as the cluttered streets greet me once again
The goodbyes never seem to end apparently. As a matter of fact, Chinese New Year this time around is going to be so much harder to take because it's the last celebration at my grandparents house in Malacca. The family didn't think it would make sense to keep the house any longer since my grandparents are both dead and gone anyway. All those years of spending it there and now it's almost as if tradition was buried along with them. There aren't anymore offerings to the Gods on the table anymore, the family members no longer feel entirely obligated to return home, the door to the house is no longer lined with an array of various shoes and slippers, the excitement of buying new clothes and wearing them on the first day of Chinese New Year has vanished, no more lion dances hired and how all of us were repeatedly in awe at how the fruits were cut up so quickly eventhough we had seen it done a thousand and one times before, the whole tradition of kneeling down and asking our grandparents for forgiveness has also become etched as merely a part of our little history now. We no longer possess any concrete sense of identity and we never really have for that matter. Chinese New Year only proved to be a little bit of reassurance that we do.
My sweethearts, Wendy and Chia Ching, are leaving us this week to join the growing population of Little Malaysia in Melbourne. Okay so I don't really know how to start and only because we all go back such a long way! From the time I was 7 and I met Chia Ching in primary school only to offer her an ugly brown Sugus as a sign of friendship and she threw it away! Terrible, terrible. Was always in the same van or bus as she was, played Gooch Grundy with her on the computer all the time and humoured ourselves, greedily (on my part anyway) ate up all the samosas Emily cooked at teatime for us, was always cancelling on her or coming late which earned me a bad reputation with her parents and she still put up with me all the same. Those were the days when we used to go cycling together around the neighbourhood and I would try to pull off some stunt by riding down some steep slope while she strongly advised me against it (she gives the best advice really) and watched in horror and then laughed when I ended up bursting a tire and riding over dog shit (damn classy i know). She also always used to help me hide that hideous and ridiculous bicycle helmet my mother used to make me wear. Mostly Chia Ching has been so patient and definitely kind and with that being said, it's been such a joy to know you babe (and I don't dream about your mother in a purple dress anymore!)
Wendy I first met when I used to stick my head out of the bus window and yell my goodbyes to Chia Ching (they're neighbours) while Wendy waited patiently on her little bicycle for Chia Ching to get off the bus. We were all highly skilled at throwing an exercise book (the chat book!) from one end of the classroom to the other. She's definitely one of my bitching buddies and we can go on and on about tv shows for ages and not stop. Thursday night Maisons kaki along with Amanda and Siok Kwan and then we'll go spy at all the super cute guys outside The Loft wearing their posh little suits and then go click-clacking off gushing about how yummy they all were. Unfortunately, our sleepover turned into a big drunken stupor with us all crashing out earlier than expected. Can't say we're all that talented when it comes to getting out of bed early either. What was supposed to be us crawling out of bed at 9 turned into a series of twisting and turning under the comforters with head crashing back onto pillow everytime we attempted to get up. She's the only one I can really comprehend when it comes to playing Taboo (lets not even bring darling Karen into the story here, she's in a whole new league of her own) and we had a few good laughs the other time finishing the whole stack of cards. Sorry you got bitten by a whole lot of mozzies because Amanda decided to be a fitness freak (AND sleep in her tracksuit AND wake up at 5 lol) and jog through the forest reserve while we all panted and killed ourselves to reach that rotting observation tower at the top. Wishing you all the best in Caulfield and snag a hot boy and force him into your bags when you come home ya? Love you both heaps (you and Chia Ching I mean, not you and the potentially hot boy you are going to kidnap).
And a little time out to wish my gorgeous, hilarious and chilled out sweetheart, Stephanie, a very wonderful 20th birthday! Only 365 days until you're officially 21 then we can really hike it up and party! So much has changed since the days of the infamous acidic incident and it's only a matter of time before you join the international fleet and have the time of your life. Here's to wishing you all the best and raising my glass of Kahlua to you babe :)
I think I've said this only about a million times before but I really dislike people slagging off my country in front of me just because I bitch about it. I don't know about you but I'm sure you understand the whole bitching allowance concept by now. I love Malaysia despite all of its failings and I was brought up and raised here and will never forget that but I feel that it's only best that I move somewhere else to develop any potential I may have. Don't even start on all the bollocks about how I should come back and serve my country since I love it so damn much because nobody's willing to alter their mindset and perception of things here and I don't intend to be the pioneer of any movement. Anyway I didn't intend to write in here for awhile to come but that was necessary. I need a little break from this whole writing thing and a little time to find myself in other ways.
