Our Dogs and Cat

Sunday, 26 March 2006
Mum kept dogs since she was a small girl in China. I have dogs too but not since the year 2000. There was one time whereby my children and me have to take care of 6 dogs: Chico (male terrier/collie), Banjo (male shihtzu), Lassie (female shihtzu), Ralph (male terrier), Nina (female) and Ginger (female). Lots of work for them but lots of love from them!

Mum now has 3 females dogs and they are all descendants of Lassie! I have been trying to take pictures of them but they wouldn't allow me until this afternoon - they just got a bath and tied up to dry so that they don't roll on the dirty ground.

This is Banjo of a different generation and a different gender, daughter of Lassie.

This is Ah O, offspring of Banjo, therefore the granddaughter of Lassie.

And Mei Tze, another female offspring, from the latest set of puppies, of Banjo.


Mum has a kitten and her name is Miaw Miaw. She is in her dreamland, with her 2 fore legs tangling down between the wooden planks of the bench and her hind legs on top of the planks.

Miaw Miaw woke up later and played with Mei Tze.

Dogs are my favorite pets! Cats................can do lah!

Grandma and Her Grandson

Wednesday, 22 March 2006
Mother is 80 years. Take away the zero and that is my youngest nephew and her youngest grandson, 8 years old, Clinton. They are best friends at home. It is 'Clinton' this, 'Clinton' that. Doesn't every grandma love her grandchildren so much that they spoil them.

I have not come to that stage yet; I think I would probably spoil my grandchildren as well :). Clinton's mum and dad are busy with their respective jobs to support the family, sister is usually reading or doing her school works. Grandpa has gone over the veil. There is only grandma who is free to talk and play with! And so it is also "Grandma' this, 'Grandma' that.

The schools had their semester break last week and classes are supposed to resume this week but the younger children in the primary schools were told to remain home, so as to control the spread of the hand, foot & mouth disease that had attacked a number of children in the country.

I brought my mother and my nephew to Taman Selera this afternoon. It has been quite a while since I last accompanied both of them to this seaside park. There were not many chhildren when we were there and I guess we were early or probably the children were kept at home for fear of the disease! We always enjoyed the cool sea breeze!

Mother's Orchid

Wednesday, 15 March 2006
Mother has always been an orchid enthusiast, although she doesn't plant a lot. She just had her hair cut - the first time she ever have her cut so short - but it suited her.

Never Too Old to Travel

Saturday, 26 November 2005

“Mum, come and visit me. It has been a long time since you’ve been here.” said Monica.

“I am too old to travel alone. How can chicken talk to duck?”, answered Mother. Who was the chicken? Who was the duck? That was how Mother categorised 2 persons who didn’t speak the same language. How could she, who only speak, Teochew (a Chinese dialect) converse with another person who speak English?

Mother is 79 years old and has never traveled alone. Having only a few months’ of lessons in the Mandarin language, it was understandable that she could not understand instructions on the sign boards. She was scared of the prospect of getting lost.

I understood her anxiety. It is like a little child being lost outside the home, except that this child will not cry, will not run around in circles crying for “Mum, Mum”.

“Don’t worry, Mum, I will arrange the Airlines to look after you all the way. You don’t need to read the signs. The staff would push you in the wheelchair and assist you with passport clearance, etc. etc. When you arrive, you have me, Mum. Don’t you want to meet your grandchildren? It would be nice for you to come for a holiday, for a change and be with me and the family here in Melbourne”, said Monica.

Even though the traveling aspect is taken care of, it took a lot of convincing and encouragement from Monica and the rest of the family, here in Malaysia, before she finally agreed. It took her a lot of consideration, a lot of courage and most of all, a mother’s unquenchable and unconditional love for her daughter, to say “yes, I will come and visit you and the family”.

And so she went. Departing at 1550 hrs from the Miri airport (26 November) and arriving at Melbourne airport at 0810 hrs (27 November), transiting in Kuala Lumpur International Airport for 3½ hrs.

Mother with Monica and family

Grandma and greatgranddaughter, Jenna.

Saturday, 31 December 2005

“Time to go home to my other children in Malaysia.” She wanted to get back before the school reopened on the 3 January so that she could help to look after her youngest grandchild, Clinton (yes, the same spelling as ex US President Clinton) This time, she was less afraid of traveling back after having experienced the good services provided by the Airlines when she flew to Melbourne in November.

She departed from Melbourne airport at 0045 hrs (31 December) and arrived at Miri airport at 13:40 hrs (31 December), transited in KLIA for 4½ hrs.

I asked “Mum, would you like to go to China and see your relatives?” “I could accompany you.” Mum answered “I don’t think so. I am too old”

There she goes again “too old”. After half a year or so of rest, we will see! Actually, Mum likes to travel!

First Email from China's Relatives

1 February 2006
I was so happy today! My first cousin's daughter, in China, wrote me an email, in English!

My fear of losing connection with my relatives in China is now a past. When Dad passed away, nobody, in my family in Malaysia, had written to the relatives in China. Mum does not know how to write. I do not know how to write Mandarin either. My brothers know how to write but they are ???? to write. I have only met my relatives once in 1999, phoned my uncle and first cousin once a year to wish them a happy Chinese New Year.

Communication was not fully understood because I could not speak the Teochew dialect the way they spoke. My China relatives spoke 'pure' Teochew. Mine have developed into our own family's kind of Teochew. I would say it has been malaysianised, with a little of Malay and other languages and dialects. I could remember when we talked to each other, when I was visiting them, in 1999, quite often we would look at each other with blank expressions when we don't understand the words exchanged. I just love to hear the 'pure' version of the Teochew dialect. It is so gentle.

I was worried that if my Mum, my uncles and aunties died, the family connection would slowly fade too, due to distant and so little communications and visits. Even though I only spent a week with the relatives in China, I could not deny my desire to be connected to them forever. I fear losing them.

Thanks to the internet world of electronic mail, I am now connected to my roots in China.

Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner without Father

Saturday, 28 January 2006
My dad had always been present for the Chinese New Year's Eve family reunion dinner ever since he married my mother on the 24 December 1943. Tonight, for the very first time, he was not present and never will be in mortality. Dad passed away on the 5 September 2005. I missed him. And I know the rest of the family, especially my mother.

Mother & Children

Sunday, 27 November 2005
Lunch outside a shop in Kuala Lumpur.

3 Generations

Thursday, 27 October 2005
After staying over a week in Kuala Lumpur, Mother felt it was time to go back to Miri. Is there any place better to go than home? Home sweet home, I am coming.
So here we are, waiting with her at the International Airport: Mother dear, yours truly daughter and dearest grand-daughter.

"Goodbye Dad, I will see you again"