Aunt S felt weak at the MRT Station this morning and the station control officers very kindly arranged for a ambulance to send her to A&E. As she was running a slight fever as well, her symptoms were initially diagnosed as minor-stroke which worried all of us.
When I visited her at the hospital in the evening, I was happy to note that she looked and sounded normal. She was due to take a MRI scan of her brain to assess whether there was stroke.
In any case, I gently told her that this was a wake-up call she should heed and suggested that she find time to join us in our weekend taiji and leisure activities both to find some exercise and to relax.
Post-Note at Noon, 29 Sep 09
Aunt Sherry is being discharged now. According to Cousin Jing, who just visited her, "Everything seems fine".
28.9.09
20.9.09
Celebrating Mum's Birthday
Mum's big day today. The birthday lunch was Crystal Jade at Terminal 2.
Mum loves to take photos amongst colourful flowers.
It was the Hari Raya period so the airport had thoughtfully set up related themes for photography.
Mum loves to take photos amongst colourful flowers.
It was the Hari Raya period so the airport had thoughtfully set up related themes for photography.
It was also F1 fever.
And for a single receipt of more than $20, you get to ride a electric go-kart.
Dad on his go kart.
This is the closest mum will ever get to driving a car!
And for a single receipt of more than $20, you get to ride a electric go-kart.
Dad on his go kart.
This is the closest mum will ever get to driving a car!13.9.09
10.9.09
Penang - Journey back to 80s Singapore
As befitting my middle-age status, I sometimes reminisce about my childhood years, trying to sieve through an increasingly foggy memory to recall memories, sights and sounds of yesteryears. And it is getting more and more difficult. Visiting places to jolt the memory is no use because most of the pre-war buildings that we frequented have been either torn down or refurbished losing its flavour as a result.
One of my more vivid recollections is visiting the Upper Bukit Timah area quite often in my childhood. That was because it was the nearest shopping belt apart from going to the city or Chinatown. The belt-stretch starts where the Ten-Mile Junction is sited now and extends all the way to where MINDEF is. Shops and buildings do extend both ways from this stretch but are less busy and patronised.
This row of two-storey shophouses was where our books, school shoes, spectacles etc. were purchased. On the eastern side behind the row of shophouses, there used to be small hills and I recall mum bringing me to visit a quite famous sinseh (TCM practioner) when I was unwell. There were also many coffeeshops with most of them at the corner streets where traffic was the busiest.
So I felt immediately at home and extremely nostalgic at Penang precisely because of of its 80s Singapore feel. The old-ness, the faded colours, the five-foot way, all of which seemed to have leapt off the pages of my memory.
The smell and taste of the food were delicious linkages to small and obscure bits of episodes filed away in my mind. The greying rain-stained building facade were exactly the ones I saw in 80s Singapore. Walking along the five-foot way, surveying the goods on display, dodging some of the items hung on the ceiling, the expectant look of the shopkeepers at passerbys.
To complete the adventure, we hopped onto a trishaw and it turned out the appropriate, albeit overpriced, thing to do. The slowness of the trishaw complemented the feel of the area around Campbell Street which are dotted with many UNESCO heritage sites.
One of my more vivid recollections is visiting the Upper Bukit Timah area quite often in my childhood. That was because it was the nearest shopping belt apart from going to the city or Chinatown. The belt-stretch starts where the Ten-Mile Junction is sited now and extends all the way to where MINDEF is. Shops and buildings do extend both ways from this stretch but are less busy and patronised.
This row of two-storey shophouses was where our books, school shoes, spectacles etc. were purchased. On the eastern side behind the row of shophouses, there used to be small hills and I recall mum bringing me to visit a quite famous sinseh (TCM practioner) when I was unwell. There were also many coffeeshops with most of them at the corner streets where traffic was the busiest.
So I felt immediately at home and extremely nostalgic at Penang precisely because of of its 80s Singapore feel. The old-ness, the faded colours, the five-foot way, all of which seemed to have leapt off the pages of my memory.