Sharmin
My sweethearts, Wendy and Chia Ching, are leaving us this week to join the growing population of Little Malaysia in Melbourne. Okay so I don't really know how to start and only because we all go back such a long way! From the time I was 7 and I met Chia Ching in primary school only to offer her an ugly brown Sugus as a sign of friendship and she threw it away! Terrible, terrible. Was always in the same van or bus as she was, played Gooch Grundy with her on the computer all the time and humoured ourselves, greedily (on my part anyway) ate up all the samosas Emily cooked at teatime for us, was always cancelling on her or coming late which earned me a bad reputation with her parents and she still put up with me all the same. Those were the days when we used to go cycling together around the neighbourhood and I would try to pull off some stunt by riding down some steep slope while she strongly advised me against it (she gives the best advice really) and watched in horror and then laughed when I ended up bursting a tire and riding over dog shit (damn classy i know). She also always used to help me hide that hideous and ridiculous bicycle helmet my mother used to make me wear. Mostly Chia Ching has been so patient and definitely kind and with that being said, it's been such a joy to know you babe (and I don't dream about your mother in a purple dress anymore!)
Wendy I first met when I used to stick my head out of the bus window and yell my goodbyes to Chia Ching (they're neighbours) while Wendy waited patiently on her little bicycle for Chia Ching to get off the bus. We were all highly skilled at throwing an exercise book (the chat book!) from one end of the classroom to the other. She's definitely one of my bitching buddies and we can go on and on about tv shows for ages and not stop. Thursday night Maisons kaki along with Amanda and Siok Kwan and then we'll go spy at all the super cute guys outside The Loft wearing their posh little suits and then go click-clacking off gushing about how yummy they all were. Unfortunately, our sleepover turned into a big drunken stupor with us all crashing out earlier than expected. Can't say we're all that talented when it comes to getting out of bed early either. What was supposed to be us crawling out of bed at 9 turned into a series of twisting and turning under the comforters with head crashing back onto pillow everytime we attempted to get up. She's the only one I can really comprehend when it comes to playing Taboo (lets not even bring darling Karen into the story here, she's in a whole new league of her own) and we had a few good laughs the other time finishing the whole stack of cards. Sorry you got bitten by a whole lot of mozzies because Amanda decided to be a fitness freak (AND sleep in her tracksuit AND wake up at 5 lol) and jog through the forest reserve while we all panted and killed ourselves to reach that rotting observation tower at the top. Wishing you all the best in Caulfield and snag a hot boy and force him into your bags when you come home ya? Love you both heaps (you and Chia Ching I mean, not you and the potentially hot boy you are going to kidnap).
And a little time out to wish my gorgeous, hilarious and chilled out sweetheart, Stephanie, a very wonderful 20th birthday! Only 365 days until you're officially 21 then we can really hike it up and party! So much has changed since the days of the infamous acidic incident and it's only a matter of time before you join the international fleet and have the time of your life. Here's to wishing you all the best and raising my glass of Kahlua to you babe :)
I think I've said this only about a million times before but I really dislike people slagging off my country in front of me just because I bitch about it. I don't know about you but I'm sure you understand the whole bitching allowance concept by now. I love Malaysia despite all of its failings and I was brought up and raised here and will never forget that but I feel that it's only best that I move somewhere else to develop any potential I may have. Don't even start on all the bollocks about how I should come back and serve my country since I love it so damn much because nobody's willing to alter their mindset and perception of things here and I don't intend to be the pioneer of any movement. Anyway I didn't intend to write in here for awhile to come but that was necessary. I need a little break from this whole writing thing and a little time to find myself in other ways.
Sharmin