Boxed Memories

When I was home in Malaysia earlier this year, I had to clear out my old room. The room where I spent endless hours composing poems till the wee hours of the morning. The special space where I wrote letters to friends and relatives. A domain where secrets were shared with my sister and girlfriends.

As I went through old albums, memories of old came flooding in. A nostalgic feeling washed over me. My albums told many stories – from childhood to adulthood. I could not bring back those albums with me. They were just too heavy. My brother promised to keep them – two boxes full of pictorial family and personal history.

The ones that I did manage to take with me were extra copies I found lying around. They include some photos from my parents' collection.

Wedding photo of dad & mom (1959)
(L-R:) Bertha Minjoot-Rozario, Jack Santa Maria, Ira Tegjeu, Dad & Mom, Olive Santa Maria, George Tegjeu, Charles Carvalho.

The day my sister was baptised at Our Lady of Fatima Church, Kota Bharu, Kelantan (1972)

When I was done with the albums, I moved on to a box of old letters and cards. I had to decide which to keep and which to throw. A job which should have taken me two hours to complete went on for five hours. They were just old birthday cards from friends and relatives. I had to be practical and toss some out. I did, however, retain only one card from each relative that has passed away - from both sets of grandparents, uncles and aunties.

Maternal grandparents at The National Museum, Kuala Lumpur (year unknown)

Then, there were old letters from friends. The contents of those correspondences were just ramblings of our daily lives – thoughts of confused teenagers and later, young adults waiting to conquer the world. I read them once again before throwing them out. I smiled and chuckled at the mindset we had those days.

New Year's Eve 1993

Pan Pacific Singapore - Apr. 1995

Finally, I came across a box that was filled with letters, cards, postcards, printed e-mails and gifts from my other half. It was so good to read all those love notes once again. It brought back memories of our courtship days. Time has flown by so fast. This is the man who flew from the States to Malaysia every year, for three consecutive years, to see me. The very same man who now gives excuses not to drive 30 minutes down the road to WalMart. This man, the one who impressed my mom in the kitchen by cooking a butter shrimp dish - the same one who now says opening a can of chicken noodle soup is the best that he can do. Ah! but he remains the ever loving life partner and provider of our home.

Anyway, I could not throw away anything that he sent me over the years except some old computer software that came on 3.5-inch floppy disk. So, I bundled up everything that I wanted to save and brought them back with me. They now sit in a box in my bedroom closet. Someday I will re-open that box and reminisce the yesteryears. The years when I was young.

Tagged - All Things Five

Another tag, another reason to blog. This time I was tagged by Nightwing of Carpe Diem.

Here is the tag :- Ten Questions. These are the rules :-

Five answers to each question and then tag five others.

Instructions :- Remove the first Blog and add your own blog last.

simply888here; cat cat; Puteri's Musings 3, Carpe Diem, Jacqui's Curve

Well, let's get right to it now ....

Q1. What were you doing 10 Years ago?

1. Being single.

2. Working in Kuala Lumpur in an I.T. recruitment company.

3. Contemplating if I should purchase a cell phone. (it was huge and heavy compared to my current phone).

4. Became an aunt for the first time.

5. Attending way too many weddings of relatives and friends. I got a little tired of "Aunty Kaypoh" asking me when was my turn.

Q2. What were you doing 1 Year ago?

1. Married and living overseas (Aunty Kaypoh finally shut up - maybe due to distance and my lack of attendance at family gatherings).

2. Holidaying in Malaysia and eating lots of satay and other local delicacies.

3. Getting too many headaches with excessive cross stitching. Contemplated taking a break.

4. Contemplated starting a blog. Procrastinated.

5. Resumed cross stitching! :)

Q3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?

1. Dark chocolate

2. Fruits

3. Potato Chips

4. Cookies

5. Dried cuttlefish (with sugar)

Q4. What are 5 songs you know the lyrics to?

1. I'll Never Love This Way Again - Dionne Warwick

2. Paper Roses - Marie Osmond

3. Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette

4. Sometimes When We Touch - Dan Hill

5. Twilight Time - The Platters

Q5. 5 things you would do if you are a Millionaire?

1. Buy a house by a beach, near a big city (I need both attractions)

2. Sponsor my niece's and nephew's education

3. Travel the world

4. Donate to charities

5. Open centres for troubled teenagers and abused women

Q6. 5 Bad habits?

1. Too hasty, at times (don't like some issues hanging over me for too long)

2. Restless (get bored when there is nothing interesting going on)

3. Being a fashion police (but will not say anything because not everyone wants to hear unsolicited advice). So, I just share it with whoever I am with about the person who is in fashion violation. :)

4. Forgetting to eat when something takes up my time (suffer with gastric and headache after that)

5. Procrastinate, at times (especially housework)

Q7. 5 things you like to do?

1. Reading

2. Travelling

3. Playing musical keyboard

4. Learning new languages

5. Sewing/Cross Stitching

Q8. 5 Favourite Toys?

1. Laptop

2. Musical keyboard

3. Big screen TV

4. Wireless Skype phone

5. Camera

Q9. 5 things you would never wear?

