Trash and Treasure

After years of hearing about The Oprah Show, we at last got to see it.. I knew it had been aired on cable tv but I don't have cable tv and I don't want cable tv.. There isn't enough hours in the day for me to sit down and just watch tv.. So The Oprah Show began airing on local tv early this year and the first episode was the start of their 20th season/year where they had a new re-vamped studio and the first guest was Jennifer Aniston.. this episode was dated 2005 at the end credits and we are now watching episodes dated 2004 .. ???.. But never mind about that.. The Oprah Show is interesting and enlightening even if it don't run in order.. and I learned a lot from watching some of the episodes.. I learned that I probably suffer from the disorder known as "HOARDING".. As mentioned before in previous blogs, I have a lot of clutter... Now I can blame it on this disorder.. Like the woman featured in the show, I am reluctant to throw away things that I think might come in use some day... although that 'some day' probably never come.. Sometimes when I do throw away stuff, somehow or other I find that I needed that particular thing the very next day.. For example, I may throw away a box that had been lying on the shelf for the longest time, years maybe, and the very next day someone will ask if I have a box that can be used to, say, put a present in and I think - the box on the shelf.. BUT I threw that away!!
So after a few incidents like that, I started not throwing things away and then the clutter begun to pile up.. I've got a lot of stuff that are momentos of my girls' childhood but I think they are probably in a horrible state... I couldn't see what their conditions are because these things are stored in boxes which are at the bottom of the pile...
Two or three years ago I was at the library when I came across this book about clutter and how to get rid of it, and following the advice, I managed to throw away some things, but only about 10% of what should be gotten rid of... I was still hanging on to things.. like socks that had lost their pardners... Why don't I ever throw them away?? Maybe one day I will pair them up?? So far it didn't happen.. Now after watching the Oprah show, I find that I may be sick in the head..
In one of the shows, where the ugliest room in America was featured, the room was re-vamped but someone wanted the 'ugly' furniture and Oprah quoted the phrase : "one man's trash is another man's treasure"... So true... A lot of people also think that my stuff is trash... So on to another story...
About three weeks ago, somebody living in the same block of flats as my father, moved away and they threw out a lot of things... At first I was eyeing a small table to put by my bed.. I saw the table when I was on my way out, to have dinner... So on the way back with CMW, I told her of the table and my wanting to take it back but when I took a closer look, it was a bit worned so I decided not to take it... besides that, there were other people around and they were rummaging through the "junk"... I took a peek at what was thrown out and saw books - cookbooks and books on patchwork and crochet and knitting!! How could people throw away books!! Especially when my favourite pastime is crocheting and making patchwork blankets and my daughter's favourite thing is cooking... We gathered as much of the books as we can carry and there was also a box of cloth patches, all cut up into 5 inch squares... My younger daughter will probably scream when she read this... more "junk" but they are MY treasures... I have no regrets being a "garang-guni" that night... We were cleaning the books, (they were quite dusty), and talking when I mentioned that there were also books on Shakespeare's plays, the text-book type, and CMW said we should go get that also, but we were too late... somebody else got those books but our second trip down to the "junkpile" was also fruitful... we got a bag of crochet wool still in the TAH CHUNG EMPORIUM plastic bag!! CMW wanted to keep the bag but I think there's a limit to what we are doing... And when I told my brother of our exploits, he got more crochet books that were discarded by people staying in the housing apartments where he work and gave them to me... I'm so happy with these new books... Can't understand why people would throw away books... if they are no longer useful, books should be given to the library or a community centre... some other people may want them... So when I should die and nobody want my books, somebody please give them to the libray..
I have also been clearing away the clutter in our house... As mentioned before, I was bringing stuff over to my father's house... mostly magazines and bills and letters... I have sent those that I don't want to keep, to the re-cycling centre... Luckily Singapore had become more environmentally aware and there is more re-cycling... It makes it easier for me to get rid of unwanted things, sending them for re-cycling and not to landfills... I didn't want to throw away stuff because I think they might come in use one day, but if they are re-cycled then they have another use... I don't know if people understand what I'm getting at, but just blame it on the "hoarding" mentality...
It's a slow process and there's a long way to go but one day I will get there... I sound like a tired old record but then again I am tired and old and the weather isn't helping... Got a sinus problem and a headache coming on... Need to listen to music... YOU KEEP ME HANGING ON...

