The Merdeka Weekend That Never Was

My Merdeka weekend plans turned out to be a bust.

It was already a bit late when I went back to Selayang on the Merdeka eve for us to find a suitable place to park and join in the festivities. My sister had her own plans at UiTM that night and would not be joining us. Both my brothers had another birthday party to attend in Bangsar for one of their friends. I didn’t know that particular friend so the thought of being the only one at the party not knowing anyone else there was enough for me to not join them there. In the end it was just me, my mum and my nephew sitting in front of the TV to watch the countdown. Of course by the time the countdown started, 2 out of the 3 people watching it was already asleep.

The plan to watch the parades the following day also fizzled out. My dad got back from Terengganu at 3am which was about the same time as my brothers got back. By the time I woke up at 6 the following day, everyone was too exhausted to go which kind of meant that I had to go there myself if I really wanted too. In the end, I just decided that being in the middle of the gazillion people that would surely be at the parade route was too much for me to handle on my own. Went back to sleep and later watch the whole parade on TV in the comfort of my own house. When everybody woke up, we all went for a late breakfast at the nearby mamak shop.

It wasn’t all bad. I did get sometime to spend with the family and my nephew. I also got a chance to send the batik material I bought to the family tailor for my alumni batik shirt. Hope to get that back in about 3 weeks so I will have it ready by the time of my alumni dinner next month. Picked up my monthly shipment of comics from Mind Shop which thankfully was less this month that what I usually have to pay in the previous months. While the amount that I have to pay was less, I still have months of comics in my read pile to go through. I’m just adding to the read pile every month now since I don’t get to go through them as often as I would like to.

I also got a chance to put it some time to my Neverwinter Nights 2 PC game which I have to install on my brother’s PC since it can’t run on my laptop. Even then the graphic performance was too slow and had it not been for the engaging storyline, I would have given it a miss a long time ago. Given the quality of the graphics in this installment of the franchise, I wondered why it demands so much from the hardware. It’s times like thing when I get tempted to spurge on a PC gaming system with the latest AV hardware but then I realize that I have a whole boatload of PS2 games that I have not even touch yet!

September also means that the fasting month is just around the corner. I have to start planning my schedule as I’m hoping to get in some gym time as well the fasting month. Unlike most people, I usually gain weight during the fasting month instead of loosing it. Never could understand why especially I usually watch closely how I eat when I break fast. Hopefully I would be able to change that this year.

That reminds me that I will have to go to the gym tonight to burn off the amount of food that ate during the weekend. It’s so hard to say no to a home cooked meal especially when my mum cooks it.

Early Morning Scare

It was just one of those types of nights that runs the gamut from high points and low points on an emotional rollercoaster ride.

After coming back from an enjoyable pot-luck soiree slash private screening of “Brokeback Mountain” (review to follow soon) at a fellow blogger’s place, I was feeling the most liberated I have been for some time. Partly because I met so many interesting new people who I would never have met before on my own and it was the first time (hopefully not the last) I have ever been invited to one of the blogger’s gathering since I started blogging. I apologize to the other guests who might be reading this entry now if I seemed too aloof, distant or quiet last night but that is just how I am around strangers that I have not been formally introduced too. I was too timid to introduced myself and the host was already busy with the guest so I decided just to enjoy the company and the film.

After getting a ride back from another gracious (given the adventure we had to go through trying to find our way back to Sunway) blogger, I was ready to turn into bed and get some sleep before I had to get up to go to work again today unlike our counterparts in KL. Just a few hours in, I was woken up by a phone call from my brother telling me that my father was involved in a car accident and was admitted to the hospital. My mother was there and she told me that they had him under observation after being ambulanced from the crash site. From what they could tell, another car had crashed into my father’s car from behind and caused him to lose control of his car which hit the road divider head-on and spun the car a few times. My mother told me that the car was a totally write-off since the engine was in unrecoverable pieces.

I really hate getting early morning calls like this because the last time I got a call this early in the morning, I lost someone who meant the world to me. Every time my phone rings between the hours of 2 to 4 in the morning, my heart jumps at the thought of me losing someone close again and what was worse the absolute panic of not being able to be by their side in time if the worst happened. This was no different especially when my mother had not had a chance to find out how serious a condition my father was in when she called. Knowing my aversion with hospitals especially after the way I was practically a catatonic mess the last time I had a loved one died in the hospital, my mother told me to just stay put and wait for new development.

They finally released me from my tormented thoughts at 6am when they call me to say that my father was discharged to go home with a banged up knee and minor bruising. The doctors kept him in observation more because of the high blood pressure that he had after the shock of the accident more than anything else. He was very lucky considering how much worse off the car was damaged in the accident. I have not had a chance to talk to him yet as the doctors gave him some painkillers for the knee so he was zonked off when my mother brought him back.

I’m getting flashbacks of the last time he was in a bad accident back when I was younger. He was also very lucky then as he was yesterday.

