Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Making a Fashion Statement


Ya ya. I bought those socks. But they were meant for long pants or jeans. Not to be worn with short pants.

But he likes them so much, he wears them anyhow. He is daring with colours.

They seriously are the most mismatched colours of the world. Heh. Who cares? Who dares to care when he states the obvious - I am a big boy now, let me choose my own socks.

Wokeh.. red, blue, gray.. up to you-lah. But seriously, his socks are darn outstanding, especially in school when all are wearing white! Teeheehee~

I do tone down his other attires - make the pants and shirts as autumn/winter feel as possible. Lots of white and some darker hues.. Ya ya.. I know they still don't match. Heheh. But should be better than vibrant, flamboyant colours from top to toe, right? Just let the socks shout out for attention.

But I must say, he looks smashing in pink. TETAPI it's hard to find pink shirts - collared and non-collared ones for boys. Because of stereotypical gender rule no.1 - pinks are for girls? I shrug and sigh.

Conclusion yang langsung tak berkaitan: I love Gooly's succulent pudgy legs. He does have the shapiest legs. Meaning, there are meat and bones at the right places. And no hair.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Stuff


Gotta


Love


His

Smile

Have a good day doing your stuff, k?

I love our morning chatters especially when he says stuff like that. *smirk* I donch know why he says stuff like that. But I love it.

Am I repeating myself here? Yes, I am. I am, yes.

Of late I have been calling him Happy Boy.

Let's go, Happy Boy.

Hello, Happy Boy.

Cos he IS a happy boy. All the time.

I love that too.

=)

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Sat-sunday

That's him and Ada, ber-roman at the mall. These days he doesn't hold my hands that often. Instead, he likes putting his hand around my waist, and forcefully put mine on his shoulder. And we walk side by side.

It's not the same as me holding his hand, guiding him, leading the way.

Not to say that walking with him is not pleasurable. It is, just in a different way.

That was Saturday's mental note when I saw him walking hand in hand with Ada. And err.. Not a tinge of jealousy from me, ok? It was awfully cute watching the pair of hands intertwined in the most innocent way.

Today on Sunday, I feigned sleep because ... heh, like I needed a reason. I was tired-lah! So I was closing my eyes, trying not to move a muscle. I even held my breath. And suddenly I felt my arm heaved upwards. I took a peep and realized that he had inserted a pillow under my arm. When he saw my eye opened, he shut it with his forefinger - just like a scene from ..I dunno, Tom and Jerry? You know, in cartoons, the eyelids are huge and you could actually slip them down like a roller-shutter?

Cute.

And he proceeded to pat pat my shoulder.

Pat pat pat pat pat. Do you want a lullaby?

*goofy grin*

I haven't been tucked in to sleep since .. hmm.. 30 odd years ago?

It was nice. Too nice that I couldn't sleep. Instead I asked if he wanted to play.

Ironic.

And now he is missing his papah.

I miss my papah.
I want to sleep with papah.
I didn't kiss papah for many days.
I want papah to come back.


His declaration of love makes good lyrics, eh? Heheh.

To end tomorrow is Moanday's note, I think Gooly is the sweetest child. Shall I sing, "Sweet Child O Mine"? A lil G n R action before Moanday creeps in?

(Eh, I forgot how the song goes lah.. )

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Gooly is sick

Yesterday Gooly came back from school - changed. He vomited in class. By 4.30pm, his fever soared to 39C.

Brought him to the hospital, diagnosed the problem, and came home.

I had to carry him - a sack of 22.8 kg to and from the hospital. Despite calling me MOM which is deemed too grown up in my dictionary, he is still a baby when he's unfit. (But nope, he didn't revert to calling me Mahmee even though he was in a very manja mood.)

This ay-am, he was still weak, lying down instead of bouncing off the bed the moment he wakes on an ordinary morning.

I folded the laundry. He got up, took his Spiderman underwear .. and plopped back down on bed.

"Sorry, MOM. I can't help you today. I'm sick."

Awww.... he always helps with the laundry - putting his own clothes in his cabinet, and sometimes ours too. And he was thinking of doing his chores even when he was sick.

"It's ok, son. You rest. I'll help you."

"Thanks, Mom." And he laid to sleep again.

Poor kid. I hope he gets better soon so he can help with the laundry . Nothing breaks my heart more than a bounce-less Gooly.

Friday, September 25, 2009

MOM

Suddenly I am MOM. He's neither calling me mahmee nor mamah anymore. I was first Mahmee. Then for awhile, I was mamah.

But now I am mom.

MOM! Can you wait for me?

MOM! Let's go.

Hi, MOM!