Foreign Invasion

Even before WAR returned from Perth, she had informed me that Tim, an exchange-student from the USA will be visiting... Tim was to arrive on New Years Day, spend a few days in Singapore, then both of them would go to KL, Bangkok and Phuket, spending a few days at each destination ...and come back to Singapore before he fly back to Perth and then forward to New Zealand and back to the USA....because Tim don't get to travel after he goes back to the USA for his studies. So when she got back home before Christmas, besides buying presents, WAR had to book tickets for KL and Bangkok and Phuket as well as arrange for accomodations.. It was quite a hectic time for her..
So New Year's Day came and WAR went to the airport to greet Tim and for the next days she showed him the sights of Singapore and then they're both off to KL... Meanwhile I had an invitation to my cousin's daughter's wedding on Saturday 14th January...my neice and her 3 kids also flew in from Canada on that day... Now at the wedding dinner, (daughter CMW attended with me), we met up with a lot of my cousins that I haven't seen for ages... some of them, like my sister, are already grandparents.... So all these relatives of course asked about the well-being of my father... I replied he's okay but has all the medical problems associated with old age...He is 83 years old...
The next day, Sunday, nothing much happened except that my father wasn't eating or drinking... I wasn't concerned then because it wasn't the first time he slept the whole day... But the next day, my sister-in-law called to say that Ah Gong didn't eat his dinner the night before and now she couldn't wake him up to take his lunch... I told her to just leave it on the table... maybe he will eat later... That evening when I brought him his dinner, I was concerned that he wasn't even drinking water... so I called for the ambulence and got him to the hospital... I told the doctor that he was not responsive and that he wasn't eating or drinking... a persan can go without food but not without water... internal organs will shut down ... the doctors gave him a glucose drip and he sort of woke up but was not aware of his surroundings so the doctors decided to ward him for observation...
So the next day, 17th January, all of us - my brothers, sister, neices, nephews, the whole jeezbang were there at Alexandra Hospital to see Ah Gong because the doctors weren't sure if he could recover... scans showed that he had another stroke and the doctors were afraid that subsequent strokes will be fatal... But we are a strong family and even under such a stressful situation we still went for dinner at the coffeeshop/restaurant opposite AH... and it was also hubby's 55th birthday... he got his CPF!!
The next few days was spent at the hospital and there were a lot of visits from relatives who also expect the worst but then... a miracle happened.... Ah Gong woke up from his semi-coma and he not only could recognise all of us, including those who grew up in Canada...but he started conversing with my neice in Mandarin... I don't even know that my father could speak the language, but he even used terms that surprised my neice... certain phrases that are used by the intellect... So all's well with Ah Gong...
Second daughter WAR returned from Phuket with Tim on the 2oth and two days later Tim flew back (homeward bound)... and then it was preparation for Chinese New Year... With Ah Gong in hospital, there won't be much visitors to the house and also it seem wrong to have the reunion dinner at home... so we opted to have the dinner at the coffeeshop/restaurant opposite AH (again) and since it was quite a last minute booking , I got one on Thursday 26th January... my birthday...ulterior motive???... Nah... just happened to be...
So Chinese New Year came and went... people from the USA came and went... people from Canada came and went... Now the British invasion... My mother-in law and her husband came for a vist from jolly olde England on February 18th... They came to visit old friends and also to renew their wedding vows... 40 years together... WAR had delayed her return to Perth just so she could spend time with her grandparents but the week went by really quickly and soon she flew back to her studies... And the three weeks with my in-laws also went by quickly and things started to settle down... But during the time my in-laws were visiting, Ah Gong was discharged from the hospital with the specific requirement that someone be with him 24-7.... So I had to move into his house and had begun to bring things over from our house to his just to make it more comfortable for me....
So when all the "foreigners" have left, I began shuffling things about... into Ah Gong's house and now, every night I'm there, and I come back for about 2 to 3 hours to do the laundry here, and also to bring stuff over so that I can do things there... Lately, I acquired 2 washing machines... lucky me...they were free ... from a laundromat that closed-shop... and now I don't have to bring dirty laundry here and there... Life has been easier and that's why I can continue to blog ... and I had resumed crocheting the cardigan for my sister... it was on hold for 2 months... and am now planning to sew clothes for another wedding invite and will be attending a Muslim wedding on 8th July... Congratulations Melissa...