I hope that there will not be any more early morning calls for sometime at least.

A break from holidays

I’ve got another work day tomorrow before I go away from the office again on account of the Thaipusam public holiday on Thursday. I should have taken the whole week off but I decided against it since I have to be around the office while my boss is away on his vacation. I did however request for this coming Friday off so I would have 2 days plus the weekend to celebrate my upcoming 31st birthday on 7th February. I don’t have anything planned yet but I do have to go to a family dinner for my father’s birthday which falls 2 days after mine. I also have a younger sister who shares the same birth date with me so you can imagine that February has always been quite a busy month for us. Coincidently, all three of us also share the same Chinese astrological sign, the Ox, as I was born 24 years after my father and my sister was born exactly 12 years after me.

I didn’t get to do much during the Aidil Adha holidays this past weekend. My dad was still working in Tioman Island so he couldn’t be with us for the holidays. Not that it was not uncommon for him to be absent during the holidays but I would thought that this would change once he retired. Anyway, my mum decided to finally rewire the old house which is about time considering that we have been having some brown outs every time someone plugs in something new. She got some extra money from her new contract and used that to do up the house and build up her garden. The minor renovations were still ongoing when I came back so we had to bear with a bit of dust on Aidil Adha morning. It could have been worse since we didn’t get the power back on until the previous afternoon. We did have to get new light fixtures as well as some of the ones that we had were really old and in need of repair.

Aidil Adha for us would usually be a minor affair with most of use would gather together for a special brunch that my mum would whip up for us. Most of the time the meal would consist of ketupat nasi, rendang daging, sayur goreng and what ever else that we got from the neighbors when we exchange our dishes with them. This year both of our neighbors were in town so we actually had quite a spread of different dishes to tuck into at brunch. After brunch, we would usually just sit down in front of the TV or entertain any guest who might come. We usually don’t expect to receive any guest during Aidil Adha compared to Aidil Fitri but sometimes our friends do drop by and they are always welcomed to do so. Of course my aunt and my cousins who live close by would always come to our place, on any holidays actually, to have tea with us.

I didn’t get a lot of time to fiddle around with the new TV and home theater system that I just bought before going back to my parents’ house. Partly because the new TV was so big and heavy that it could easily break my current TV bench which I didn’t remember to take into account when I bought the TV. The solution to my problem was of course to go out shopping for furniture which I was a bit hesitant as I wasn’t keen to get anything new until I move into my new apartment but considering I couldn’t actually just leave the TV in the box, I finally gave into the temptation. The obvious place to get a nice TV bench was of course IKEA I was trying to avoid because of the prices. I spent 2 days with my mum during the holidays trying to find a serviceable alternative but all choices seemed to lead me back to IKEA.

It was a bit surreal for me to go to IKEA with my mum. It’s the same for me when I go shopping for anything with her. We both share the same passion for shopping which infuriates my dad when he has to tag along with the two of us. Since he was not around this time, we left for IKEA and arrived just after opening time which meant that we almost had the whole place to ourselves. We went to one display after the other and spent nearly 4 hours there before leaving with our purchase. She wanted to look at some several solutions for the gust room at home and found a few that she liked but couldn’t buy them then because the car wouldn’t be able to take them with my new TV bench. Yes... I did buy my first IKEA furniture and although I still think that it was overpriced, I have to say that I’m happy with the purchase. My new Oppli TV bench, now loaded up with my home entertainment system, stands out in my living room in a good way since it is now the centerpiece that anchors the room.

I have both my new TV and HT system all set up for this upcoming holiday weekend for me to go through at my own leisure. I’m looking forward for my father’s dinner as well as possibly getting a call from E and S for my birthday. I keep on expecting them to call me but sometimes they don’t which really bums me out. Of all the people who would wish me a happy birthday, E & S are the ones that I really look forward to even after all these years. When they do remember my birthday and call, it just lights up my day and I’m sure that I would have a good year ahead. Of course if they forgot, which happens more times that I would care to admit, there is a part of me that would feel as if there is a gaping hole in my chest that is threatening to swallow me whole.

To think of this is really depressing.

Home alone.

The office was not as empty as I expected today as there are a few of my Chinese colleagues who were still working today. I guess that they would be on leave starting tomorrow when they start to make their way back to their hometowns for their reunion dinners. I wonder how many people will turn up to work tomorrow?

My mum has already made plans to take my younger siblings with her and meet up with my father who is currently in Tioman Island for work. If I did not have to be in KL on stand-by, I would surely join them as I have never been to Tioman myself. Maybe I could plan something with S next time. He did say that he wanted to learn how to scuba dive one day and that sounds interesting although I wonder if one is allowed to get a diving license if they don’t know how to swim?