MOM! sounds awfully grown up, don't you think?

While we are at it, it's good to remember that he called me MAHMEE much much later. I mean, it was Papah for a very long time. (Papah is with an 'h', don't forget.) There was probably a 6 -8 months gap before he proceeded to bestow me my hard-earned title of MAHMEE.

Mah- mee.

I miss that sound. The second syllable was slightly longish - Mah-meeeee. It was a noun that required my immediate reaction or response because it was.. uhm..err.. a very endearing term. Very manja, if you like.


Mahmee, can I have another cookie? (Sure sure..there you go.)

Mahmee, my tummy hurts. (Aww... what happened?)


But now I am MOM. And he has to say it in a low key, serious way.


MOM~


I dunno... it sounds akin to SIR, to me. Or like a debonair addressing a fair maiden - Ma'am.


MOM/SIR/Ma'am, see you later.



It's too serious for goofy me.

Geesh.. why does he grow up so fast? I did ask why he decided to call me Mom, which he doesn't have or need any reason. He just shrugged.

But me thinks 'Mom' is for 16 and above, no?

Maybe I will trip him tomorrow and see if he calls me Mahmee when he needs some 'sayang' and band aids from me.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Quote of the day


"Neo, can you see the picture? If you can't, come in front of me so you can see the picture.."

- Goolypop, aged 4 years 9 months, during story time at school.

If there are more goolypops, this planet would be a lot nicer, don't you think?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Happy ?

A few incidents made me smile and happy. Nothing major. Very very minor stuff..but still.. they made me happy.

1. I was at Papah's office the other day. Around noon time, I walked out, intending to buy lunch. It was darn hot, so I decided not to walk too far. Stopped at one of the stalls and bought some chicken wings. Suddenly I felt a shade over me. I looked up and realized that the office lady had brought an umbrella for me. She said, "Lorn!" - HOT! Oh yes, very very hot, please come into the umbrella. She was just shading me, and refused to come under the umbrella. Sigh! When we walked back to the office, I asked for the umbrella and shaded both of us. She was very uncomfortable. Sigh!

2. A teacher let Gooly used her apron because I couldn't get a kiddie-sized one. She has a spare one. And gooly isn't even in her class.

Both cases..they didn't have to. But they did. Such nice people. Actually I take back about the 'minor' stuff. When the heart is involved, nothing is 'minor', kan?

So today, I gave some apples to the some teachers (not Gooly's homeroom teacher though, cos I was a wee bit shy) at school with a note, "Have a nice day!"

People make me happy, and I am just returning the favour to society. It's not that hard, really. Doesn't cost much at all. Just sincerity.

Tomorrow I will make the Guard happy. Kekekekek.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Seeing Stars

Which category did you belong to whilst in school?
a. nerd
b. non-nerd

I don't know how but Gooly miraculously falls under category (a).

Why is it a miracle?

Well, I wasn't exactly a bad student, but copying Add Maths answers were a daily morning routine. And whenever it rained, it made a good reason (not excuse) to skip school. And whenever it was too hot, I had an excuse to stay home.

What about the other gene determinant - papah? Uhm.. let's just say uhm... uhm.. ya.. he finished high school and pursued a degree ..yada ..yada..yada.. But not exactly Mr. Class Perfect, y'know?

Fast forward to present, our son.. OUR SON.. *muffle giggles* wants to know more about..





THE SOLAR SYSTEM!!!!

Mind you, not that we are not proud.

It's just weird. Maybe because the field of astronomy before this has been something foreign to us, Asians. Angkasawan or taikonaut doesn't sound as cool. I reckon Tom Hanks liked space and moon because of NASA. And the launch of Apollo to the moon was meant to be US's pride, and had become a source of inspiration to kids from the US during that era.

But why would an Asian kid like mine, be enthralled by space and planets and galaxy far far away? To me, Uranus is interesting because it remotely reminds me of your butt hole. Other than that, space is just too spooky (for me, that is.)

Anyhoo, if that is what he likes, that is what he gets. We brought him to the planetarium (only to be disappointed), bought him books and let him surf for information about outer space.

So he can tell you which is the biggest planet, and that Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Also that Saturn is the one with nice rings around it. And gravity condition at each planet. He doesn't know which is SAPTURN though. Hehehehe.

That's how nerdy smart my son is.

The son of a mother, who went to school to check out cute guys playing volleyball only because she had to.

BTW, do you know that Pluto is no longer a planet? And that Tatooine doesn't exist? *rolling eyes at Star Wars fans* That's how much I can learn from a 4 year old. :-)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

1000 proud moments

I was missing for three long days. Did you notice?

