Girl Friday

I am humbled by the experience of being a girl friday. Don't get me wrong. I did not put on a skirt or dress. No such thing. I'm straight as an arrow remember?

Things at the office has been crazy of late. Right after our sumandak left us for greener pastures, the office has never been the same. She used to handle all the admin stuff in the office for 5 good years of her life. Just a couple of days ago my operations guys was pretty upset with the new girl and complained how she didn't know this or that and i realised that it is not a personal attack on the new girl but it was kinda like he was experiencing the "Missing Sumandak Syndrome" just like i was too. We were both kinda lost without her. She used to be the link that connected our whole operations with HQ, our clients & amongst us KL staffers, we were left just to fill in the blanks. Now that she has left, we are left to scratching our heads.

What has made things more chaotic was our technical gal "bombed" right after the Raya weekend and our new gal that just joined us a week before techy gal bombed is currently on Deepavali leave for 2 days. So i have been the "girl friday" for the past 2 days. Doing quotations, printing & keying in DOs, checking prices, answering calls and attending to customers, keying in collections...the whole nine yards. It is one hell of a stretch! I have only been at it for 2 days and i feel the stress and our sumandak has been at it and through it for 5years!!!

I salute you...Superwoman or should i say....SuperSumandak!!!

One Last Goodbye

Past 3 days has been quite hectic for all involved, especially for Aunty Julie and mom, one losing a husband and companion and the other a brother. Uncle Wah leaves behind a brother, sister, a wife & father and a whole bunch of nephews and nieces.

He has always been the most jovial of the uncles. He loves kids and sadly he has none of his own. We were all his "kids". He would always muck around with us no matter how old we are right up to his very last days...when he was still healthy. Sitting at the church's funeral parlour and receiving his friends & ex-colleagues at the wake i realised that he is a man that will be fondly remembered by them. Some of his younger colleagues even call him 'papa'. They shed tears freely for him. He was as loving and caring with them as he was with us. We will all miss him at our family dinners, gatherings, wan lup & tai tee sessions especially during CNY.

Aunty Julie shared that when he was in pain while going through his cancer treatment sessions, he hated the pain of not being able to Hope, Dream & plan What's Next... more than the pain of the treatment he had to go through. Such was the struggle that he had to go through till his very last breath. Finally today we lay him to rest and commit his soul to God.

A loving husband, son, brother, uncle and friend...we will miss you. Thank you for all that you are and Goodbye...

Questions...

After we left mom and uncle wah at the hospital we headed for dinner. Barbi was cancelled on account of the events that lead to this dinner.

Joshua was asking mummy (sue) why Uncle Wah was sick. Sue mentioned that Uncle Wah had cancer of the liver and he is very very sick that's why we had to go to the hospital and that's also why we did not have the barbi tonite. Accepting all this joshua had one more question...

"What's a liver mummy? What does it look like?"

Mummy couldn't explain it to Joshua's satisfaction hence he kept asking many more variations to this one question. Even small ee (jo) and Uncle Jeffrey couldn't explain or draw it for him. We were hopelessly trying to manouver out of it but he would not give up. We wished...I wished Uncle James was around. He would know how to confuse and satisfy Joshua's question. Only Uncle James could have saved mummy, ee ee & Uncle Jeffrey the blushes.

Who asked you not to pay attention when in school???
Hor hor teacher mary scold...

Emergency

As my muslim friends celebrate Hari Raya today and i was about to head for Jo's barbi gathering at her pad...she called.

My immediate thought was that she was calling me to chase me about buying ice and drinks etc. She can be quite naggy at times, but this time she didn't sound bitchy and demanding but sounded rather solemn. She had just received a call from our aunty that our Uncle Wah Wah was very ill. He has been fighting with his cancer for about a year now and his condition was not good at all this very moment. We rushed over to his place to see him. He looked very frail and i don't think he could recognise us at all. He had hurt himself and we were trying to get him dressed and bring him to the hospital but he refused.

Sue, Andrew & Mom had got there ahead of us. Seeing him and my mom was rather gut wrenching as my mom spoke to Uncle Wah to calm him down and try to get him dressed. She is the eldest in her family. She has already lost one brother many years ago and now she is about to lose another. Prayer has made her strong and yet I could feel the pain she was going thru seeing her brother like in this condition and in pain. Looking at mom and Uncle Wah brought tears to my eyes as i could feel her pain. I know it would hurt as hell if i have to experience this with any one of my siblings.

As we are born, so too shall we die. It is inevitable. Between the two...life flows. Much is said about how life should be lived, how we should appreciate our loved ones, yet how many of us truly cherish our lives and our loved ones? Seeing the fragility of life & the inevitability of death...let us not leave anything unsaid or undone with our loved ones for when they are gone...only angels hears us. Speak while we yet live so that those of us alive can listen and experience all of who we are. Be we brothers & sisters, fathers & sons, mothers & daughters, we all have but one life.

Let us cherish each other...this lifetime!

Overexposed!

This overexposed picture was taken in Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan at 0133hrs. We were just sitting by the beach enjoying each other's company after Allysa's wedding.

I realised that when i'm with my friends from elpee there's not much i can hide or rather much that we can hide from each other. We can sit and chat the night away and if something is amiss someone will notice. It's not that elpees are clairvoyants or shit like that but i realised that elpees are more sensitive to one anothers' Being and can sense if something is amiss with another. How do i know? Well...last nite as i was downing my Guinness Stout, Jyn pops me a question... "So what's been goin on? You seem down of late..." Before this i did not think that i was...but that was definately my experience. It was like i was awaken from my gloom as the faery princess snapped her fingers. Made me Stop & Look into Me. A flurry of messages of support and more questions as to the WHY of my current gloom came across my Maxis supported phone made me look deeper into myself as i seeked my answer. My experience was exposed.

Now...would i have thought of it if not for her questioning? I don't think so. Sometimes it takes someone or something to stop us in our treks in life and pops us the question and have us BE in the Question such that we will have the opportunity to STOP, LOOK & CHOOSE. Do i now know what Bugged me? Yes i do and it's a WIP.

I thank God for the friends i have and elpee for bringing us together.