The Million Dollar Question..

Back at university, whenever I was asked the question "Mau, are you free? Want to hang out?" from my friend, it was always easy to give the green light and the definite "Yes". The only thing to consider was whether I was free or not. And transportation was the least to worry about back in university - firstly, because there was always another option like buses and secondly, there are places to hang out near our campus.

But here in my hometown, what was like a walk in the park back in campus was turning into a million dollar question. The question "Are you free?" and "When can we go out?" are the hardest questions ever - the million dollar questions which I had to get myself to think twice, if not thrice, just to come up with an answer. The first obstacle would be the transportation. Pa had to use the Myvi for work and Pa did not only work during office hours, but by shifts. And with my shitty driving skill, I had no guts to go behind the wheels again - unless it was for a very short distance. It had been a reaallly long time since I last touched the Myvi's stereng. (-_-")

So I guess the easiest answer to this million dollar question would be "NO, I can't come. I have no transport and even if I have, I had no guts to drive." Felt like a loser to utter those words out. I mean, who on earth kept a driving license and renewed them anually but do no drive? Oops, I know who, but my mom is an exception cause she did not have the opportunity to drive an auto car the first time she got her license.

So sorry guys. I can't go out tomorrow night. That's my answer to the million dollar question.

Warning: Don't do this to your helpless old folks (Shame On You!)

[Interframe: I've been tuning in to Youtube lately and watched a few hilarious parodies. Here's one which is worth watching --> Sherry Vine and Peppermint Telephone parody. Thanks to my former student Danial for sharing this link in facebook. Enjoy~ XD]

I think besides having a vow between husband and wife, parents and children should make their vows too. Parents and their children should make a vow to stick together and help each other in times of poor and in times of rich, in sickness and in health, and whenever and wherever the children and parents should be there for each other. Or else, the children may just leave the parents to go helpless on their own. Mind you, I am not telling this because I am a good daughter, lol, I am actually far from good, it may be more accurate if you call me the black sheep of the family, but there's one thing I vow I am never going to do to my folks no matter how bad I am going to be in the future *cross fingers*. I am not going to let them ask for favours from others when I am around. I mean one favour that I myself could do for them in a snap of a finger. Ahem, like giving a ride to your parents to church on Sundays? That's one easy thing to do right? Aww, don't tell me about traffic jam because the traffic jam in Sibu won't last longer than 30 minutes. And we rarely have traffic jam on Sundays because it's a day of rest.

So today, like any other Sunday at my hometown, I went to the church with my family. And as usual, after church, we would wait for my father at the parking lot area after the Mass because my father had a duty as a warden at the Sacred Heart cathedral. And as usual, like other Sundays, my cousin, a mother of three who is in her early 40's would be with us to visit the Toto + Magnum 4d + Sarawak turf premises (ahem) together with my mother, so she would join us while waiting for her kids to finish their Sunday classes. Mind you, lol, it's their 'social activity' every weekend. So it's a full house for our Myvi car (Two passengers in front, four passengers at the backseat). So while the five of us (which consists of my mother, my cousin, and my two sisters and I) waited for my father at the parking lot area, suddenly we received a phone call from my father. He said one of his friends wanted to hitch a ride with us. We were like what? That was impossible since it was a full house there. 6 people Myvi's maximum capacity.

But my father said his friend insisted, so we had no say in this. Then when his friend appeared, we just kept quiet. It's Mr Peter (bukan nama sebenar). He was one helpless friend of my father since he could not drive and he was not in a good health condition. Mr Peter was one friend who really needed help so we did not mind to give him a ride. Since our car did not have enough capacity for all of us, my mother suggested that we ride in my cousin's car to visit the 4d outlets and my father send Mr Peter back to his house.

