The reason I have not been writing is that I've been run haggard working the past few months. The hospital's been making good business (not that I'm praying for people to get sick, but heck, if the management does not give us all a hefty bonus with all the profits they have been rolling in this year, I'd say that SOMEBODY's been eating the BuCKs!) February we had the Malaysian Society of Quality Health Accreditation and I have been helping with the most disgusting work of all.... PAPERWORK! Truthfully, I'd rather wash bedpans than get stuck in an office full of papers to sort out....
March flew by and I got to get a bit of a break during Maulud Nabi (even though it was a long weekend away from work, it WAS worth it). I hadn't gone back to my dad's village of Matu since my grandmum's funeral in 2006 and I was excited to go back. It was a chance to get some peace and quiet, and I tell you, tok baru peace and quiet. My handphone (Maxis that is) sik ada coverage here so the hospital could not get hold of me (hurrah!) and I did not even need to use my inhaler because the air is still clean here.
We drove up from Kuching on the 19th March, a long 10hour drive to Matu. But heck it was worth it! I was so excited to have seclusion from my daily life. When we got to the village, the river was swelling up (due to the rain) but the water reached out ankles only. Still you don't get that kind of simple life excitement in Kuching.
Cousin Zul and I washing cars using water at our feet. God it was embarrassing, a cousin from the village passed by and offered us their electrical water spray jet to wash the car . Its like "Sheesh, orang bandar sik tauk reti nak pakey water hose kah?" -grin-
Cousin Zul and I washing cars using water at our feet. God it was embarrassing, a cousin from the village passed by and offered us their electrical water spray jet to wash the car . Its like "Sheesh, orang bandar sik tauk reti nak pakey water hose kah?" -grin-We were back in the village to hold a "makan hol" for our late grandfather who passed away on the Prophet's birthday. This was no ordinary catering project. It was interesting to see cousins and relatives in the kampung gathering to help with the event. The ladies grouped in our very large kitchen to cook (when I say large, the kitchen is exactly the size of my present house in Kuching. Its humoungous and can sit 3 - 4 families at once at one meal). Thats when the chatting, gossiping and joking are fun. 3 generations of ladies gathered to chop, dice, peel, pound, fry, boil, skin etc. whilst their mouth blabber on. For two whole days! They even included CiCi the "burung tiong" (mynah) in their conversation cos it keeps interrupting with rational comments. Yes, we have a mynah that can ask you whether you have eaten, whether you have taken your bath, where you mother is, and give all sorts of greetings. It even sneezes humanely when someone fries onions close to it.
Wa Cheot supervising the cooking.
Cooking in progress.
Cici si burung tiong yang bujatThe men, on the other hand, were busy clearing the front of the house. The children were so happy they had a big wide space to run through. My family home in the village was (and still is) grand and very big. Housed 4 families one time. And we don't need air-conditioning at night because it gets chilly when it gets dark.
The main sitting area after the furniture has been removed, extra space to skip and run!
Staying in the kampung for a short spell really recharged my batteries. Apatah lagi dengan udang, ikan, umai that is fresh from the sea. Mum buys prawns that are literally still jumping in the baskets. You can't get any fresher than that. Another week at kampung, I'd be piling on another 5kgs.
Anak-anak dara di kampung chilling out at the front door steps mengumpat orang yang lalu depan rumah. The water down the steps reached our knees by then, thats ya seloar semua berlipat.
Chilling out by the river. We used to jump into it from this very jetty and had fun swimming in its cool waters for hours on end. Now there's a croc lurking somewhere underneath. I'm waiting for Bindi Irwin to grow up and get rid of it for me.Well that's the latest on me. A little chapter of my life that is so far different than city life. After that trip, I am back to work and really eating the hours. I don't even get to see my family; I wake up, they are still sleeping, I get home from work, they are already sleeping. When I'm asleep, they are up and about and vice versa. With a house full of people, it can get pretty lonely sumtimes. But hey, I'm not complaining. Sometimes a little solitude makes you think and appreciate whatever precious time you have with your loved ones. Ciao!
