yang and monah
yang gemma and monahThe last 2 days saw me in not quite a normal state of mind.
I have made my mind that ‘No’, I’m not going.
But my conversation with Emak last Sunday was something that I couldn’t just ignored or forget. I imagined if I was on the phone, talking to Yang, how would I feel hearing him crying at the other end, would I be able to say things that comforted him, or would I just keep quiet, or do I sob, too? I have heard from many people that taking care of sick people, people with citical illinesses, requires
patience, lots and lots of it. It wasn’t easy listening to Emak’s strory as what told by Yang to her. I can say I understand Yang Gemma and how she feels, but actually I didn’t. I do not know how painful it, is going through chemptheraphy, and later foound out that your body cannot stand it, and in the end, you need to take oral medication to replace it. How painful it is , not being able to stand on your own and be the strong woman, she was once ( she is still strong , ar very determined one, I know). She was once a popular and respected teacher, once made her name in the Who’s Who list in her field. Her figure may be small, but her dreams and her achievements were big. She quit teaching, and decided that she wanted to stay at home and taught her own daughter to master
the subject/world that she knows best: world of mathematics.
She became her daughter’s chaeffeur, driving her here and there, from soccer ( yes, her daughter plays soccer), to violin class, to karate class, to Russian language class, everywhere). I once accompanied my sister to a private clinic that was referrred to her by her student’s parents (both are also medical doctors).
The nurse was not very interested in seeing us, just gave my sister a brief glimpse, and then proceeded with the formal /standard questions, till she asked about who referred her there and so forth.
Upon hearing that she was once a lecturer, and now a private high school teacher at that particular school, I saw her expressions changed. I swear that her eyes brighten up, she looked down ( the nurse, is of of course tall, very, very tall, and my sister is very very small) on my sister, and as if she hadn’t seen her before, she again looked, but with a different perception, I guess. I think she was so impressed to learn that this tiny woman is the one that has been talked so much among the parents whose children won some mathematics quizzes at the national level. I was so proud of her.
When I was in uni, she would send me boxes of books (novels, encyclpedia) from US, and she would even write captions/descriptions for the photos she sent me. Also, she made me a subscriber to national Geography magazine, I miskin masa tu, mana ada duit rm100 nak subscribe, heheh..
She even renewed it for a year after that.
Well, of course, the 2 trips I made to the US previously was made possible by her. Oh, and all my decent clothes ( blouses, jeans, slacks, boots) were bought while I was there and it last until I graduated , I think.
if not because I gained some meat later on in life, I would have worn all the clothes till now, I guess..
I didn’t even realized that she had bought me all the branded stuffs, even I myself wouldn’t have bought for me, now. I mean, I would not spend rm400 on a pair of jeans, or USD125 on a pants from Liz Clairborne. So, if you see me wearing a levi, or Calvin Klein, Rockport boots, or T-shirts, or a Liz Clairborne, it’s not from my pocket money. All were sponsored!
I had the ‘best’est time of my life travelling across the US too. I didn’t study there, though some of my friends thought I did. I studied in the UM of KL.
The first trip was with my parents and younger sister and started from the West Coast, cross-country all the way from LA,Ca to Festus, Missouri. My parents got to the southern part, and then to Orlando in Miami, crossing the other states like South Dakota, etc. I didn’t get to see Mt. Rusmore, isk, isk.
I came back earlier cause it was time to register for the Asasi Sains Hayat in UM on late June 1992.
I have made my mind that ‘No’, I’m not going.
But my conversation with Emak last Sunday was something that I couldn’t just ignored or forget. I imagined if I was on the phone, talking to Yang, how would I feel hearing him crying at the other end, would I be able to say things that comforted him, or would I just keep quiet, or do I sob, too? I have heard from many people that taking care of sick people, people with citical illinesses, requires
patience, lots and lots of it. It wasn’t easy listening to Emak’s strory as what told by Yang to her. I can say I understand Yang Gemma and how she feels, but actually I didn’t. I do not know how painful it, is going through chemptheraphy, and later foound out that your body cannot stand it, and in the end, you need to take oral medication to replace it. How painful it is , not being able to stand on your own and be the strong woman, she was once ( she is still strong , ar very determined one, I know). She was once a popular and respected teacher, once made her name in the Who’s Who list in her field. Her figure may be small, but her dreams and her achievements were big. She quit teaching, and decided that she wanted to stay at home and taught her own daughter to master
the subject/world that she knows best: world of mathematics.