After my father had lunch with Mr Peter and sent Mr Peter back to his house, we learned from my father that Mr Peter did not have any transportation to go back to his house, so he desperately needed to ask for my father's favour. Then, we were really curious to know who sent Mr Peter to church this morning, and was really mad to learn that he took a taxi to church this morning. I mean what the heck? Where's his son? Where's his family? Couldn't they spare a little time off to send him to church? Or better go to church with him? When my father sent him back, he asked Mr Peter if there was anybody at home and he answered that his daughter in-law was in. (-_-")

If you had known Mr Peter, he had not always been like this. It was all due to the road accident he had on year 2008, during Easter day. He, his wife and his youngest son's girlfriend were on the road for a long journey ride back from Kuching to Sibu. They had just attended the Easter Sunday Mass at Kuching and they were on their way back to Sibu. Mr Peter was the driver, his wife seated at the front left passenger seat while the son's girlfriend was seated at the backseat. Then when Mr Peter tried to overtake a car in front of him at the Sarikei-Sibu road area, he lost control of his car and it ran into a Kancil from the opposite direction and BAM! The accident happened. It was a sad accident because this accident took his wife's life away.

I remember his late wife was a very friendly lady and he and his wife both were really active servers at the cathedral; they were the members of the Holy Trinity choir and also serve as the church wardens. But after the accident, the wife was gone, and Mr Peter survived but was admitted to the ICU. He was in a very serious condition and luckily he did survived. And if you're wondering about what happened to his youngest son's girlfriend, you can heave a sigh of relief because she survived and her condition was not serious. She was not that affected by the accident. Perhaps a small injury. But Mr Peter, though recovering, he was mentally affected. He was a little senile after the accident. He needed his children's care and protection as his wife had passed away, there was nobody else he could depend on but his children. He could not drive as he was physically incapable plus his licence was revoked due to the accident.

Sad but true, his eldest son who lived with him was not a regular church-goer because he was married to a non-Catholic. And if he wasn't a person who goes to the church weekly, at least he could send his father to attend the Mass right? And fetch him back right? And it should not be an excuse that he no longer attend the church so he could not send his father to the church. I mean, OMG, It's your FATHER! And he's not in a healthy condition!! I know I make you sound so bad here but I think it's better for you to send him to the church without accompanying him than to let your father go to the church ALONE by taxi. It sounds like your father was living alone when in fact he was living with your family. Though you father is not that old in terms of age, his capability does not equalize his age anymore. You should know better.

As a disobedient daughter myself, it might sound funny that I am telling others to be an obedient child. But actually, you do not need to be an obedient child to do the things above, you just need to be a caring child. It's sad that our parents had become less and less of our priorities when we no longer depend on them.

So once again, I vow that I will not do this thing to my parents. I will not let them ask for favour from others when I am still alive and kicking to help them myself - for the sole reason that I am their daugther and they deserved more than what I could offer them. And imagine what my sisters would do to me if I dare to do this to my parents... Ooooh, creepy.

Questions that I Need Not Answer now that Sibu is appearing on TV frequently

[Interframe: OMG, I am so addicted to Hotel City in Facebook. Anyone playing hotel city here?]


POPULAR QUESTIONS REGARDING MY HOMETOWN WHEN I AM OUT OF TOWN:

1) Do you have KFC there in Sibu?

Yes, we do have KFC in Sibu. We have McD, Pizza Hut, and Sugarbun too. But not Marrybrown. *smiling politely*

2) How do you go to Sibu? Do you have airport in Sibu or you go to Sibu by bus from Kuching?

Urm, I go to Sibu by plane. And before that I have transit at KL. By the way, (extra selamba) Sibu does have an airport, and we only go to Sibu by bus once when my father mistakenly booked a flight to Kuching instead of to Sibu.

3) Do you have shopping complex there in Sibu?

Yep. We only have shopping complexES for hanging out activity and cafes and yes, fastfood chains of course, since there's no beach or any other nature attraction in Sibu. So we have to have more shopping complex to cure our boredom. We do have Giant and Parkson but no Tesco. Oh I wish we have Tesco because the prices of groceries in Farley and Sing Kwong are damn expensive!