The smell and taste of the food were delicious linkages to small and obscure bits of episodes filed away in my mind. The greying rain-stained building facade were exactly the ones I saw in 80s Singapore. Walking along the five-foot way, surveying the goods on display, dodging some of the items hung on the ceiling, the expectant look of the shopkeepers at passerbys.
To complete the adventure, we hopped onto a trishaw and it turned out the appropriate, albeit overpriced, thing to do. The slowness of the trishaw complemented the feel of the area around Campbell Street which are dotted with many UNESCO heritage sites.
9.9.09
乡愁 -- 余光中
小时候, 乡愁是一枚小小的邮票,
我在这头, 母亲在那头；
长大后, 乡愁是一张窄窄的船票,
我在这头, 新娘在那头；
后来呵, 乡愁是一方矮矮的坟墓,
我在外头, 母亲在里头；
而现在, 乡愁是一湾浅浅的海峡,
我在这头, 大陆在那头。
我在这头, 母亲在那头；
长大后, 乡愁是一张窄窄的船票,
我在这头, 新娘在那头；
后来呵, 乡愁是一方矮矮的坟墓,
我在外头, 母亲在里头；
而现在, 乡愁是一湾浅浅的海峡,
我在这头, 大陆在那头。
4.9.09
不管
张雨生有一首歌叫《不管》。 歌里面唱到：不管，不管，让我们交换，你才知我心酸。
想到这两个字，和这首歌，是母亲告诉我一段关于她和外公的故事。父母结婚之后便在外公家住了下来。后来，有了下一代之后便买了政府组屋搬了出去。外公为此不高兴。
有一天，在邻里的湿巴刹碰面，外公转过了身子，不睬母亲。母亲说她眼泪霎那间便流了下来。
===========
当然，后来他们都合好了，我记得小时候母亲常带我们三兄弟搭巴士去拜访外公外婆。当时外公外婆开杂货店，我们三个便在那里玩上好几个小时。
父母与子女那里会有隔夜仇，只是一时面子过不去。雨生的另外一首歌说得很好，《我最疼爱的人伤我最深》。
人生是马拉松，日子还长，一切都可能改变，只是时间的长短。
很久沒和爸爸貼心交談,
卻發現他動作滄桑緩慢,
滿臉皺紋漫長,
見證我成長
內疚也心酸,
時間太趕,愛得太晚
想見的人,待到燈火也闌珊
為了不平凡,
忙忙忙會讓人盲.
贏到了風光,
輸去了我的心肝,
生命苦短,
人不過是人,
世界有太多東西流轉.
別把風景搬上天堂.
想到这两个字，和这首歌，是母亲告诉我一段关于她和外公的故事。父母结婚之后便在外公家住了下来。后来，有了下一代之后便买了政府组屋搬了出去。外公为此不高兴。
有一天，在邻里的湿巴刹碰面，外公转过了身子，不睬母亲。母亲说她眼泪霎那间便流了下来。
===========
当然，后来他们都合好了，我记得小时候母亲常带我们三兄弟搭巴士去拜访外公外婆。当时外公外婆开杂货店，我们三个便在那里玩上好几个小时。
父母与子女那里会有隔夜仇，只是一时面子过不去。雨生的另外一首歌说得很好，《我最疼爱的人伤我最深》。
人生是马拉松，日子还长，一切都可能改变，只是时间的长短。
很久沒和爸爸貼心交談,
卻發現他動作滄桑緩慢,
滿臉皺紋漫長,
見證我成長
內疚也心酸,
時間太趕,愛得太晚
想見的人,待到燈火也闌珊
為了不平凡,
忙忙忙會讓人盲.
贏到了風光,
輸去了我的心肝,
生命苦短,
人不過是人,
世界有太多東西流轉.
別把風景搬上天堂.
3.9.09
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