Coolcat's Jottings

Fireflies... so lomantic hor?


This is a purely hypothetical blog entry. Of a person called Miss A. She's been to see fireflies at Kampung Kuantan, Kuala Selangor for about four times already. The enthusiasm sort of fades with each time she goes there. To the extent that the last time someone asked if she'd like to go pay homage to the fireflies that make their nest by the river bank, it was all she could do to keep herself from rolling her eyes and gagging away, and muster a sweet no instead.

• The long drive on an awfully bumpy road.


• The army of mosquitoes.


• The long, long queue at the ticket booth.


• The long, long wait for your turn to get into a boat.

You can imagine why she wasn't too crazy when a few friends suggested going there again. On two separate occassions.

Bleh. Bleh.

But despite all that unsavoury aspects of the trip, she suspects she knows why the place is always so packed and happening. Folks are not there just to see the fireflies. They have a more dastardly reason - to finally be able to hold hands with the girl/guy of their dreams

As you know and as Miss A knows, holding hands for the first time is a very, very sweet experience.

The first time Miss A ever held a guy's hand was when she was crossing the road with a college mate. The road was very dangerous and busy, so he proferred his hand, she took it and he never let go. Waaah. Sweet hor?

After that, she held quite a number of hands that she lost count (except for Tun Dr Mahathir's hand whom she still hopes to have a chance of shaking!). But one memorable incident remained. She remembered having a crush on this fellow and wondering if he likes her, too. That question was answered in Fireflies Village. As he helped her into the boat, he held her hand for the first time and sparks were ignited. The stars she saw in her eyes (and his) far surpasses the beauty of the fireflies flying around dutifully amidst the ooohs and aaahs of the jakun tourists.

And like fireworks, the sparks fizzled soon after. But if there's anything good she learned from her firefly trips is that it's a darn good excuse to start holding someone's hand.

To find out more about this one-of-a-kind trip, traipse over to Journey Malaysia. If you haven't been there already, Miss A strongly encourages you to go before the fireflies go extinct. Go lar, even if you don't have any dastardly motives in mind

today, my mom and I camped in Mount Elizabeth hospital. Dad was wheeled into the operating theater for a major open-heart surgery at about 10am. It was the longest 7 hours of our lives. Every time the huge door was opened, we would look up, anxious for any bits of news of what's going on inside. At the back of my mind, the heavy thought descended that I might have to adjust to a life without dad. The thought was so horrid that I had to struggle to keep it at bay and to be strong for my mom. All we could do was to keep on praying for dad in our hearts.

When my dad was finally wheeled to the ICU at about 7pm, we were so relieved and thankful to see him conscious. The operation was a success! Praise God! Thereafter, the main bulk of our activity was taking turns to walk in and out of the ICU to check on him. Mom and I couldn't bear to leave him all alone in the ward and so we huddled up together on the hospital bench through the night.

Dad couldn't remember seeing us at all in the night and the first thing he said when he saw us the next morning was, "Where did you two disappear to when I came out of the operating theater?" He actually thought we went out for coffee or something! Heh

During that trying time, my family and I are grateful for my great-aunt and her daughter who took good care of us while we were there and provided their place for dad to recuperate fully after his operation. I am immensely grateful to dear Tapoh for being a friend in need and for the Hope of God Singapore church members who visited my dad and comforted and reassured me of God's love when I most needed it. They were so concerned to see a girl, sitting all by herself in church and weeping at the thought of losing the dad she loved with all her heart, that they surrounded her and her family with love.

Seven years may seem like such a long time. But my family and I would never forget the kindness and love shown to us by all of you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Went to Speedy yesterday to get an Elvis cd for research purposes. Couldn't locate any, so asked for help at the counter.

Sales assistant: De che tiang? (Who are you looking for?)
Me: Elvis Presley.
Sales assistant: Si mi lang?? (Whozzat??)
Me:(slow mo) El...vis Pres...ley.
Sales assistant: (gave me a pen and paper) Sia khi lai (Write it down)

As I wrote down THAT name, I was flabbergasted and shocked that he had never heard of the Elvis Presley - the King, the Legend. With the paper in hand, we checked the aisles for the cd but they didn't seem to have any on stock.

