 2008 by Mimi

My dearest RoundBoy,

I will never forget the day you were born. It started just like any other day, except that, when I went for a check-up at noon, my doctor told me that I would give birth that day. I was shocked and didn’t believe her because there was no pain, no bleeding, no water breaking, no nothing. At 6 pm, at her insistence, I reluctantly allowed myself to be admitted into the clinic. One hour later, I was still walking around in my room, chatting with your Abah and I remember him asking me “Betul ke you nak bersalin ni?” (Are you sure you’re giving birth today?) to which I replied “Entah! I tak rasa sakit pun!” (I dunno! I don’t even feel any pain). So I shooed him home to take a shower and check on your brother and sister. He got back to the clinic at around 8 pm, just in time to accompany me into the labour room. At 8.30 pm, we welcomed you into this world, all 4.07 kg of you (almost 9 lbs!). To this day, I still can’t figure out how I managed to give birth to you via normal delivery, without an epidural. (I don’t remember who was more shocked at your size — me or my doctor!)

You were the baby of the family for so long that, even though you are now big brother to the twins, deep in my heart, I still think of you as our baby. My baby.
RoundBoy
From top left: Newborn roundness – Poster boy – At Selesa Hill Homes, Malaysia – Sports Day, May 2005 – Proudly wearing daycare uniform for the first time -  Inside AirAsia cockpit after landing at Bali, July 2006 – Riding a horse at the foot of Mt. Bromo, Surabaya, June 2007 – On a boat in Phuket, March 2008

Today, you turn 7 years old and I can’t be any prouder. You were at the top of your class when you finished K2 last year, skipping Primary 1 and plunging fearlessly into Primary 2 at the most tender age of six.

And proud as I am of your academic achievements, I am prouder still of the person that you’ve become. You are among the sweetest, most sensitive souls I know. You are so insightful, you often surprise me with your questions and observations that reflect so much maturity beyond your years. You are so loving and affectionate that I can’t help but think of how wonderful you’d be as a husband and father one day.

In the meantime, I will take each day as it comes and enjoy watching you grow. And I shall ‘sing’ to you our special silly song while I still can (because I know, one day, you won’t allow me anymore!):-

You are my round boy, my only round boy
You make me happy all night, all day
I’ll always love you even if you’re not round
Please don’t take my RoundBoy away.
(*to the tune of ‘You Are My Sunshine’)

Happy birthday, my RoundBoy!

Categories: Children | Tags: , | 10 Comments

Deepavali Greetings

Posted on 27 October 2008 by Mimi

Today, Malaysia enjoys yet another holiday, this time celebrating Deepavali, the “Festival of Lights”. This festival is also also known as ‘Diwali‘ in the Hindi language, but since most Malaysian Indians came from South India, it is referred to as ‘Deepavali’ in Malaysia.


Image from shutterbug.nu

Even though the 2.6 million Indian community in Malaysia only comprise some 8% of Malaysia’s 28 million population, Deepavali is a national public holiday. It’s yet another proof that Malaysia is, indeed, a country where different races, cultures and religions live together in harmony.

Happy Deepavali to everyone!

Categories: Malaysia | Tags: , | 7 Comments

Letting Off Steam

Posted on 25 October 2008 by Mimi

Bottling up emotions is just not my thing. Whenever I’m angry or upset, I need to find release. The sooner, the better. Otherwise, I feel like exploding, if you get what I mean.

Take this long and horrible week as an example. I’ve had to deal with demanding customers, unyielding suppliers, and, my pet peeve: people who lack common sense (which always makes me wonder why ‘common sense’ is called such, when it’s not that common really). And don’t get me started about certain staff who, after asking me to decide on something, go behind my back and convince a higher authority to make a decision that they find more favourable than mine. Plus there’s the stress of having to pick my brain on what or how to write about Cat5e patch cable (don’t ask!), not to mention the  stress of having to act as drill sergeant to my kids on the week of their final exams.

Chocolates helped me get through the week relatively unscathed. But only until today. I didn’t realise how brittle my nerves have become, as it only took a silly argument over the most mundane of things to break down the last shard of my self-restraint. I was ready to explode. And I knew that I had to find a way to let off steam. Fast. But safely.

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Categories: Children, Rojak | Tags: | 7 Comments

A Very Special Beach

Posted on 23 October 2008 by Mimi

I’d like to share with you these photos of a very special beach that I discovered in Bohol, Philippines, when my family and I went there for a short holiday in June 2005.

beach

This beach was a heart-thumping 20-minute tricycle ride from my paternal grandparent’s home, way before the construction of coastal highway from Tagbilaran City reached that part of the island.  [NB: A tricycle is very similar to the Thai tuktuk, an improvised form of public transport made by attaching a 'sidecar' to a motorcycle.] The road to the beach was very bumpy and quite hilly in some places. I remember holding on for dear life to whatever portion of the tiny sidecar that my hands could grab, wishing I could be like my children and just enjoy the thrill of the ride.

When we finally reached our destination, I drew a sharp breath and rubbed my eyes, unable to believe what I saw — the beach had no sand whatsoever! There were only stones and pebbles and sea shells of varying shapes and sizes.

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Categories: Children, Travel | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

Malay Wedding Part 1: Meminang

Posted on 22 October 2008 by Mimi

Not so long ago, it was quite common in Malaysia for parents to look for suitable partners for their children, a practice which the Western world refers to as ‘arranged marriages’. Contrary to popular belief, however, the children have the choice to either accept or turn down their parents’ suggested candidates. And the ‘arranging’ process goes on until such time that a suitable match is found. This tradition is still being practised among the Malaysian Indians  but among the Malays, this practice is slowly dying down as more and more young people have started finding their matches on their own.

In the past, once a suitable match was identified, it was customary for the boy’s family to send a group of representatives (rombongan meminang) to formally ask for the girl’s hand in marriage. Even though both families already know the answer, the girl’s family would wait for a day or two — sometimes even up to a week — before sending their own rombongan to formally accept the offer. I find the old way rather long and ’roundabout’ kalau mengikut adat (if following the old customs), details of which this site talks about. [NB: That site is entirely in Malay.]

These days, in the same way that arranged marriages are no longer the norm, a lot of the old Malay adat is no longer being followed or have been modified somewhere along the way. For instance, it’s still customary for the boy’s family to go to the girl’s house to ask for her hand in marriage but the meeting can be rather informal — just like any other discussion over lunch or tea or dinner — usually without the boy in attendance and with the girl often hiding in her room.

But sometimes, some of the old practices are still being followed and that’s when the process gets a bit more interesting. There may be, like in the olden days, some clever exchange of pantun, a Malay poetic form that has been recorded from as far back as the 15th century. A representative from the boy’s family will say something like this pantun that I found at Mesra.net, which I’ve translated (very roughly) into English:

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Categories: Malaysia | Tags: | 13 Comments