The thing was there was an emergency and I was asked to become a sub teacher at Gooly's school....

..in Gooly's class.

*gasp*

Anyways, I survived that three days. It was a crazy and nerve wrecking 3 days. But I just won't tell you how crazy, nerve wrecking the 3 days were even though they were crazy and nerve wrecking. Instead I will just note the cute little moments with the pigtailed girls and snotty boys. And many many proud moments of being a mom to an obedient and smart Gooly.

To begin with, I was apprehensive with the idea as I wasn't sure how Gooly would react. Will he be clingy? Will he be obnoxious? Because there were 15 more other students to attend to who may be as clingy and obnoxious, I was just.. say, a lil ballistic with the idea of teaching in that class.

Lo and behold, Gooly was superb! Being in school the whole day had given me the opportunity to observe his behavior in my class and also during other teachers' supervisions. While I taught English and Science which were his strongest subjects, he didn't show any 'I-already-knew-that' attitude. He paid attention in class- never had a blank expression moment (unlike me in school last time).

He was obedient and followed the school rules of lining up, being quiet at times, and putting away cups and saucers after meals. Only 2 out of 10 kids do that. (I wanted to say 1 out of 10, but it sounded too extreme :P)


There were twice that he was complained by his peers:

1. Ticher, ticher, Gooly* push me.

2. Ticher, ticher, Gooly* take my toys.

And both incidents, I was an eye-witness. The first one, Gooly was standing in attention, waiting to recite a Mandarin poem, and a girl came next to him and ticked him. He told her to stop it and pay attention. She didn't stop. She continued tickling him and shoved him to the wall. Gooly flung his arms and walked to the other side. And that's when I heard, "Ticher, ticher, Gooly push me."

The latter incident, they were at the toys section waiting for parents to come to bring them home. TJ's parents came and announced to Tj that they should go. And Gooly took the toys away to be kept in the shelf, announcing, "Time to go home, TJ." (It wasn't a snatching motion. It was a good intention of his albeit, very kaypo.) And what did we hear? Yep. "Ticher, ticher, he take my toys."

Sigh! With 16 students (or more) children under your care, sometimes it's really hard to decide what really happened, unless you were an eye witness. Actually, with 2 it's hard enough, because it takes only 2 seconds to make one cry. And ngam ngam during that time, you were busy digging your nose. Sigh!

There were times he was reluctant to attend Mandarin class because the songs and tonal practice were too loud for him. I told him NO. He went into classroom (tau tap tap) but once inside, he was back to his same-self (the same one in my class)- participating in activities, raising his hands to answer questions, and singing with movements (though they were too loud.) And whenever he completed a task, he looked out for me, smiling as if telling me, "This is for you, Mama."

Thank you. Thank you, Gooly. I appreciate your effort and positive attitude towards learning. I am proud of your knowledge and your ability to relate to an array of topics, giving very relevant information, while your peers are still struggling with the idea of speaking in sentences. I am proud that you try HARD when subjects like Mandarin and Thai give you (and me ) a headache. You don't stomp your feet or bawl your eyes out.

I am proud that you are caring, loving and sensitive.

- When they other kids want my hugs, you waited and asked shyly if you could have one too. (Of course you can, my dear dear.)

- When Joel fell, you picked him up.

- You share your cookies though they were your favourite.

- You told me, "Bus (a local boy who doesn't speak a word of English) is very very lonely. He is alone during exercise (PE lesson). I think I will stand with him tomorrow." Just repeating your words here make my eyes teary. You have a golden heart.

While walking out of the school, the school accountant came to me and said," I heard that your child is very clever. Reading and writing and have such good manners. How do you do it? I have a 6 months old baby. Please teach me how."

Wow! I really don't have an answer. I don't even know if the credit goes to me.

On top of that, my assistant also told me, "When I have a child, I want one like Gooly."

Wow!

That's a really nice thing to say.

And that made me grin like a mad mad joker. Still grinning now. From ear to ear. From east to west.

During that three days, when we walked out of school, hand in hand, my heart was puffy with pride. And I told myself,

"In future, when you don't bring him As, I won't mind. I really don't care. Your attitude matters. And you have already scored full points in my record."

Gooly, you are such a wonderful child. I am proud to be your mahmee. I can love you 100% and then some more, because loving you is such an easy thing to do.

Every day, you make me proud. Almost unbelievable that I can be so lucky to have a son like you. On second thoughts, being lucky is not enough.

..I think I am blessed.

(Oei? I am supposed to write anecdotes about pigtailed girls and snotty boys but I was too engrossed on the topic of how clever, well-behaved Gooly is. Hahahhaha! Oei.... Somebody slap me already..)

