Life with the Three Crazy Dogs

During our don’t-know-what-is-that-class-called where non-Muslim students will gather in the Main Hall of the school. The teacher incharge was Mrs C, the most hated teacher in Main Convent, during my time. Anyway, the students will sit on the floor of the hall, we students will have our song/hymm books and sing.  Some days if there was a new song to learn, we have to copy the words from the chalk board.  If not, we will sing songs/hymms from previous times.

One of the hymms we sing a lot was this: Make me a Channel of your Peace which is actually a prayer to Saint Francis of Assisi. I have always loved singing this hymm and still do.  (That’s what I like about the Convent school then was it still instilled a lot of Catholicism during these classes, and it definitely have sowed some thing into me!)

And here’s the lyrics which I got from here:

Make me a Channel of your Peace

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is hatred let me bring your love
Where there is injury, your pardon Lord
And where there is doubt true faith in You

Make me a channel of your peace
Where there is despair in life let me bring hope
Where there is darkness only light
And where there’s sadness ever joy

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek
So much to be consoled as to console
To be understood as to understand
To be loved as to love with all my soul

Make me a channel of your peace
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It is in giving to all men that we receive
And in dying that we are born to eternal life

Back during school days when we sing this hymm, I was more into the “peacefulness” of the tune that goes with the words. I wasn’t much into the words, however, now that I’m a newly Catholic convert, the words are so meaningful, and especially when I meditate on the words, it brings tears to me. 

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

By the way, I’m sure some of my Main Convent friends will know this song! :)

One year and an hour ago, I received a call informing me my father had passed away, a very sudden death.  I still remember vividly the conversation, the tone of my voice and what I did that night.

One year ago I thought I would have had the chance to see my father again as  planned but it didn’t happen.  I still remember our conversations during the 1.5 weeks he was in the hospital.  The last few days before his death, the conversations were more brief since he had a feeding tube in his throat.

It’s still very hard to write about it and I keep thinking of my father all the time.  I am still holding on to the Father’s Day card I had bought for him last year, all ready to be mailed out except for the postage.  It didn’t even get to leave my desk and is now tucked away together with my other stuff at work.

I know the day will come when I will finally see him and be together again.  There are a lot of things that reminds me of him so much.  But I keep telling myself not to hold on to those old stuff, move on and keep him in my memory. The memory of him and I together is when he, my mom, sis and family sent me off at KLIA December 8, 2007, the last time I saw him.  I had never cried so much that night, and tears are still flowing right now.

Then I think of my mother.  She says she is coping well now.  I’m sure it’s extremely hard for her but she sure knows how to keep herself occupied which is good to know. There is feeling in me that kills me knowing she is alone in the house.  Just maybe one day I can go back to Ipoh again.  It will not be next year, however, I hope it would be the following year.

As of now, I will forever cherish those memories I have of my father.  May his soul is resting in peace and our Lord Jesus Christ be with him always and forever.  Amen.

I miss you very much, father, and love you always.

Your daughter,

Since I came back from my vacation last year, I have not put up my thoughts on how I felt about KL.  When was the last time I was in KL before my vacation last year?  I think it was in 1995, not sure but I have a gut feeling it was ‘95.  I remembered the base of the KL Towers was just slowly erecting from the ground.  The bases of the Twin Towers were sorta constructed.  It seems so long ago.

The Petronas Towers.  Yes, I have been there, finally.  I felt so “jakun” (someone who has not seen a big city) when I saw the two towers.   I actually felt proud.  Can you friggin believe that??  I kinda felt weird myself but I sure was happy to see the towers with my own 4  eyes!

Next is the night lights of the city: the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad with the KL Towers in the background.  Again, I was awe on how much KL has changed, more than I thought.  

The above picture was taken on a rainy Wednesday evening (Dec 5, 2007).  It’s not a very good picture but it is still my favorite.

Of all books, I read this when I got to me parents’ home.  The first time I read this was I was 15 years old – Form 3.  This was one of the English book I needed to read during class.  The stories are good.  I forgot how good this book was: it test your comprehension and my comprehension really sucks.  You think I did those questions?  Hell no.

Then, I saw this larder.  If my old brain buckets tells me, this larder has been in this house even before I was born.  My mom repainted it from its original wood.  It used to have a very dark colored wood and it actually makes the kitchen rather gloomy.  But that larder stocks all the daily usage of plates, bowls, oil, sugar and other whatnot for cooking.

