Of family, new and old

I come from a moderately-small family. I have 3 other siblings, 1 elder brother and 2 elder sisters. And me. That makes me youngest of age, biggest of size :P My mom, however, came from a much smaller family. She only has 1 other sibling - her younger sister, or 'sis' as she always calls her. I enjoy listening to my mom's stories about her younger days, though some of them are rather sad. You see, my mom had to quit school when she was 10 years old. She quit so that she could work and earn enough money, so that her sis could go to school. Such sacrifice. I see my mom's eyes light up whenever she tells me those stories of what she and her sis used to do when they were kids, getting into trouble and all. These stories always only have 2 characters in it, cos they're not allowed to mix around with other kids much, if not at all. And I can tell that she loves her sis deeply, and that they were really close. After all, they only have each other.

Until one day, her sis told her that she had found her real family. Apparently, my mom and her sis were both adopted by my grandparents when they were babies, and that they came from different families. My mom's sis was very excited to have finally found her true family and as she talks about them, she'd say things like my brother, my that, my this, my sis. My SIS. My mom was heartbroken, cause to her, she's her only sis in her life. But such is life. One's happiness doesn't always guarantee the same for another.

I've asked my mom once, whether she have thoughts about her real family. She said no, and that her family is the family she grew up with, even if her sis feels otherwise. I had tears in my eyes.

That was many years ago. About 2 weeks ago, however, I was shocked to hear from my brother that my mom has just met her real brother, her elder brother in Kuala Kurau, a place we used to go to during Raya, when I was much younger. This came as a shock to me because I had no idea that my mom was looking for her real family. When I spoke with my mom the other day, she sounded really happy, and I am happy for her. As it turns out, my mom comes from a family of 9 siblings. 9! Not 2, but 9!! I wonder how my mom feels about that. And while I'm still getting used to the idea of the new found brother, my mom has now met up with her younger sister! I have to say that I had many questions as to how my mom found out about her real family, and there's this big 'what if' at the back of my mind, you know, kinda questioning 'how do we really know?'............but I felt overwhelmed with emotion when I saw photos of my mom and her sis taken at dinner by my brother. There's a striking resemblance between them two. I do not know any better but I find myself believing that they are indeed sisters. I had tears in my eyes.

Now, I have yet to see my mom face-to-face since I heard the news of her meeting her brother. And I'm dying to talk and hear her talk about it, but I am away in JB now for work, and will be here till the 18th. But from the sound of it, she's happy. And that's all I want for her.

I love you mom.

Of what, when and where, 10 years ago

I was having dinner at Mid Valley with several friends, some of whom I was meeting for the first time, when a question was asked around the table - "Where were you and what were you doing 10 years ago?". My answer was "10 years ago, I was working here, in Mid Valley, at the Starbucks outlet on the ground floor".

Long after all of us left Mid Valley that night, the question kept playing in my head. And so I started thinking about events that happened in the year 2000. Here is what I remember:

In January, I was the Store Manager of #005 Mid Valley. My Shift Supervisors were Uzir and Angie. After several months, we were joined by Steven, Salleh and Andy, who later took my place, when I became a District Manager.

Back then, I rode a Honda EX-5 and boy, what a ride it was! I could go pretty much anywhere in town within 15 minutes! Well except for Klang Parade...that ride took an hour. And it gave me a numbed ass. LOL!!!

I was sharing a townhouse with 2 other housemates here in Ampang (and have moved twice , but in Ampang still). We had friends coming over almost every night and it was fun!

In the year 2000, I lost my beloved red Marlboro jacket - one of the most expensive items I had ever owned back then. My mom bought me the jacket, for me to wear when I ride back to Kuala Kangsar on my bike, which never happened - I would either take the bus or hitch a ride with my brother in his car. hehehe). Hmmm......in retrospect, maybe that's why I lost it! :P

Somewhere in that year, a divider at the traffic light near my house moved all of a sudden when I was riding by and so I fell and then lost my memory for the rest of the day - but that's a whole other post on its own, so moving on!

The year 2000 was also the starting point for me being comfortable with my body size and weight. Prior to that, I always wanted to be thin, because I thought I'd be happier. Of course, everybody can tell that that's not the case with me now. Cos I laugh and eat all the time! And I'm not exactly thin :)

Something else happened that year, something I'm eternally grateful for. But now's not the time to be talking about it. yet.

So that's about it, really. Those are major highlights ten years ago.

And 10 years from now, I'll blog about major events of 2010, kalau dipanjangkan umur, insyaallah.

Of language, friends and strangers

Heard from a friend today that I've got some not-so-positive reputation. Someone who hasn't met or know me (read: a total stranger) says that I choose friends, am a bit snotty cos I favor speaking in English than in Bahasa, and that I am a bit aloof.

It's ironic since I have recently answered a question in my tag post -

"What if people don't like you?"

" I have in me, the desire for people to like me, but I also know that in this world, there are people who will not like me, and I can accept that. I would, however, be saddened if the person who dislikes / hates me happens to be someone I like.

So, in this context, I am not deeply concerned that a total stranger has a negative pre-conceived notions of me. What's got me thinking, however is that someone I know, out there, thinks less of me and it could be a reflection of my less-than-good choices or actions.

But am gonna leave it at that.

Am glad that this was said to a friend of mine who was frank enough to inform me.

As for writing this post in English rather than in Bahasa, it's just my personal preference.

Don't judge me :)