4) Is your house in Sibu is a brick house or wooden house? (Another way of asking either Sibu is a town or a kampung)

Oh, my house here is a terrace house, around 15 minute from town. It's a housing area, not a kampung. My kampung is at Dalat, which is also my parents' kampung, and it's been a really long time since my family and I last visited there since my grandmama is barely there. My kampung Dalat is now even developing, and it doesn't feel like kampung anymore and I don't like that, you know. Kampung should remain a kampung, and if you want to have a city or town life, just move to a city or a town, instead of turning a kampung into one. And I felt like adding "Ironically our kampung in Sibu are mostly located in town area, so the kampung are not really kampung either."


And there were a few more questions which were asked by our acquiantences and some strangers who learned that me and my sister are from Borneo which I could not remember. But there were a few too who heard the name Sibu asked us if we were Foochow and if we were rich? Lol. I mean, yeah, we're not Foochow, and we're not rich, though people may have heard that Sibu are full of filthy rich people especially the Foochow communities. Well, it's in their blood actually, to be good at business and earning money.

Though sometimes I felt it's funny for people to ask me questions regarding Sibu that way, but I could not blame them. I blame the media instead. I mean, how did the media portrayed Sarawak and Sabah? They showed the Orang Utan, the mountain, the rural area communities, and yeah, that's really good as they highlight the nature beauty of the state, but they forgot to show the developed area of Borneo. And by the way, if you want to make Sarawak and Sabah a beauty attraction, you forgot to show the hotels there! You just show the rural houses, the animals, but not the hotels? Who do you expect to attract? Only the backpackers and Amazing Race producer? Or the zoo manager?

That was why it was no surprise when an aunty who worked at Mydin who initially mistook my sister and I as Japanese, but soon when she heard we were from Sarawak, she asked us both a very amusing question.

Aunty kerja kat Mydin (bless that aunty, she was one very friendly worker):
Oooo Sarawak. Kamu masih pakai daun ka? (Translation: Do you still wear leaves as clothes?)

Me and sister could not help smiling, and almost laugh out loud.

Sister: Tidak. Sekarang tidak. Itu hanya semasa perayaan atau upacara sahaja. *insert laugh*(Translation: Nope. That was only during festival or ritual. haha)

Aunty kerja kat Mydin: Oh.. Tapi kat tv show macam tu.. (Translation: But the tv shows that way)

Me and sister: *just smiling*


Damn the media for causing the majority Malaysians to become ignorant for showing them only selected parts of Sarawak during tourist promotion. Yeah, I know we should be proud of our natural attraction in Borneo but what the heck, is showing a little development in Borneo will make Borneo less exotic? How can a family dare to travel here if they think all they can see are jungles and no place and facilities for the children to shop or play? I mean, it doesn't hurt to show some facilities available in Sarawak besides that natural attraction right?

But now showing to all Malaysians the development in Sarawak (especially Sibu) is not a problem anymore due to the election which is going on at Sibu now, and tomorrow will be the voting day. The development at Sibu will be HIGHLIGHTED at the media to show that the ruling party was doing their job in developing. Hah! Only now it does matter to show the development here in Sibu, no? Only when it involves politic and only when it gives some credits to some party. And Sibu will be the next town to become a household name because of this by-election after Permatang Pauh (which happens to be the hometown of my roommate). My roommate told me before the by-election, Permatang Pauh was unpopular. But during and after the election, voila, it was very popular. And the same case here. So I guess, after this, I do not need to face any questions that I mentioned above regarding my hometown when I am out of town since I saw the activities at Sibu were shown on TV3 and any other channels. Though I hate elections, due to the noise and environment pollution they caused, this by-election has its positive side too, which is to show my hometown as how it is, and also will save me a lot of hassles in answering some amusing questions.