Monday, September 14, 2009

Sweet lil things

This morning I went to school.

To buy an apron and to spy on Sofia whom I heard is a beauty, with long black hair from an unreliable source (gooly).

Good thing for name tags, I saw Sofia a mile away. She was a blond, not a brunette, *slap forehead* with a cheeky smile and yep, leng lui lei geh.. (a beauty)

I stood and watched the kids play a while. Suddenly a little girl came over, and extended her little hand.

For a nano second, I wasn't sure what the hand was for.

Oh! Then I realized that she wanted to shake my hand. It was such a cute and polite gesture. I said hello with the biggest, silliest grin while holding her soft cute little hand. And then another girl came to shake my hand too. I felt like a VIP suddenly. Teehee.

My smile was frozen for a while. I gushed to myself (because there wasn't any other parents around.) And the two little 'fairies' skipped away gaily to join their friends. As the glass door closed, I saw Gooly smiled at them and tapped gently the top of their heads with an exaggerated 'boing!' as a form of greeting. They threw their heads back in laughter.

Little children are such joy to watch. Even without their voices, their laughter can be heard through their eyes.

As I walked out the school, I could still feel the soft hands on my palm, and hear the voiceless laughter in my mind.

It's really easy to be happy for me. Just bring me to school.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Jom belajar Thai

The other day Gooly came back with a shit sheet of homework.

Thai.

*jeng jeng jeng*

First of all, the instruction says to 'cross out' the correct answer. That was peculiar because when I went to Kindie, a cross always indicated wrong answer. Ah well, I supposed it's like "mengundi' - crossing out the candidate you wish to vote.

And then the pictures given were even more peculiar (to me). There were 4 objects. As I was somewhat culturally challenged, I wasn't sure what they were. So I went to my aid, Ada's mom.

*point at picture A*

"Is this a box?"

Err... No.

"A chest?"

No..

"Is there an English word for this...this.... this.. square thing which looks like a box but it's not a box?"

No, no English word, and it's not a box.

"Do you keep treasures inside? Can it be opened?"

No, cannot be opened.. we just put it in the temple. Or for Royal functions, people go on a parade and carry it.

Ahh.... It was an exasperated 'ahhh....'

I was really curious so I went online to check on the Thai writing system. To my astonishment, there will be 44 objects for Gooly (and me) to learn. That is the basic ABC for Thai. While the Roman alphabet doesn't mean anything, Thai 'ko-kai' contains nouns and verbs - each making different tonal pronunciation.

The few objects/verbs making sounds in Thai 'alphabet' that I can remember are:

ko-kai ~ chicken
kho khai ~ egg
to-pah-tak ~ spear
yo-yim ~ smile
yo-yak ~ ogre
pho-phan ~ tray
tho thahan ~ soldier

Tell me, are they random or what? And tell me, aren't ko kai and kho khai the same? Apparently they are NOT!!!

This is an ogre, yo yak, one of the consonants to learn. Their statues are commonly found in temples. They are mythical. How do I explain this to Gooly? Imagine explaining err... 18 lorhon or 8 sin gor hoi to a 5 year old?

And I haven't even point out the 'wormy' ways of writing them. Or some people call it 'taugeh'. They look freaking same to me!!


How can such a puny letter contain a three syllabic i.e. "tor pah tak" word? *scratch head*

I learn that upon graduating from these 44 consonants (I don't know why they are called consonants; they sure don't look like consonants to me), they will combine these words with vowels which make new words.

Do I dare to confuse US with the bowel vowels system?

What the heck.. Let's pengsan together.

There are five vowels which can be combined to produce diphthongs which make another 26 sounds.

HAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHAHAH...

What did I just say? I have no idea.

Oh, and they have no full stops. And no spaces between each word.

*rub hands with glee* I am so excited about learning something so foreign.

Yeah right... Do I have to? I don't, right? I mean, I am not the one going to school. Right, Gooly? You can do it on your own, right? You don't need my help, right?

RIGHT!

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Au Naturale

Gooly sleeps early and thus we wake early with ample time to chat, have a hearty breakfast, and to even take a stroll downstairs, where flowers and trees and bushes are abundant.


This morning, we stopped to look at aphids and stigmas on flowers.

I stooped low to magnify a white dainty flower which scientific name is probably whitica pofularis (don't trust me so much, y'all.) "Very pretty," I said and smiled. And Gooly squatted next to me, inspecting God's creation too.

Very swiftly, he plucked the tiny bloom and handed it to me. "For you, mahmee." It was really sweet. Saccharine sweet.

(Ok-lah, I knew he wasn't supposed to pluck. And I did tell him to pick flowers on the ground for me next time.)