Catching Up

Can't believe how the time passes...it's been months since my last post...Been busy, busy, busy. So to catch up on what's been happening, let's go back a bit... It all began somewhere in July 2005... second daughter WAR went off to Perth to study... that free her computer for use... then after a bit of cleaning up and storing stuff that she didn't bring along, I decided to start blogging - which I did with much enthusiasm...
Then sometime in late August/early September (can't really remember) older daughter CMW told me that her best friend Mandy is getting married and had invited her to attend all the ceremonies involved... and daughter needed outfits for these functions... So I thought no big deal... at the most she will need two outfits.. one for the day and one for the evening... CMW said that she needed four outfits!! What!! Why??
First outfit - for a buffet dinner/dance... I attended this event and this was held on the eve of the whole wedding ceremony... sort of an introduction of the bride to the world... We went there... after a while, Mandy came to greet us and the other guests and invited us to have dinner... After dinner there were drums banging away and a lady started walking in with a pot balanced on her head... this pot had lighted candles... then she danced around a bit and others joined her and when the pot got too hot for her she passed it to another person and the dancing went on and more people joined her... This went on and on until the candles burned out and the pot was set on a table but the dancing continued... I supposed that this was also a way of relieving stress for the womenfolk who had spent the past weeks and months preparing for the wedding... So for this night CMW needed an outfit suitable for "clubbing"..
Second day ... oiling ceremony... I didn't attend this but understood that it involved oil being poured on the head and hands and feet of the bride and she will be adorned with henna paintings ... I supposed that this is a cleansing/blessing ritual.. So for this CMW need only wear some old T-shirt and jeans..
Third day morning... temple ceremony... I attended this also and found it enlightening... I got to see a Sikh wedding and also the inside of a Sikh temple... One thing that Mandy didn't tell us was that we have to cover our heads when inside the temple and fortunately there were scarves available at the entrance and we managed to find one each that sort of matched our clothes... As it involved sitting down on the floor of the temple hall, we needed something that allowed us to do that...CMW decided on a peasant top and skirt... As for the ritual.. it's the usual... the priest(s) offered a lot of prayers and the bride and groom went round the alter a few times... I wont' go into details... after the temple rituals the bride went back home and I understand she will be "kicked out" of the house...
Third day evening.... dinner at some posh restaurant... CMW had been asked to make a speech and she decided to wear a sari for this occassion... She wore a sari at her cousin's wedding and she looked great but was told that she shouldn't wear a red sari at an Indian wedding ...so we have to go look for a blue one.. and my darling daughter suggested that I crochet the top...the choli.. Cochet!!! I needed at least 3 weeks for that!!! She replied that the wedding is in December and I got 3 months... Oh..okay..
So we planned and we went to Johor Bahru to get the crochet thread (if any one want to know where...- the shop is located in the building opposite the JB train station, where there's a lot of travel-agencies and the shop actually face the train station) and we check my stock of cloths and found two pieces of material suitable for the peasant blouse and the black pants for her clubbing outfit.. still needed to buy more.. so went to Spotlight and got very nice and expensive (@S$29.95 per metre x 2m) materials for the clubbing top and the peasant skirt (@S$19.95 per metre x 3m) and went to Serangoon Road to buy the sari... We bought two saris which isn't exactly what she wanted but she liked the colours and a few days later she went with Mandy and bought the one that she wore to the dinner... a very nice and expensive-looking one with embroidery and rhinestones... I said expensive-looking because it only cost S$70.00 and it looked like it should cost more... I supposed if a tourist was to go and buy it, the price will be much much higher...
As soon as I got the crochet thread I started crocheting even before everything else was bought and while I was hooking away, I planned the sewing and somehow I managed to get everything ready by the due date which was 3rd December... Now CMW liked to add stress to my life...she decided to go to Perth to visit her sister and both to come back before Christmas and when did she booked her flight for??... 7th December...1 a.m... which means we go to the airport on the 6th around 10pm... Now that is a very tight schedule... 3rd - the dance night, 4th - the oiling ceremony, 5th - the temple and restaurant dinner, 6th - fly off to Perth.... So there I was crocheting, sewing and packing... one thing after another...aarghh!!!
So CMW departed for Perth... rest??? not really... have to clean up the house ..(been neglecting and also have to clean because WAR is sensitive to dust) and also clean up Ah Gong house... people are coming for Christmas... so clean, clean, dust, dust and before you can blink... they are coming back!!??!!
It so happened that while CMW was in Perth, hubby went off to KL/Bangkok (?? can't remember which one) and CMW would return on Monday 21st, hubby would return on Tuesday and WAR would return on Wednesday... Thank goodness I don't drive otherwise I will have to go to the airport three days in a row... Anyhow, for a change of pace, I went to the airport on Monday... travelling on the mrt was a relaxing time for me... one hour of doing nothing... met up with CMW and the next day just let my hubby come back on his own (he's used to that) and then on Wednesday go to the airport again to meet WAR...
And then it's Christmas... and all the chaos that went with presents-buying and menu-planning and.... well most people know what it's like...
And then it's Chinese New Year... no..no.. Something happened before that...