By the way, I am not voting since I am not into politics and I don't even know who are the nominees. So instead of voting blindly, it is better for me to not vote at all. And I only vote in campus election because the voting camp was right beside my hostel block.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, HAPPY TEACHERS' DAY TO ALL THE TEACHERS OUT THERE!

You be the Judge!

Hey, anyone interested to play Simon Cowell right now? But one thing you should know, it's not for singing, but a judge for writing. I took Creative Writing class last year and I never got back my essay from my lecturer. It was either because he was not at his room when I came or I had no time to consult him when he was at his room. So I need somebody to evaluate this essay that I wrote for my coursework with the help of my sister in sentence structure and vocabulary enrichment, and this essay is actually the result of last minute work. (-_-") Haiz~

It was last minute because I changed my story draft during the last minute (specifically one and a half day before submitting) when the first story I wrote was kind of draggy. The total mark for my coursework was only grade B, and that was the total of marks of this essay plus my test plus a few other little tasks. But I was not sure how much I got for this particular essay as this essay was the real deal in the coursework. It was the main mark contributor in my coursework and I was dying to know how much I got for a last minute draft. And my friends too - they were all dying to know how much they got for their main essay. But they did not get to meet the lecturer as he was a very busy lecturer.

So I want to know what grade would any of you give to this essay? Honestly. If you felt like giving F, just give F (even not included in the ranking below). Ranking are measured like these (standard measurement):

A (very good) = interesting story plus good English..
A- (good) = interesting story but English still have room for improvement..
B+ (quite good) = quite interesting, English is quite good..
B ( okay) = okay story, English is okay (Key word:JUST OKAY)
B- (slightly okay)= story is quite okay, but still can be better, English nearly okay...
C+ (not satisfying) = story is not satisfying, English is not that satisfying..
C- (speechless) = To be safe, you should drop this course! Immediately! And sell this piece to those who have problem sleeping!

Okay, so refer to those grades above upon evaluating this essay. Okay, one, two, three, READ:

TITLE: WEDDING AND MARRIAGE

The church bells clanged loudly but I was deafened by my own heartbeat. Today would be the most important day of my life.

I saw myself in the mirror and gasped, amazed at what make-up could do. Peter’s skillful hands had worked magic on me; my eye-bags were no longer visible, my pimples perfectly concealed, and my lips looked luscious and alluring. Everything was perfect, from my white dress to the white roses that had been ordered specially from Singapore. The Immaculate Conception church has turned into a wedding paradise.

“It’s time now,” Cousin Marie announced, urging us to hurry. I held my breath as we entered the church. With Uncle Morty in place of my father, we marched down the aisle led by Cousin Marie to the beat of “Here Comes the Bride”. I scanned the crowd for familiar faces and spotted Luke, seated in the middle row. I tensed.

‘What is he up to now?’

Suddenly, images of Luke trying to ruin my wedding ran through my mind. I quickly shook the thoughts off.

‘Keep your focus, girl,’ I scolded myself. Taking a deep breath, I continued to walk until we reached the altar.

“You look beautiful today, Lauren. I’m sure your parents must be very proud of you,” Uncle Morty whispered in my ear before handing me over to Bill. My parents – they had been long gone. I sucked back in the tears that were starting to form in my eyes for fear of ruining my make-up.

“Thanks, Uncle Morty,” I whispered back.

“We are gathered here today to witness the union of two souls…” the priest began.

I stole a glance at Bill at my side and he smiled, showing a set of perfect white teeth. Born of a mixed heritage, Bill is a younger version of George Clooney and every girl’s fantasy. I knew that I was lucky to have him but something was tugging at the back of my mind and Luke’s words kept ringing in my ears, “Have you really forgotten, Laurie?”

