This trip had been two or three years in the planning. When I was working as a Librarian, I always tried to give priority to my colleagues who had family. They had children and had to take leave during the school holiday period. The bad part? I could never go on tour with my Dad and two aunts, one of whom is a teacher.
Even last year, I did not dare to take leave as I have developed this phobia for it. I was afraid that I would get "No" for an answer. Now that I am in my new work place though, I plucked up the courage and went to ask my boss. She was really nice and even though I am not confirmed till November, she agreed to the dates that I asked for as there was no one taking it yet.
I feel very blessed to be working in this new environment. With good guidance and fairly good colleagues, I think for once, I can safely say that I can live longer. I thank the good Lord for that.
Thus it is so, that I will be spending my Christmas in the land of my forefathers.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
EeeeeeH......E71
I have a lot of backlog on my blog! First of all, I would like to announce that I have bought the Nokia E71!!! I cannot believe myself! I am so not a Nokia person and yet, I went to buy a Nokia phone. I must hereby state though, it is more out of its functionality than anything else.
Read a lot of reviews on other smart phones on cnet before I decided on this phone. I was dead against buying the iPhone though, as I thought it too faddish and I heard its fair share of...issues.
Anyway, mine is the white version and I am happy with the change so far. Only boo-boo is that I did not realise why the battery was running out so fast till last night. The Notification light was set to go on for an hour. Of course battery run out in 2.5 days lah! Hahahaha!!!
Read a lot of reviews on other smart phones on cnet before I decided on this phone. I was dead against buying the iPhone though, as I thought it too faddish and I heard its fair share of...issues.
Anyway, mine is the white version and I am happy with the change so far. Only boo-boo is that I did not realise why the battery was running out so fast till last night. The Notification light was set to go on for an hour. Of course battery run out in 2.5 days lah! Hahahaha!!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
The last time I saw her
Last night, at around eleven plus, our house phone rang. My thought was," No news is good news at this hour" and true enough, it was bad news.
The part-time domestic help whom I so dearly call Auntie for the past 16 years, passed away after coming back from Indonesia, her home town by sea. Auntie is a Chinese originally from Indonesia. She has been in Singapore for the longest time and earns a living to help raise her family by cleaning the houses of other people. Her husband never really treated her very well, but that is another story altogether.
Auntie had cleaned our house from the time that we were staying in Yishun. Even when we moved to the East, she did not mind travelling the distance even though she stayed in Khatib. She liked our family, my mum in particular (I am sometimes not the nicest of persons when it came to the way I wanted my clothes ironed).
It was only when I brought back Snowy the dog that she had her asthma relapse and my mum took the chance to tell her to stop work and rest at home. Auntie, after all, was not that young. I cannot even remember why I took Snowy back with me but it was the time when I separated from my ex-husband and when I realised that my mum too, was allergic to the dog (and that my dad did not like any sort of pet in the house much) that I had to painfully return Snowy to him. It still pains me talking about it. I feel that I treat Snowy more like my lover more than my ex-husband.
Recently, when we shifted to our new place, our present part-time domestic-help could not make it. Mum had asked Auntie to come along. She just wanted Auntie to sit around and look after the furniture and stuff and see to things. She didn't really want her to do much. It was a way to let her spend her time and also to take a look at our new place.
It was so troublesome to move from our old place that Auntie and I had to come over to the new place first. We were to guard the door and to look out for the movers when they arrived.
I still remember the minute that we stepped into the new house, she took the vacuum cleaner while I took a bucket and clothe. She started vacuuming the floor while I started wiping the window and window grills like crazy. It was tres dusty!! Both of us cleaned up the place quite a bit in no time and yet, there was no sign of the movers.
Auntie decided to buy lunch as it was nearing 3 and my stomach was growling. I remember giving her $10 for her to buy us both some food. I still remember that it was duck noodles and a packet of coffee. Both of us sat in the kitchen, the kitchen cabinet top as our table, slurping the noodles away. She had wanted to return me the $10. I still remember telling her to keep it and take it as an Ang Pao since I never really did give her one. Come to think of it, I could barely call that an ang pao.
We had a good time and before she left, I promised her that I would go visit her at her home one day, perhaps during the Chinese New Year. Never did I dream that the first and last time that I would visit her home, would be during her wake.
Last week or so, she went back to Indonesia to visit relatives and attend a wedding dinner. Halfway through the stay, she had fallen ill (asthma attack) and was sent to the local hospital. She refused to stay on and insisted on coming back.
The frugal lady had travelled by sea there and so naturally, would come back the same way. The big waves and choppy waters must have made her worse as, according to her daughter (the one who called us), she passed away once she reached Singapore.
She may have burnt quite a few of my clothes and washed them the wrong way at times but in my heart, she is the best Auntie who knew how to iron best.
Rest in peace Auntie.
The part-time domestic help whom I so dearly call Auntie for the past 16 years, passed away after coming back from Indonesia, her home town by sea. Auntie is a Chinese originally from Indonesia. She has been in Singapore for the longest time and earns a living to help raise her family by cleaning the houses of other people. Her husband never really treated her very well, but that is another story altogether.
Auntie had cleaned our house from the time that we were staying in Yishun. Even when we moved to the East, she did not mind travelling the distance even though she stayed in Khatib. She liked our family, my mum in particular (I am sometimes not the nicest of persons when it came to the way I wanted my clothes ironed).
It was only when I brought back Snowy the dog that she had her asthma relapse and my mum took the chance to tell her to stop work and rest at home. Auntie, after all, was not that young. I cannot even remember why I took Snowy back with me but it was the time when I separated from my ex-husband and when I realised that my mum too, was allergic to the dog (and that my dad did not like any sort of pet in the house much) that I had to painfully return Snowy to him. It still pains me talking about it. I feel that I treat Snowy more like my lover more than my ex-husband.
Recently, when we shifted to our new place, our present part-time domestic-help could not make it. Mum had asked Auntie to come along. She just wanted Auntie to sit around and look after the furniture and stuff and see to things. She didn't really want her to do much. It was a way to let her spend her time and also to take a look at our new place.
It was so troublesome to move from our old place that Auntie and I had to come over to the new place first. We were to guard the door and to look out for the movers when they arrived.
I still remember the minute that we stepped into the new house, she took the vacuum cleaner while I took a bucket and clothe. She started vacuuming the floor while I started wiping the window and window grills like crazy. It was tres dusty!! Both of us cleaned up the place quite a bit in no time and yet, there was no sign of the movers.
Auntie decided to buy lunch as it was nearing 3 and my stomach was growling. I remember giving her $10 for her to buy us both some food. I still remember that it was duck noodles and a packet of coffee. Both of us sat in the kitchen, the kitchen cabinet top as our table, slurping the noodles away. She had wanted to return me the $10. I still remember telling her to keep it and take it as an Ang Pao since I never really did give her one. Come to think of it, I could barely call that an ang pao.
We had a good time and before she left, I promised her that I would go visit her at her home one day, perhaps during the Chinese New Year. Never did I dream that the first and last time that I would visit her home, would be during her wake.
Last week or so, she went back to Indonesia to visit relatives and attend a wedding dinner. Halfway through the stay, she had fallen ill (asthma attack) and was sent to the local hospital. She refused to stay on and insisted on coming back.
The frugal lady had travelled by sea there and so naturally, would come back the same way. The big waves and choppy waters must have made her worse as, according to her daughter (the one who called us), she passed away once she reached Singapore.
She may have burnt quite a few of my clothes and washed them the wrong way at times but in my heart, she is the best Auntie who knew how to iron best.
Rest in peace Auntie.
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