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Wednesday, April 1, 2009 - 11:20 AM Y
blogged
Anyway was back from Penang, Bukit Metajam after tomb sweeping. I really misses home. Especially my bed, the bath room, the clean toilet bowl and the water heater.I have already not been back for tomb sweeping at least more than 2 or 3 years. And I will be back yearly if I could from now on as this is the least I could do, to show some respect to our ancestors.Afterwork on Thursday, my parents fetch me and we went to out house in Kulai first to take all the fruits and incense paper then we head for the highway and drive straight to Butterworth/ Bukit Mertajam.I am tired after work and I slept all the way through the car journey which I am quite amazed that I didn't even wake up for toilet breaks which for the past few years I usually do and I couldn't sleep in car because I always feels very bumpy and couldn't get to sleep easily. My father drove fast, the last time I saw his speedmeter is 140km/hr. When we reached somewhere near Jawi for breakfast at around 11am I woke up for food. It is some sort of famous food among the locals there, the gu cai kuey >.<>
We went to a hotel, which is actually like some sort of bungalow and have many rooms own by my father's friend's friend. It charges only RM$20 per head per night. And I slept while my parents went to buy more incense paper and etc needed for tomb sweeping. I woke up only at dinner time when my papa fetch me to eat Jawa Mee at a hawker. It is like Mee Rebus, except far more tasty than Mee Rebus. Then we went to eat at a restaurant where we meet up with my papa's brothers and sister families. When we went back hotel, I was armed with 4 magazines, my mp3 and sudoku to help me pass time. And I uses the time to think and reflect of my life too. : )
The next day, reach the 1st tomb before the sunrises after eating kway teow teng and we uses torch light in the graveyard to look out for the tomb. I didn't know how should I address the ancestors, but I know how to relate them.
1st Place
1st tomb - My father's grandpa's mother (But we didn't sweep her husband's tomb because his tomb is located elsewhere)
2nd tomb - My father's grandpa (On his grave, his wives names is carved beside his. He have two wives. So, my father's grandma is one of them.)
3rd tomb - My father's grandpa's wife / My father's grandma (I believe that this tomb is the tomb of the 1st wife, the bigger rank wife. So, I pray for her forgiveness and to protect me from not ever let me have the chance of being the second women for the third time)
4th tomb - My father's grandma's parents (They are buried together, and next to their daughter)
5th tomb - My father's father/ My grandpa
6th tomb - My father's mother / My grandma
I have never met my grandma and grandpa before. They died many years before I was even born. Among all this tomb stones, my grandma's and grandpa's tomb is newer and prettier as they re-buried them because of feng-shui. My name is carved under 内孙女. There is mostly two colours on the tomb stone. Green represents that the person have already passed away and red/gold repesents that the person is still alive.
The year that the person passed away is also stated in those 甲乙丙丁亥 and etc which I don't really recognise and didn't bother to ask. Maybe when I have my own children, I will find out about it if not when they asked me, I didn't know how to explain to them. Then it will be quite ashame.
I was equipped with sunglass, a cap and an umbrella. Maybe I should even apply sunscreen lotion. And bring along a mini fan. The sun is so bright, the air is so hot.
We visit two other places for tomb sweeping too and then I have wanton mee for lunch and the super ultra delicious penang laksa for my hi-tea. For dinner we went to the hawker for satay, popiah, rojak, fried oyster, and char kway teow. Why dosen't Singapore have stores with food as delicious as these?
The next day, we have dim sum for breakfast. Yummy. I just love those chee cheong fun, the fresh prawn in it, the chilli (like those chilli in nasi lemak), the gravy and the fried onion. Superb!! Unlike those in Singapore. I start complaining to mama that I don't dare to stand on weighing scale when I return home. And mama just tell me to eat all I can, come back just go on diet. -.-" Hello? Easy to gain weight, lose weight is difficult ya?!
Was supposed to go Thailand because it is near, only about 2 hours car jorney but they decided to visit relatives instead. -.-" Papa promised me to bring me to LaiFa garden, a rich men's garden when he keep all his collections and hobbies. So, after breakfast, we went to visit my 大姨, my mother's eldest sister and then my small ah gu who took bus from Singapore with his wife and 5 year old son just reached just in time and so coincidently. 大姨 wasn't at home and was at his eldest son's, Ah guang kor kor's home. My big ah gu was already there. It was like some sort of gathering. So, we head there. The moment I reached there, relatives start saying all those usual stuff. Grown prettier, grown slimmer and blah blah blah. And they just like my mascara and my eye shawdow and my eye liner. Overall, they mean that they like my eyes. Muahaha!!