I tried to focus, but those words brought me back to the night before the wedding. I was already sleeping soundly when the doorbell rang. I tried to ignore it but the visitor was very persistent. Cursing under my breath, I put on my robe and answered the door. Standing in front of me was the last person I expected to see.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, shocked. What on earth --

“What do you think?” Luke asked me back. I rolled my eyes, trying to brush him off by closing the door but he was quick in holding back the door with his right hand. “That’s a rude way to treat your guest, considering you would marry a reputable person tomorrow,” he remarked at my action.

I stopped pushing the door, knowing that my attempt to brush him off was in vain. “Okay, I will only give you 10 minutes,” I finally let him in. “Just tell me anything that you want now cause I have to get back to my BEAUTY SLEEP,” I said impatiently. “I am going to be a BRIDE tomorrow, for your information.” I added, hoping that he get my sarcasm. And of course, I knew that he would.

“The sarcastic Laurie that I knew is back,” he said, with a forced laugh. I could smell his scent reeking of alcohol, and I knew that he was drunk.

“You only have 9 minutes left,” I said firmly and tried to distant myself from him. I was in no mood to become a good hostess or a good old friend to him. And in fact, we weren’t friends at all at the moment. He kept silent, and then his face turned serious.

“Laurie, what had gone wrong in our relationship?” he asked me after a long pause. For a moment, I couldn’t think of a smart retort for that. He looked at me questioningly.

“You,” I finally answered. “You’re the wrong person for a relationship,” I explained and added “In fact, a person like you should not be in a relationship at all.” I knew that my words sounded rather harsh, and I knew that it would hurt him, but I couldn’t care less.

He turned his face to look at the empty wall. “I know you wanted a wedding, Laurie. I realized that long ago,” he replied. “I really wanted to give you that, but the timing was not right.”

I snorted. “So when would the time be right then?” I asked, trying to challenge him and added, “You know what, ‘never’ would be the right answer.” I couldn’t understand why I could be bothered by this, and I thought this issue had no effect on me anymore, but I couldn’t hold back my tongue any longer and my dissatisfactions towards him during our relationship earlier kept pouring out. “You just don’t want commitment, and I’m just a girl you wanted to keep during your young age. You have wasted 5 years of my life; do you know that, Luke? I had waited for you to pop the question, to make our relationship official, but did you bother? Did you bother to ask me for marriage, Luke?” I was satisfied now he heard everything that I wanted to tell him before.

Luke was silent for a moment, but he finally voiced up.

“Yes, I did think about asking you for marriage,” he confessed, turning his gaze to me. I was quite surprised to hear this from him. “But I know that marriage isn’t really your ideal. I know it’s not all that you want. You wanted a wedding, a grand wedding, which I couldn’t give you,” he said, and added “but he could.”

I was speechless for a moment. Was I more interested in the wedding than the marriage itself, I wondered. Of course a grand wedding is every girl’s dream, especially mine, after I lost both of my parents. I felt contented looking back at their wedding photos, and I wanted my wedding to be grand like theirs too.

“You really did think of proposing me, Luke?” I was surprised at myself for asking him that question. Of course I had the right to know this, I thought after a moment.

“Yes,” he answered. “And actually I thought about it for so many times,” he continued, looking at me in the eyes. “I wanted to do it during our trip to Genting, I wanted to do it during Christmas 2006, I wanted to do it during your best friend’s wedding at Perak, but I never found the right words to say,” he elaborated, curving his lips into a smile. “I was such an idiot,” he added, snorting at himself.

“I will definitely agree on that,” I said, and I couldn’t help smiling too. Luke was the only person I know who could admit his fault without much ego.

“Laurie, you know what?”

“What?”

“That is why I love you.”

“What?”

“I love the way you make remarks about me honestly,” he started to say and continued “and the way you daydream in the middle of your work and still be able to cope with it. I love the way you know my weaknesses and strength and still tolerate it, the way you were faithful with me those five years we were together --”

“Stop it, Luke!” I ordered when I realized I could not take it any longer. He looked at me questioningly. “Why are you doing this to me? After all my wedding preparations and all my efforts to fit in with Bill’s family…” I blurted almost everything out.