I like the idea that the teacher in school made up this 'super spies' game, where lil' rascals like mine are encouraged to stop and smell the flowers or inspect creepy crawlies - observe nature, in short.

You know what.. I have been living in Bangkok for close to 4 years now. I have never been to foot massages.. or any spa thingy. It's just not my cup of tea (I drink coffee anyways.) My therapy is au naturale - smelling flowers and smiling children. (Read: I am kiamsiap.)

Here's one flower for each of you. Be careful.. knowing me...there might just be a bee waiting to sting on your nose.


Oh, ya..you need to do a handstand to enjoy the beautiful flower.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Random Jobs

When I swim, my head goes underwater, and 1001 thoughts flash before my eyes.

For example..

I thought about security guards. And if any of them had silently wished that some major catastrophe happens during their shift just so that they ..you know.. don't feel so bored.

Adventurous stuff like.. an anaconda slithering into a chicken coop.

Or..spooky stuff like.. hell, I don't want to think about it. And YOU don't have to tell me about it either.

So!

And then they have stories to blog, instead of sitting all night, wondering if they should pee at 3 am or 3.02 am. Boring..boring.

Speaking of boring-ness, which is the world's most boring job? A toll collector? Or a lift-presser? I kid you not.. there is/was such a job. Remember Asia Jaya? We used to go there for bowling cum longkang sessions. And in the lift, there was a man, who sat on a stool whose job was to press the buttons of the lift which comprised of number 1 - 6 for all patrons.

And he spoke good English! "Which floor? Bowling is on the 6th.." though his voice was kinda dreamy and robotic.

Hmm......

What else?

Clowns! Why would anyone want to be clowns? Ronald, can you tell me?

Does your mom tell you that RED and YELLOW don't match?

And what's with the curly frizzy hair?

And the sausaged lips?

And the gargantuan shoes?

And the horrid looking bulbous nose?

Can't you just twist balloons and make flowers disappear without the clownish make-up?

Seriously.. kids get scared, you know. Geesh!

Ok, ok.. fine. I get scared.

Clowns and chicken breast meat. Blek. Me no like.

Am I random or are you wearing a condom? Not that it matters.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Stories for my son

We have this book called Martin and Tommy, given by a dear friend. Out of habit, I checked the blurb and oh my.. it was written in the 1920s. It's ancient! Almost a collector's item. Of course, it is a reprint, but still, the idea of having a story dated before WW1 is cool.

Equally interesting is that the book was written by the author when his son was admitted into the hospital. As he would visit him everyday, he would bring a drawing or a short story to keep the boy entertained.

Probably inspired or influenced by the author, I have been writing stories for Gooly too. He likes reading stories with him as the protagonist.

Now that he is in school, he asks every morning, "Can you write me a story?"

And this is what I have been doing. Writing stories for him every morning. I do ask what kind of stories he would like. So far, he has asked for dinosaur stories, detective stories and today he wanted a bicycle story.

I know this has enticed him to read more. He enjoys 'his' stories a lot - feeling proud when I made him the hero and happy when I write about fun times with his friends.

This is really a two-fold approach - he reads more and is interested to write. I even included a cliff hanger for today's story. I will ask him how to end it later tonight.

Every night, we read the stories I have written especially for him. Sometimes he illustrates for me.

"I need to sleep so I can dream about your story for tomorrow," I tell him. It makes better sense than 'inspiration'. Thus, he hurries off to sleep so I can sleep too with the mission of dreaming about his stories. How convenient. :-)

I like it when he says, "Write a story for me please when I am in school," because when I do, he knows I am thinking of him (and missing him a little).

It takes just 5 minutes of my morning schedule to write him a simple story. His exuberance and smiles when reading it - priceless.

If you are 4 and below, read the stories here. (Only two stories. The rest were penned.)

Do you exercise?

It's almost 9am. In the past two hours, I have:
a. served breakfast
b. done the laundry
c. had a brisk walk for 25 mins
e. had an apple
f. done some house chores
g. taken a bath

..with a few minutes to spare to 'fatt ngau tau.'

I have heard in some cities, people get stuck in traffic every single freaking day for 1 - 2 hours. 3, on some very 'kns' days. Look at my list for what we can accomplish in 2 hours, again.

It's frustratingly absurd to have that kinda of lifestyle - no time to exercise, no time to eat properly, no time for loved ones. Instead, they get stuck in the car listening to Taj My Baldi repeatedly on the radio (eh, btw, now hing what song?), or worse, korek hidung.

My Utopia will be a work place with a gym and a childcare service downstairs.