1. Thongs (underwear and footwear) - cannot stand the "in between" feeling

2. Bikini - never have, never will

3. Heavy makeup - unless I want to look like a drag queen.

4. Very high heels that hurt my back and feet - vanity has its limits.

5. Very short skirts or very low-cut tops - "excuse me, my eyes are up here."

Q10. 5 things you hate to do? (but sometimes it just can't be helped)

1. Pick up dog-poo!

2. Ironing clothes (the thought of it is daunting but once I start, it is not too bad)

3. Housework (I'll dust only if I must)

4. Living far away from big cities - hate the long drives just for running errands. (holiday drive is different)

5. Living in a place where there is no public transport

I now tag:

I am supposed to tag five people and I have them in mind but I am not sure if they will be willing to do it. So, I will leave it open.

If you like to do this, let me know and I will update this part to include your name. :)

Update - I now tag:

1. Angel Eyes

2. Ruby Ahmad

3. Rashikaps

The Day He Came To Town

Do you recognise him? Do you watch CSI: New York? Yes, that guy. Gary Sinise. He also plays in a band called Lt. Dan Band.

This was as close as I could get to take Gary Sinise's photo.

(From Wikipedia) - The Lt. Dan Band is a cover band founded by Kimo Williams and Gary Sinise. The band is named after the character Lieutenant Dan Taylor, whom Sinise portrayed in the film Forrest Gump. Sinise has said in interviews that many people know him by sight as "Lieutenant Dan" rather than by his real name.

Since 2003 the band has been performing for charities and non-profit organizations including the USO and Operation Iraqi Children. They frequently visit military bases in the United States and abroad.

I was abroad - in Germany - when Gary Sinise and his band made an appearance at the army base where we belonged to. The concert lasted for two hours and they played songs from all decades (1940s to contemporary pop). The band was entertaining and Mr Sinise chatted with the crowd in between breaks. When the band performed the "Conga" song, the members encouraged the crowd to form a conga line - a very long line. (No, I did not join in - too shy). It was a good concert - a private one for about 300 soldiers, civilians, contractors and their families.

It is interesting to note that Gary Sinise is a co-creator of Operation Iraqi Children.

(From Wikipedia) - Operation Iraqi Children is a charitable program created by actor Gary Sinise and author Laura Hillenbrand to send school supplies to Iraqi children. OIC is a program functioning in partnership under People to People International (PTPI), an NGO with a U.S., not-for-profit [501(c)(3)] tax rating. The executive committee is comprised of Sinise, Hillenbrand and PTPI's President and CEO, Mary Eisenhower.

OIC has expanded its outreach program to children in Afghanistan, and children in the United States who were adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina. In recognition of their efforts, OIC was voted “Best Bridge Builder” of 2006 by Reader’s Digest Magazine and has received an official letter of endorsement from the White House.

US soldiers distribute the supplies during the off-duty hours.

Since I did not live in the vicinity where there was a possibility of celebrity sightings (and I still don't), attending that concert for free was a rare treat.

By the way, if you are a CSI fan, which CSI do you like best?

25 Ways To Tell You're Grown Up

How do we know when we have really grown up? Upon graduation? Moving away from parents' home? Our first job? Our first boy-girl relationship? First car? First home? First marriage?

I say, "age is just a number". Attaining the age of adulthood does not mean that one is mature. It is the accumulation of life experiences. There will come a time (or for some of us, time arrived some years back) when we will feel that we are all grown up.

By the way, if you are still clueless about it (just in case your mind is telling you that you are still young), here are some ways to tell you're grown up:

* Note: This was sent to me via e-mail today. It is too good to let go.

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Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to take a nap before bedtime. I have to wake up at 6:00 o'clock tomorrow morning. Thank goodness we live in a quiet neighbourhood or I would have the police on speed dial. :)

My Juvenile Week

Children amuse and amaze me (as I have mentioned this before). In one of the last weeks of my stay in Germany, I volunteered to help out at a children's camp, called the Vacation Bible School.

Vacation Bible School, or VBS for short, is the term for a special type of religious education which caters toward children, usually during the summer. For more information on this, read here. It gives an overview of the program.

This year's theme was the wild west and the camp was called Avalanche Ranch. Children were given bandanas and were encouraged to come dressed in their boots and western hats (if they owned any). Some of them were so cute, they looked like little cowboys and cowgirls.

Anyway, I was put in charge of crafts and missions station. I figured, at least on my part, there would be less teaching and more fun playing with the kids (still a child at heart). The daily lesson was introduced at the start of each new day and the children were reminded of the daily message at every station.

Stringing beads to their Buddy Bags on the first day.

Making personal prayer journals on the second day.

Stuffing felt bears, called Prayer Bears, on the third day. This was the day, they also learned about giving away something to the less fortunate. They made two cuddly bears - one to give to a child in Africa and one to keep for themselves.

At this point, I have to mention that when I went around the table to ask them individually if they were ready to give up a bear, most of them readily said "OK". A couple of them said that the bears were too cute to part with but they understood why they were giving it away. They were instructed to write their names on a tag and insert it in a pocket at the back of the bear. The older children wrote personal messages. The ones that stood out for me were "To God's child with love" and "God loves you".

Decorating boot-shaped bird feeders. Notice by the fourth day, the table had too many scribbles. Put coloured markers and children ... and we get "works of art" everywhere!

Unfortunately, I did not get to take any pictures on the fifth day. It was sand art day. My team and I spent most of the time, dusting off sand from the table to get it ready before the next group walked in. We had five groups per day. They were grouped according to their ages.

This pre-school kid refused to leave his daddy when he was dropped off on the last day. His group leader tried to coax him but he kept hanging on. After I took their picture, I moved away (hoping that might help). A few minutes later, I saw his daddy leave. Yay!

It was a tiring but fun week. I love working with children. I will do this again next summer if the local church offers it.