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25 januari 2004
A State Of Cats
Teddy music: Matt Redman - The Voice of the Lord
Okiez...so I've officially been home for roughly 2.5-3 hours. Yeap, spent the first 3 days of the Chinese New Year at my ye ye's (granpa's) place at Kuching, Sarawak.
Gong Xi Fa Cai to all those who celebrate CNY!! *teddy hugs*
Anyways, it was nice to see my ye ye after so long. My family sans Kevin flew there on Wednesday night. Kev couldn't come since the flights were all full from Singapore-Johor/KL-Kuching so he had to spend CNY in Singapore.
Teddy music: Hillsongs - Better Than Life
Our flight which was supposed to leave at 5.10pm got pushed to 8.30pm therefore making us extremely late for our reunion dinner. Ended up arriving in Kuching at 11pm. My poor ye ye had been kept up waiting for us. You see, he typically goes to bed by 8.30pm and wakes up at 4am to go for Mass. Anyways, I was rather disappointed that we couldn't have a proper reunion dinner (my ye ye had the restaurant deliver the food to his home instead of us eating there as it was already too late) since he had already eaten earlier and was quite tired. Sighs...
It was nice in a way to be around my ye ye considering the last time we visited him as a family was when I was 12. He had shrunk as well. Is it just me or do old people gradually shrink?? He seemed smaller and more fragile. But he was still robust (in the old person way) in going about his daily activities of going to Mass, treating patients (he's a Chinese sinseh/traditional doctor - a darn good one too! *beams*) and whatever else he does there. Heh.
Teddy music: Hillsongs - Magnificent
I noticed that his eyes had faded on the outer edges of his irises. It looked like a pale slate-grey colour and it reminded me about one of my lecturers whose eyes look like that as well (he's pretty old too). Is it another old age thing? *wonders*
In short, the time at Kuching was spent eating, sleeping, lounging, reading and driving. Most would find it rather boring at my ye ye's place since he pretty much lives in the past - he doesn't have a lot of modern appliances i.e. no microwave, big oven, big TV, high-end radio, no water heater, no electric kettle, etc. Only one room has an air-con which was only installed a few years ago and even then, my ye ye doesn't sleep in that room, he prefers to sleep in my dad's old room. He lives a very simple life.
Teddy music: Hillsongs - Touching Heaven Changing Earth
I can definitely say that my ye ye is very blessed. His place is always well stocked with food as his patients are always giving him gifts/money as tokens of gratitude. So we had plenty of munchies while in staying in Kuching. =)
My dad took us around Kuching to visit different parts including Santubong and Bau. The pictures will be posted up later. ;)
Teddy music: Hillsongs - All Of My Days
Coming back to Sarawak is very much a trip down memory lane for me, having been born and spending nearly a decade of my life there. Especially when visiting my ye ye's place. Things have changed though as the old rambutan tree and the turtle has gone.
I remember peering over the big jar's rim to spy on the old turtle moving lethargically at the bottom. I remember my dad picking rambutans off the tree and us eating its sweet, translucent flesh with the sticky juice dribbling down our chins and little fingers. When I look at the central bookshelf, I remember how Kev hit his head on a corner, trying to run away from my ye ye and ended up with a little dent in his face, just beside his left (or is it right? Can't remember) eyebrow. He was running away trying to avoid getting his hair dried properly by my ye ye. Hehe. Silly boy.
We even went to visit my grandma’s grave after driving to Bau. My youngest bro had never seen her or her grave prior to this as he was born after her passing.
Teddy music: Hillsongs - Most High
Well, my Australian cousins have grown up a lot since I last saw them. They're a lot nicer too as well...hehe. Not half as annoying as last time. My girl cousin is actually rather pretty now (she's 13 in April).
One thing I will say about our time in Kuching was that it rained EVERYDAY. The last day we left, it had been raining practically non-stop since morning. And, in Kuching, when it rains, it really rains. Buckets. Torrents. Sheets. Gallons. It's as if the sky had opened itself up and poured all its moisture on the face of Kuching. No shortage of water here to be found! Hehe...too bad it can't be transferred over to Klang Valley in times of need. =P
The air is super-saturated with moisture...good for dry skin =D
Teddy music: Hillsongs - The Love of God Can Do
Oh, something really freaky happened a few hours before we left as well. You see, the aunty who's helping watch over my ye ye had told my dad that sometimes, my ye ye will momentarily lapse into bouts of forgetfulness. My dad told me that he'd never actually witnessed it on his trips back to Kuching and that today was the first time he saw it for himself.
Teddy music: Hillsongs - Mourning Into Dancing
My dad and I were sitting and talking about some old photos of us kids. My ye ye was at his home altar (it's just a table with all these Catholic items on it - rosaries, pictures of the Virgin Mary & Jesus, crucifixes, Bibles) on his knees and he was reciting the prayers on the rosary when he suddenly stopped halfway. My dad was on the alert when this happened (I didn't think much of it at first as I thought my ye ye was just taking a breather) and when my ye ye started looking around like he'd lost something, we knew something was wrong. My youngest bro, Jonathan, who was reading nearby said that my ye ye had given him a strange look as if to say, "Who are you?" and the next thing that really alarmed my dad was when he asked, "Are you staying upstairs?"
We'd been in the house for 3 days by now.
My dad then proceeded to gently remind my ye ye about things like how a taxi had already been booked for us to go to the airport and things that happened recently.
I think it's just a touch of dementia. Old people need mental stimulation to stay alert. When patients come over to see my ye ye or when talking about medicine and related stuff, his eyes literally light up like a little boy and he gets all excited about it. It's quite cute, really. =) He's actually quite a healthy 80-year-old considering he is rather self-sufficient and lively. Heh.
Teddy music: Matt Redman - Open The Eyes of My Heart
Oh yeh, I had 2 nightmares (of which I won't divulge here) during the 2nd night we were in Kuching. I woke up after the first one with my heart beating rapidly and lay awake for a while trying to regain my breath. Then, I padded over to my dad's side and snuffled against him for a while. Yes, I'm a daddy's girl, so what? =P After that, I couldn't shut my eyes out of sheer fear but fell asleep from exhaustion. That's when I had my 2nd nightmare. It wasn't half as scary but it was certainly the shape of one of my secret fears. Brrr...*shivers*
Teddy music: Hillsongs - In The Silence
Well, to end it all, my family had a pretty good time in Kuching. Got to eat kolo mee, Sarawak laksa and "wet" char koay teow (it's mixed with a tomato-ey sauce...it sounds gross but it's so yummy!!) I'm missing those foods already!
Yeh, so what if this entry's long? It's got to cover 4 days, k? =P
*teddy hugs*
P.S. Congrats to Darren, Erin, Izal & Jase on getting into the finals for their Galaxie campaign in AdWave 2004!
Teddied by redphayze at 25 januari 2004 01:05
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