*use loud speaker and holler* Bosses and CEOs, do you care for your employees' general well-being?

I guess not because like Utopia, caring bosses don't exist.

I am not a health freak. The thing is my ahbu is not exactly the pink of health. It pains us to watch her in pain.

I am a wife, a daughter and a mother. The least I can do to love my family is to love and take care of myself.

Sure, some people drop dead even when they exercise regularly, eat healthily, don't smoke, don't drink, don't whore. People die all the time, and when I do, at least I can say I didn't make it happen.

When younger, doing the elementary stuff like eating fruits and drinking water were so taken granted for. Now it's a responsibility.

How do you take care of yourself? I don't mean pampering stuff like doing a manicure, having facials or massages. Neither do I mean a Brazilian wax. I mean like.. the most dreaded thing for most of us - exercise? And eating an apple a day? Banana? Oranges? Durians

I know more than half of my friends and family don't.

:(

Monday, September 7, 2009

What I learned today

As of now, the schedule for school days is as follows:

7 am- the alarm blares

7.20 am - power breakfast is served

7.45 am - leaves compound for school

8am - 3.30 pm - ji yau woot tung (chats, swims, blogs, walks naked in the apartment , irons, etc. - making it sound like I am very busy)

3.40 pm - reaches home

3.45 - 4.30 pm - my favourite part of the day. He reports to me what he learns in school, sings for me, gossips with me (Today Sonia joins the class. She is pretty. *chuckles*). I ask what he ate for lunch and snacks, and if he poo poo-ed. These are all very important details to me.

4.40 - 6.00 pm - meets Ada downstairs either to swim, run , cycle, feed the fish or play sand.

6.30 pm - dinner. 3 dishes. Burp.

7.30 pm - story time and lotsa cuddles.

8.00 pm - soft breathing and light snores can be heard.

I know later on the 3.45 - 4.30 pm slot will be replaced with 'staring on the ceiling, totally ignoring mom' session.

Yes, that will come later.

And so I am enjoying every bits of it now. Even if I have to do the Hokey Pokey again and again.

*sings*

You put your left foot in, you put your left foot out..
Lalallalala...
Do the hokey pookey..pookey? Pokey..pooki?

Dang.. gotta ask him again tommorow. :P

Saturday, September 5, 2009

This ship called friendship

Before Ada, life is pretty much the same. Same old stuff every day.

After knowing Ada...... oh my! Yes, same old stuff every day but with lots more energy and feelings and zest!

Gooly wakes and asks, "Is Ada waiting for me to go to school?" Meanwhile, Ada wakes and asks, "Is Gooly waiting for me to go to school?"

Both mummies nod their heads and wonder if they will ever get bored of each other.

Look, they go to school together. They come back home together. As soon as they get off the car, they ask permission to play together again. Totally inseparable!

Once, I said NO because......... (I needed to cook, I think). Gooly pulled a long face, looked out the window which faces Ada's block and sighed, "Ada~~~"

*chuckle*

When he eats something - nuts or whatever, he always keeps some for her. He would put it in his pocket. At the rendezvous, they run towards each other with Ada shouting his name aloud, and him, "I got something for you, Ada....." It's like they haven't seen each other for years, when in actual fact, they just met half an hour ago.

We, mummies, sometimes shake our heads, roll our eyes.. and smile.

Knowing that he sayang Ada so much lets me know that he has learned life's important stuff - be empathetic, be sympathetic, be happy, be loving, be caring, be sensitive, and most importantly, be himself..

I don't know what cosmic power takes place when two strangers meet and become friends, but I marvel at its formation. It brings so much joy.

I know, cos I have a few pals myself too. *wink wink*

Read more stories about Ada here, here, there, and how we met, here.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Tales from school

On the third day...

"I helped Meena to write. She doesn't know how to write FOUR."

"Did Meena ask for help?"

"Nope!"

"(Hmmmm....) Did teacher ask you to help?"

"Nope!"

"(Dang!) You finished your work, and had nothing to do?"

"Nope!"

*pengsan* Did you have time to finish your work?

"Yup! I was the first to finish."

*phew~* "Err.. why don't you finish your work first, then you help your friends.. and that is also if they needed help."

Gooly oh gooly... of all things, you are 8 like mahmee.. (CY, nei hoe yeh..)

Anyways, MIL has been pressurizing that he be moved to K2. I'm not so gung ho about that. Sure, the work sheets may be easy (except for Thai and Mandarin). But there is always a learning opportunity. For his case, learning not to be cocky, to be helpful and be positive.

He is still a child. When he is overwhelmed by academic stuff, I don't think both of us will have time to focus on elementary things like, being a human. A nice one, that is.