My papa went to out with eng beng kor kor while my mama and her siblings all sit outside and chit chat. I went in the living room and sit on the sofa and decided not to move around because the house is full of kids, and the kids were either playing with toys if not watching Tom & Jerry. So, there were like maybe 10 kids below 12 years old in the house? The youngest is only 4 months old, Eng beng's kor kor's (大姨's second son) youngest son. Eng beng's kor kor's wife is a Thai. I remembers when she just marry over, she can't speak hokkien, can't speak chinese. Now, her eldest daughter is already 11 years old, she is fluent in hokkien and chinese. And she is not even 30 years old already with 4 children. Still pretty and have good figure. Although she dosen't lives life richly, but she is fortunate to have a handsome husband and is still lovingly together and have 4 lovely sons and daughers. Maybe women is just supposed to have simple lives, give birth to children and be happy. Maybe this is 女人的使命..
Nightmare came. The Eldest daughter of eng beng kor kor carried the 4 month old baby for me to carry. I panic! I didn't know how to carry or handle a baby correctly. Is there a manual that teaches the correct way to hold a baby? What if I hurt the baby? What if I drop the baby? I think I exaggerated. Maybe this shows that I am not great with kids. If I love kids, I should know how to carry a baby. How can I be a mom like this? Will I breast feed my baby?
I fall asleep on the sofa watching Tom & Jerry. I remember watching Tom & Jerry when I was still a kid. I love it! Then I wake up hungry again. I went to join my mama's and her siblings chit chat and then my 表嫂们 all came out with nice food for us. This is a job scope of 媳妇. I realised in this trip, I was always analyzing a lot of the duty of being a daughter-in-law, a wife, a mother a women. I wonder why do I think about it so often in this trip? I figure out is because of the tomb stone. A wife, a daughter-in-law needs to 传宗接代, so that the family name of her husband can be passed down. Giving birth to son will be better because of the family name, and the 内孙 names will be carved to the tomb stone. Maybe it is still too early for me to think about stuff like this.
My papa came back at 3 plus and I asked him are we leaving now for LaiFa garden as it might be closing soon. My papa asked me that so late still want to go? It means that my papa actually have planned on not going! I actually really look forward to going! I give him the angry look and then he say that if want to go, go loh. I know papa isn't really happy that I give him the angry look.
So, it rain. But we still carry on the journey driving there. We took umbrellas and went into the garden in the heavy and pouring rain. I have been to this place maybe 3 or 4 years ago. The first station is 兵马俑 of 秦史皇, but my mama says those are fakes. Then we went into his aquarium where he breeds many different species of fishes such as sting rays, the expensive 金龙鱼, the big 巨龙鱼 and etc. Into his 玉花圆, he kept a collection of beautiful rocks, plants, flowers and tress. His rock collection is quite extraordinary as some of the rocks gives out oil. And he owns a mini zoo. Deers, leopard, tiger bears and etc. Different species of birds, parrots and dogs. All I could say that this man is damn rich. Mama says this LaiFa guy do containerize business.
On the way back, my mum told me to look at rainbow. I was like WOW! I have never seen such beautiful rainbow. Because there isn't any high rise building around, I can see the whole rainbow in semi circle. The colour is so bright and beautiful. I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH BEAUTIFUL RAINBOW!
I tell myself maybe this is a sign telling me that no matter how tough times may be, no matter how sad I have been, after the rain, there is rainbow. It is time I should move on, be happy and look at the brighter side of everything.
And guess what the most amazing part is? It is a double rainbow! There is actually two rainbows! One bigger rainbow outside circling the other rainbow! Awesome! Mama says if Singapore have such beautiful scene, it will surely be on newspaper the next day.
The next day, we went to tomb sweeping again. My mother's parents tomb. Thet were buried together. My jobscobe throughout the whole tomb sweeping is to paint the colours on the tomb stone. The faded green, gold and red. And I was burnt many times by the joss stick ashes.
This time, eng beng kor kor put 红炮. As they say that this period is some sort of a festive period/holiday for the dead. I was like maybe just 10 foot away from the 红炮, the noise is so loud and and the impact is quite big until the 红炮 even hit me on my face.
We head back to 大姨's house. To chit chat again. This time, I play with the 4 months old baby. I carried him. He is like so small and cute. Didn't cry and not afraid of anyone. His hands and feets is just so tiny. Then his 5 year old elder brother asked me: "你的孩子嘞?" I was like erm, what should I say? I just said I didn't have kids. And he asked me why. I was like erm.... Next topic please..
Maybe 21 years old sounds old, maybe 21 years old should already be married and have a couple of children running around your knees.
Turning 21 soon. 21 is not old, 21 is not everything. I am still my mother's baby. Can I? Hmm, I really don't want to be 高龄产妇!
2.00pm Wednesday 1st April 2009
1. Happy birthday to YuQuan and YuAn. (Although like 6 or 7 years of no contact..)
2. Happy April fool!
3. Have been blogging like since 12pm. Walking around eating snacks and watching TV and blogging and reading One Piece again.
Refer to
http://lovemyself.blog.friendster.com/2005/06/16june2005/
my blog entry back to penang and Thailand in 2005.
To add on to my blog entry in 2005, 16th June:
The toilet is still the same after almost 4 years.
My cousin's wife is a Thai, not Indonesian.
Maybe my father always drives at 140km/hr.
Like what they say, "肮脏吃, 肮脏大."