“What? You must be joking Laurie, you have to put in efforts to fit in with anybody?” he asked incredulously, and quickly continued “Oh my bad. Bill’s family isn’t just anybody, they are somebody. Let me guess. They think you’re not good enough for Bill?”

I nodded reluctantly. “They used to think that way, but I couldn’t blame them. What else would they think when an employee and an employer is romantically involved?” I reasoned, trying to look at my relationship with Bill from their perspective. “But I finally impressed them with my determination,” I added, rather proudly.

“Do you think Bill can give you happiness?”

I was surprised he asked me that kind of question when Bill obviously could give happiness to whichever woman he was going to marry.

“Are you kidding me?” I replied, laughing as if he was joking. “He can give me a bright future. He can make all my wildest dreams come true. And most important of all, he was ready for commitment,” I shot a look at him.

“Okay, let me ask you one thing. Has he ever seen you without make up before?” He asked me. I started to think, but then I wondered why I should be bothered to even think about it.

“What does THAT has to do with a relationship?” I asked incredulously.

“Mind you, has he ever seen your faithful friends, pimple 1, 2, 3 and 4?”

“What the heck--”

“Has he ever heard you cursing?”

“You’re annoying--”

“Has he ever…”

He suddenly planted a passionate kiss on my lips. I was bewildered, but strange enough I responded. It has been a year since I felt his warm lips on mine, and it still tasted the same.

He pulled back after a moment and continued “…kiss you in the middle of a fight and make you forget about everything else in the world as if they do not matter?” His brown eyes were looking at me intensely as if looking into my soul, and then I noticed tears forming in them at the same time.

“Have you really forgotten, Laurie?” He choked out through his tears. “Because I can still remember every moment with you… And your kiss, your kiss still tastes the same.”

I stood there, staring back into his eyes. I had been staring at these brown eyes since I was a teenage girl; he was my first love, my first boyfriend, and I thought he was the one, but he had disappointed me. He had kept me waiting, tested my patience, till I could no longer wait. He may be my first, but he would remain a memory. It was too late. I had made my decision, and at this moment, I could not afford any scandals that might sabotage my wedding tomorrow.

“I have forgotten about you since the day we broke up, Luke,” I finally replied, staring back straight into his brown eyes to convince him. He looked at me with tears. I could see pain from his brown eyes.

“And Luke, it’s already late. I have a wedding early tomorrow,” I added icily, pointing towards the door. He shrugged his shoulder, turning his back on me, and started to make his way to the door.

“Good luck on your wedding,” he said, and continued “ah, and not to forget about the honeymoon, and ya, I almost forgot, good luck on your marriage too.” I quickly shut the door as soon as he stepped out of my apartment. I couldn’t believe I just responded to his kiss. I touched my lips, and the taste of his mouth lingered there.

I couldn’t sleep that night and was scolded by Peter the next day for not taking my beauty sleep, but I told him it was due to bride’s anxiety. And it was not far from the truth.

“And now it’s the bride’s turn,” I heard the priest announced as he turned his focus to me. I was confounded. I had missed most of the important parts during the wedding ceremony. How could I not pay attention during a Mass on MY OWN WEDDING? How could I DAYDREAM when my WILDEST DREAM was coming true right before my eyes?

The priest eyed me and said “Lauren Chia, do you take Bill Harold, for your lawful husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

I remembered how I wanted to immortalize this moment. I wanted to look at Bill’s face before answering “I do.” As I’d planned, I turned to look at Bill; he smiled at me but he suddenly stopped smiling. His facial expression changed abruptly, giving me a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong, Lauren?” I heard Bill asking me.

I was confused. Then, I just realized something, and I hoped Peter would not be disappointed in me for ruining his masterpiece.

My face was sodden with tears, the make-up was coming off and for the first time I had an intuition to forget about the wedding and give marriage a second chance.

=THE END=