Maybe I am not ambitious. *shrugs*


***

Yesterday I rummaged thru his pocket and found an empty plastic marshmallow wrapper. "Oh, he didn't litter," was my first thought because he kept it in his pocket to be thrown away.

When he saw me holding the wrapper, he quickly grabbed it and threw it in the bin while saying, "It's rubbish.. It's not for you. Wait.. I got something else for you." And he handed me a folded paper star.

That's strange. I was a bit suspicious about his stealthy and swift actions.

Later on, I found out from Ada's mom, that he had intended to keep that marshmallow for me. But he couldn't resist it, and gulped it down in the car.

When teased, "I thought that was for your mom," he retorted, "Cannot.. it will get rotten."

Amboi.. pandai cari alasan.


*sigh* Thus, the stealth mode when he tried to discard the evidence.

Btw, the paper star was a 'kemek' one.

Lapsap! (rubbish) for mahmee, huh? Marshmallows you eat, huh? Nei hoe yeh, Gooly..


Note: I have considered stopping this blog once he starts school because it is another chapter of our life. I thought closing it would be a significant end for his pre-school years. But looks like we are gonna be around for awhile. His stories at school are priceless. :-)

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Sofa so good

On the second day, he invited me to read his books again lest I feel bored. And he wanted to know what I do at home whilst he is in school.

Oh, the usual... I told him.

"Do you buy water?" (We buy filtered water from the dispenser. He helps carrying the kettle. Just so to give him some responsibility at home.)

"Oh yes, I do."

"By yourself?"

I nodded.

"Maybe you wait for me to come home, and I can help you."

Awww....

And this morning, he asked if I would be waiting for him at the lobby when he comes home, like yesterday. Of course, I told him.

"When you are tired standing, you can sit down, ok?"

Aww, son.. Don't fuss over me. I can take care of myself. Don't 'mother' me. I'll be fine. Don't worry....

Ok ok.. To tell the truth, I love his concerns and sweet words. Continue pouring sugar on me, and lather me with love. Goolymama likes. ;-)

And when his ride came, he clambered on and launched his morning chats with Ada, almost forgetting to say Bye Bye to me.

Oh, I haven't kissed him yet! Ah.. but decided not to. It's too schmatlzy. It's the 3rd day already, mahmee! Let him go! *pull our white hankerchief* Bye~ Have fun! (Remember to drink water - this I didn't say cos I don't want to be lor-sore.)

So far...so good. :-)

Btw, Sofa So Good is a name of a shop selling ..what else but sofas? It's in Jatujak. Clever, eh?

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Mari Main Bersama Gooly - Comments fixed

Gooly has many female friends. Not intentional. But believe me, the ratio between boys and girls is so unbalanced. Finding boys to play is really hard. Finding boys who speak English...haih.. It's like finding Nemo in a swamp.

Oh, I am talking about my apartment here. When he goes to school, I am sure it will be better.

So, he plays with girls. And on numerous occasions, I have been told by parents that he is gentle and non-violent and that he behaves like a perfect gentleman.

Oh, how do boys play? I asked. Cos ..

1. I am not a boy

2. There aren't many boy samples around.

So I don't know how boys play. I only heard about rough and tough, tumble and fall.

Heck.. I don't even know how girls play. I think I have simply forgotten how to play. My idea of play involves:

a. a ball
b. some paints and paper
c. feet
d. hand
e. and your other body parts

So anyway.. Ada came over the other day. I don't think I was a good host. I didn't organize any games. But I don't think they needed any assistance. They went on an imaginary boat ride, hunted some monsters and drew some pictures.


Then they went downstairs and ran in circles.

The fun they had was not gender-based, I realized. There were not stereotyped games like princesses or sword fighting.

And what was most important was the kindness they shared for each other. When Gooly drew a car which resembled a snake, Ada said, "Very nice!"

And when Ada hatched some eggs, Gooly helped to feed her chicks, without scoffing the idea of 'sissy-ness'. He layan-ed her to be nice.

They spent the whole afternoon together. No bickering.. no fighting.. no tears. When Ada's mom came to pick her up, she suggested that Gooly goes over to their place. It's my turn to have a few hours sans the kids, she said. :-)

Choosing the right friends is so important. I found a good friend and Gooly has his, all within the same vicinity. Perrfect!

Daywid Laterman Show - Comments open

Click *turns on TV*

D: Today we hap a zesty boy 'ere at the studio. Good morning, Gooly.. Au are you today?

G: I'mmmmmm super duper fine! Gooood morning to you! *wink* Helloh, ahmah! *wave wave*

D: Do you always wake up early? Are you always the first?