The kitchen: not much changes to it.  The marble table dates back from my great grandmother’s time, I think.  And the food cover on the table has been there forever.  The big bulging thing right at the top right of the picture is where all the shopping plastics goes to.  This kitchen is always hot.  For me, I always have the table fan, which is next to the refrigerator, on each time I sit there for meals.

The living room: The two vases between the TV, were from my dad’s father.  I told my mom once I wanted them, but now that I’m here across so many hills, mountains and seas, how to bring them back here lah??  Plus, the four wall panels – I think they are the 4 most beautiful women in China (a million years ago!)  And the painting of the two boats (not sure what you call them things that can be found in HK) were bought in HK so many umpteen years ago.

There are more pictures I want to put here, but there are still in DB’s laptop: that damn laptop is having a fit now.  So, will put up more pictures as I get them downloaded to Photobucket.

Having to go through the hellish travel to Ipoh was so worth it.  Going back to Ipoh for our vacatoin was a very memorable one for us.  Stef took us around Ipoh and on the day she took us for lunch in Chemor, on the way home, she took a turn to the former Seagate plant was located in the Kinta Free Trade Zone.  I can’t remember the name of the current occupant now, but it sure brought a lot of memories during our days in Seagate.  I left Seagate in January of 1997 and the plant was only 1.5 years old.  The trees that facilities planted in the parking lot are now full blown trees and gave shade to the cars parked on the lot. 

Seeing the neighborhood I was living in for 26 years was enough to wonder what else is the city gonna do now.  A lot more I’m sure. The main road where my parents’ home is used to be very quiet.  There were cars but not as busy as what it is now.  DB and I took an evening walk and it was not easy trying to get across the road: motorbikes or I should call them scooters and cars zoomed by left and right and it seems eternity we were standing there.  We walked to Jalan Raja Kam, Jalan Selangor, Pahang, Penang, Johor, Kelantan, and Perak.  The amount of huge mansions dotted along these streets were unbelievable.  Did someone won a lottery or make it big in England and came home and built big bungalows??  DB was very surprised, too, to see these big bungalows. 

The Methodist Church, too, had a lot of changes to it.  Must have a good congregation in that church.  Jalan Atkin had a few nice big ones.  There is even some sort of apartments built at the cross roads of Atkin and Tambun Road.  I didn’t take pictures of these areas coz I was in awe how much Ipoh has changed.  It ain’t a town anymore as I kept referring it as a town.  It’s a damn city now!

This round-about at the inter section of Tambun Road, Brewster Road, Gopeng Road, and Hugh Low, or better still across the Menteri Besar’s residence,  seems to stay the same except for the wonderfully kept garden surrounding it.  The last I saw there were hardly any surviving plants.  Must be all the rain that kept them alive! 

These shophouse that lined Hugh Low Street (Jalan Iskandar Shah, I think) are in bad shape.  DB said they weren’t that bad of a shape back in 1996.  I agree.  There seems to be no one living in the upper part of these shops anymore.  What a waste. 

The above picture was taken at the mall next to my former school, Main Convent.  These Kopitiams are all over the city.  I suppose the good old coffee shops are going to be extinct soon.

Foh San Restaurant, we had our dim sum fix on 11/21/2007.  That place is forever packed no matter how early you get there.  It so happens we were there during the major school holidays.  We managed to find a place to sit and boy did DB get a lot of stares!!!  Guess not many folks seen gwai lohs in a dim sum restaurants?????  I remember when I was still a kid, my dad would wake us up at 5:30 a.m. (there abouts) and asked if we want to go to Foh San for dim sum.  He says if we go early, the food will be fresher where we will not be eating other folks left overs.

Eastern Decorator, a company still standing.  This building is along Hugh Low Street.  My mom and aunt used to shop in this place for carpets, curtains, and don’t know what else.  Anything to do with home refurbishing, this shop will pratically has them all.  If I remember right, this shop used to be on Yang Kalsom Road.  It has been in this current location for many years now, even before I left Ipoh.

When I got to Ipoh, I felt like I’m a tourist, a visitor.  The town/city looked so congested with cars and my most hateful vehicle – the damn scooters.  The Tiger Lane and Tambun Road intersection is now decorated with overpasses/fly overs, and the same with the road heading to the Menteri Besar’s office to Kuala Kangsar Road.  There is also another area I think is around Gopeng Road and Tiger Lane.   Those overpasses really screwed me up!  The signboards are the not best in Malaysia.  They are plain crappy.  Those who do not know their way around Ipoh, will end up like me roaming around till I see a familiar landmark.

We both aim to get back to Ipoh in another two years.  Wonder what else will change.