Dunno why I like joining in their festivities so much. I guess it’s because somehow it reminded me of my childhood years. You see, during the Chinese New Year, it would always be a big fuss. My aunts would make cakes and biscuits with my grandmother (Father’s side).There would be endless shopping for decorations, new clothes and foods. Eveythough everybody was busy to the max but everyone enjoyed them. Then on the first day of Chinese New Year, all the relatives could come to my grandmother’s house and we would hang out there the whole day and play fire crackers at night.
That’s what I miss the most.
Ever since my grandmother died, relatives have less and less reason to drop by the house to say hello. Who could blame them? Especially when my dad disappears to go fishing and mom goes off to Merudi for the first few days of CNY. Which is why last year I went to Miri with my mom, it’s more festive there but I still miss visiting all my cousins.
I promised my other grandmother (Mother’s side) that I would be in Merudi for the next coming CNY. That is, if my mother and siblings are going too, she can’t expect me to go alone, does she? The boat ride alone from Miri to Merudi is tiring as it is and noisy as hell too.
I didn’t realise I would be so occupied during the Raya season this year. I was confident that I would only be visiting Shikin’s house on the first day of raya and that’s it. Cuz my work place only close for the first day of Raya. I wasn’t planning on doing anymore than that.
Since Effy came back from KL I thought I would just drop by sometime and chit chat, spend
time with Shikin also, since darling Danish keeps her house bound 24/7. And it was fun hanging out at their house helping out whatever.Haha, instead of a normal chit chat, we surfed, traded guitar lessons, put up the new curtains, arranged the furniture. Macam macam ada.
The next day I visited, they were so busy that I ended up cutting cake and putting them in trays. Effy was also tired out, until she lost her temper on a modern broom. Haha! Poor girl was so tired (she only slept at 4am in the living room the previous night.) out that she threw the broom in frustration. Lol! First time I see someone frustrated over a broom. If can, I’ll buy for her a Harry Potter broom stick instead. But remember Effy, Sean Biggerstaff is mine. He’s Andrew’s father you know.
But it was all fun throughout the Raya week. Until mom asked where I’ve been cuz she hardly sees me at home. Haha, even Shikin’s dad joked to his relatives, “There’s the chinese daugther I adopted.” Ai, uncle, from where did you pick me up then? Aku ni dari sampah mana kan? (omg, come to think of it, there’s a huge dumpster around that area too!)
At least uncle’s joke is better than his own daughter. Shikin lagi tah, called me “Amah Shanghai.” Boleh. At first she called me ‘Amah Guang Zao’.
Then I dunno why I replied, “Eh, my ancestors not from Guang Zao ah, they are from Shanghai le.”
Ok, why not? She immediately changed my title to ‘Amah Shanghai’. Not much improvement there. *sigh*
Dammit, for all this I go through, she better freaking give a generous, big fat green packet of ‘duit raya’ to Andrew.
I think it was also partly because Shikin’s grandmother was telling me a little about the past. That back in Shell’s glory days, all the ang moh employees had shiny cars, lived in the bungalows or the Canadian houses and all of them had employed Cantonese maids in white uniforms and long braids. Dun play play, these Cantonese maids could speak good enligsh yo. Haha.
Man, I love talking to old people.They have such interesting stories to tell.