G: Yippity yup! The early birds get the worms. *wink* Why waste the morning away sleeping? I ask my mama that a lot. She doesn't have the answer. So she continues sleeping. *sigh*

D: Why do you wake so early? Is there something important to do?

G: Are you kidding me? You don't wake because there is something to do. You wake because sleep is boring! *roll eyes*

D: Tell me, are you always bursting with yenergy? Do you yewer get tired?

G: I don't know about 'bursting', but why do adults yawn so much?

D: Good question. *yawn* Do you yewer wake up feeling moody?

G: Moody? Is that Prof. Moody from Harry Potter?

D: Uhm.. never mind. Are you always happy, even in the morning?

G: I don't know the opposite of happy.. so does that mean my answer is YES?

D: Can you teach us to be like you? Yernergetic, optimistic and happy in the morning?

G: Easy.. One, don't sleep so much. Two, don't think you need THAT much sleep. Three, cute under wears.

D: Do your parents play a role in shaping your positive outlook of life?

G: No comment.

D: Thank you for your time and viewers (readers), FYI, cute under wears can be bought at pasar malam.

(crocodile brand underwear flashes on screen)

G: Is this the part I take off my pants?

*transmission ends*


Schizophrenic Psychopath strikes again. Of course everything is imaginary. But seriously, he is always irritatingly happy and chirpy and wakeful. Dimgai?

First Day

The night before -toss and turn.. turn and toss.. Wee wee in the wee hours... Gosh!

The anxiety.. My! My!

It was from me, not him. He was safely tucked in bed as early as 8.30pm. I went online to seek solace. Discussed with Edamame about the silliest things i.e if wearing singlet is too nerdy for a 4 yr old, what kinda hanky designs I got for him, and most importantly, will he know how to pangsai in school?

I think I dozed off after going through the list of things to bring to school for the hundredth time..just in time to wake again.

He sprang out of bed as usual.. put on his handsome attire. But oh dear.. mana itu tie? Not even at school yet, and he lost it already? Disaster! (found it in his bag later on. I put it in the night before. Tee hee!)



We got downstairs to hitch a ride from Ada. One minute to the appointed time, he said, "I think I want to pangsai.." Disaster again! Good thing that he does his thang fast, like me.

Got into school..steady..

Went for assembly..they started the National Anthem.. there were wailing and bawling from the younger children. He was still..steady. A bit confused and uncomfortable..but still steady.

Then the music came on for Senamrobik. That's when he turned around and with quivering lips, said, "Mahmee... I don't like the loud music."

"I'm hungry.."

"I'm itchy.."

"I'm hot..."

And macam macam lagi. I told him calmly that I can't stay because the supermarket is closing. Haha... Chisin..

He blinked away his tears. And pushed me gently and said in a pitiful voice, "You better go then.."

Wuah.. my hati sakit. And swell with pride that he was trying so hard to be brave.

I didn't go to the supermarket actually. Of course.. cos it wasn't even opened yet. I went and spied on him in the class room through the glass door.

Ah.. there he is. *smile* Oh.. he is dancing the chicken dance. *smile* Ooh... reading aloud. Good good...

And with a heavy heart, I left. Alone. Empty.

..to the supermarket. Walking aimlessly. Feeling a little lonely.

..wondering again and again, "Oh, will he drink water? Aiyo, does he know how to tell teacher if he needs to wee wee? Oh..he better doesn't say 'pangsai', teacher doesn't know what is 'pangsai'... Enough food or not for lunch?"

And that's when I put in fruits, and yogurts and bread, and vegetables and some fish into the cart, deciding to cook POWER BREAKFAST from tomorrow onwards to compensate what's lacking in his lunch package at school.

I went to the toys section also. I usually dread this aisle cos it's so boring. But I went to buy the dinosaur fossils which he so wanted. There was a lady there, choosing some other toys. We smiled at each other.. and I dunno why, I told her, "It's my son's first day of school."

She smiled and awww-ed a little.

It's a bit weird, I know. I should be celebrating my freedom. But, losing my 'shadow' is quite daunting.

When I went to pick him up, he beamed so much that I felt I have never been missed so much by anyone before. He was happy, but confessed that he cried a little. He slapped his forehead and said, "Disaster again!"

Oh, son.. not at all. In fact, it was such a huge success! Your first day of school was a breeze.. You made us proud. Look:


Finally loaded up! I displayed the dinosaurs on his black board to surprise him.

Today is the second day. I didn't even go to school with him. He waved cheerily in Ada's car. I smiled so much that my jaws ached.

Brave and confident and independent - the essence of being a grown -up boy.

You are officially one grown-up boy, son. :)

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