Sales assistant: Ee si ta poh ah si cha boh? (Is this person male or female?)
Me: Ta poh. Si liao. (Male. Dead already)

Then I proceeded to sing a line of 'Always on My Mind'. Nope, that didn't ring a bell in the teenager's head.

sigh

It's sad but I guess it's just a matter of time before the younger generation in Malaysia forgets all about crooners of the days of old. Especially when their parents grew up listening to Bananarama, Modern Talking and Duran Duran. For my love for oldies, I have my dad to thank. It would be something worth passing on to the next generation.

My bro has learned that there are a few basic ground rules when it comes to carpooling with me on a regular basis:

- Don't be a backseat driver
- Let me enjoy my music in peace

This morning, I was listening to Clay Aiken for a bit before I started feeling really sleepy. No offense, Clay but while your music is great for an evening drive, it ain't drummy enough to jive up sleepy head me on morning drives to work

So I switched back to Jennifer Paige. The one I've been listening to for more than a month already (my poor, poor bro!). Beautifully strong voice, great groovy beats and nice, catchy tunes. Perfect to awaken most of my senses no matter how sleep-deprived I am.

When I parked my car and switched off the cd player, my bro sang the last parts of her song with aplomb. So out of the blue. So very un-Jennifer Paige. So very cute.

I nearly tumbled out of the car laughing.

He confessed that he can now sing several of her songs by heart now. Especially 'These Days' which I listen to at least three times a day. Gotta admire his tolerance level

One of my gang members, Jeff got married today and the rest of us unite once again and had a whale of a time, eating our hearts out and yapping the night away in Kuala Selangor tonight. Some highlights of having a wedding dinner in the places far away from town:

• No air-conditioning. It was all air au naturel.


• Our table was right at the roadside of the restaurant. What an opportunity to bask in the outdoors and interact with the dogs prowling nearby.


• The food wasn't much to look at but was awfully yummy. Over ate lor.


• The dinner started at 7pm and ended at 8.15pm - heck, most wedding dinners don't even start till 8.30pm!

We were also the last to leave.

Back in those days when our gang were all in Klang, we girls hardly get to drive around. The guys in the group always took care of us well. Fetched us here, there and everywhere, tapau food for us and brought us to the clinic when we were sick (even though some of us are still living with our parents!). That's how close-knitted we were. And that formed a strong bond amongst all of us that time and distance cannot erase. Even though we now only meet up during festive seasons and special celebrations, unlike the good old days when we were all in the same church and see each other nearly every day.

Jenn called me up just now and arranged the logistics for us to carpool to Kuala Selangor. Leong was assigned to fetch me to Mic's house and from there, we will all carpool towards the seafood town.

Good old Leong. I remember the time when I was too sick to drive myself to my previous church one Sunday. The Sunday School material box was with me and the teachers needed it to conduct lessons for the children. No one there knew where I lived and no one wanted to travel that far to Klang to get the materials. By hook or by crook, I had to be there. Even though my head was feverish and swooning and I could hardly stand up straight.

My then boyfriend was attending another church that day and naturally, he was the first person I called to ask for help. But unfortunately, help was not forthcoming from that quarter. I hung up feeling really bad and scrolled glumly through my contact list, hoping to find someone who can fetch me to church. That time, my bro couldn't drive properly yet

By then, it was already one year since our group have dispersed and went our separate ways. So was rather shy to call up out of the blue to ask for help. But desperate times called for desperate measures and I called Leong up. Without hesitating and without asking further questions, he cheerfully agreed to come and help me out - even though he was supposed to attend his own church service in Klang. I nearly wept out of gratitude. Things like this, you don't forget, ever.

And in times like these, you know who your true friends are. Thank God for friends like Leong. And Jeff, Mic, Jenn, FP, Joe, Esther, KL and Rina. Time-tested and proven

I'm so glad we're friends.