Anyway... I recently bought a Sony Playstation 2, an early birthday present for myself, which should keep me occupied during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays. I’ve stocked up with enough of my favorite CRPG games for the console that I think that I would wear out the controllers pretty soon. I’ve also have a bunch of new DVDs that I have not had the chance to go through which will keep me glued to the TV as well as “The Last Samurai” starting its run this week on the cinemas. All in all, there is a lot for me to look forward to this week.

Come to think of it, I don’t know what is sadder, me buying myself a PS2 for my 31st birthday or that I actually look forward to spend most of the time indoors in front of an idiot box alone.

Notes on my dad

Transfered RM1500 to Mum's bank acct today. She called me yesterday to ask for the money to pay for my sister's enterance fee for her diploma. My sister promised me to pay it back once she gets her student loan approved. Fortunately I have my house fund set aside to cover the bill and was able to advance them the money. I don't really care when they refund me back the money since I'm not planning to use it until my apt is ready in 2006 but I was really dissapointed by the seemingly lack of interest on the part of my dad in all this.

I can't really say that I'm very close to my dad. He and I have had some problems in the past and have only recently started to really reach out to each other. I guess partly that is because both of us are bull-headed and stubborn. I mean ... I still love him and that he's my dad but sometimes the things that he does or ignores infuriates me to no end. Sometimes it feels like he is so involved in chasing his pipe dream that he lose sight of people who are still depended on him.

No doubt that my dad is a dreamer. I inherited that trait from his side of the family but I also have my mum's practicallity which sometimes I think he lacks (based on the decisions that he makes). Ever since I was a child, I could recall all the unrealistic plans that he would come up with that would one way or another blowup in his face. When I got older, I tried my best to support his decisions but sometimes he doesn't make it easy to do so. He would always have these plans for quick money and stuff which basically never pans out and in the end leaves the whole family in a lurch.

I think that I liked him better when he was still in the Army. At least the Army provided him with a solid ground to work from although that meant that the family didn't see him that often. He retired early to chase after some quick money plan that his friend conned him into and since then things have never been the same. He still continues to dream of making easy money and not learn from past mistakes. I think that his pride won't let him. It's this same pride that makes him ignore our warnings time and time again.

I maybe harsh on him sometime but he is still my father. Good comes with the bad as it is in a balanced universe. I just hope and pray that it is not too late for him to realise how his action affect those who love him.

Slice of life

Wanted to update my blog last weekend but got caught up with stuff and that plan fell through.

Any way ... a nice weekend all around. Decided to get my nephew on of those RC cars instead of a stuffed toy this year. It was only after I've paid for the thing that I remembered that my brother got one for him a few months ago. Turns out that my nephew already trashed that one a few weeks back so my gift wasn't so bad. Also we decided to celebrate by other nephew's birthday early as well ... since my family won't be around on his birthday next week. For him I bought a bunch of hard cover children's classics since you can never go wrong by giving people books. I hope that he'll enjoy them but from the look from his face, I could tell that he was expecting something else. Kids nowadays just don't appreciate the power of curling in a warm bed with a favorite book!

Decided to get a hair cut last weekend. The usual ... buzz cut on the sides and back, leave the top. I've always had this thing about buzz cuts. For one I can't never stand having my hair grow long ... it's just drives me crazy. I've always like the feel of a buzz cut on on my own head or anyone else for that matter. Kinda reminds me of this barber place that I used to go to when I was in Madison. I think it was called "BuzzCuts" or something and they mainly cater to the college students. It was cheap and most of the people who went there were either frat guys or the football team (who were not that bad to the eyes anyway). I had some of the best conversations there while waiting for my turn on the barber's chair. Oh ... glory days.

This week would be something to look forward to. We'll be having our outsorcing briefing this coming Friday. The outcome of that will determine whether I'll be staying with my current job or be taking off to other pastures. Also I've got that annual dinner this coming weekend. The theme this year is "Hindi Movies" ... god knows what I'm going to wear for that!

On Buying Presents

Got a call form Mum today. She reminded me about the Sunday afternoon tea for my nephew's birthday. Guess I have to get him a present tomorrow. Last year I gave him a big stuffed gorrilla ... the look on his face was priceless when he opened the box.

Don't really know what he would like this year. What do 2-year olds like anyway these days? I know that he was into dinosaurs after watching that dino story over and over again on CD sometime back ... wonder if he still like them? I've never been good at buying presents ... too critical I guess. I always want to make sure that my presents would be something that the receiver remembers me by at least until the following year's birthday.

Sometimes this leads me to give the same present year after year. Case in point is my yearly present to S. It's to the point that he doesn't even have to guess what it would be since it is always a bottle of Tommy perfume year in and out. I always tell him that that will remind him of me for a long time to come.

I guess I'll try that Toyland store at Sunway Piramid tomorrow. It's been opened for sometime but I've never been inside it although I'm pratically in Sunway Piramid almost weekly. If nothing there looks promising, then the Toys'r'Us in Subang might be the next choice.