She became her daughter’s chaeffeur, driving her here and there, from soccer ( yes, her daughter plays soccer), to violin class, to karate class, to Russian language class, everywhere). I once accompanied my sister to a private clinic that was referrred to her by her student’s parents (both are also medical doctors).
The nurse was not very interested in seeing us, just gave my sister a brief glimpse, and then proceeded with the formal /standard questions, till she asked about who referred her there and so forth.
Upon hearing that she was once a lecturer, and now a private high school teacher at that particular school, I saw her expressions changed. I swear that her eyes brighten up, she looked down ( the nurse, is of of course tall, very, very tall, and my sister is very very small) on my sister, and as if she hadn’t seen her before, she again looked, but with a different perception, I guess. I think she was so impressed to learn that this tiny woman is the one that has been talked so much among the parents whose children won some mathematics quizzes at the national level. I was so proud of her.
When I was in uni, she would send me boxes of books (novels, encyclpedia) from US, and she would even write captions/descriptions for the photos she sent me. Also, she made me a subscriber to national Geography magazine, I miskin masa tu, mana ada duit rm100 nak subscribe, heheh..
She even renewed it for a year after that.
Well, of course, the 2 trips I made to the US previously was made possible by her. Oh, and all my decent clothes ( blouses, jeans, slacks, boots) were bought while I was there and it last until I graduated , I think.
if not because I gained some meat later on in life, I would have worn all the clothes till now, I guess..
I didn’t even realized that she had bought me all the branded stuffs, even I myself wouldn’t have bought for me, now. I mean, I would not spend rm400 on a pair of jeans, or USD125 on a pants from Liz Clairborne. So, if you see me wearing a levi, or Calvin Klein, Rockport boots, or T-shirts, or a Liz Clairborne, it’s not from my pocket money. All were sponsored!
I had the ‘best’est time of my life travelling across the US too. I didn’t study there, though some of my friends thought I did. I studied in the UM of KL.
The first trip was with my parents and younger sister and started from the West Coast, cross-country all the way from LA,Ca to Festus, Missouri. My parents got to the southern part, and then to Orlando in Miami, crossing the other states like South Dakota, etc. I didn’t get to see Mt. Rusmore, isk, isk.
I came back earlier cause it was time to register for the Asasi Sains Hayat in UM on late June 1992.
the 3 of usThe 2nd time I was there, n a special assignment. She was scheduled for operation to remove her fibroid, and not long after that, we travelled from the mid-west to the east part of the country. It was great to see the Appalachian mountain ranges in the Pennsylvania ( among other things like the Statue of Liberty, United nation, and yes, the World Trade Centre!).
I would also remember following my bother to St Louis and Chicago spices dealer, and bigger oriental outlets there, for supplies of ketchup, japanese tofu, noodles, all sorts of nuts/spices for the indians, bermacam breads for the middle-eastern, even belacan, jalapeno, instant noodles, milo(from Thailand), even Hindi and Korean movie video tapes ( zaman tu tak famous lagi vcd nih..). It was back in 1996.
it was fun, but it was also an eye-opening experience. I knew then that it wasn’t easy for my brother making money. There he was using all his kudrat, lifting all sorts of things, smelling like spices plus belacan, all alone, driving his pick up truck to his grocery store which is like 3-hour drive from their home almost everyday. He has one or two assistants in the shops, they are only part timer. He had been cheated before , by people who also came from the nusantara, where this lady’s husband used her key to ‘break-in ‘ and stole the money. She knew but didn’t do anything. The husband then later caught by the police.
I once heard my brother told someone we met at a shop in Chicago:” My brothers are smartly dressed and they work from 8-5pm. And here I am, working like a dog”. I pity him. He has a degree in accountancy ( he studied in the US, that’s why he was there in the first place), and later did his MBA . It’s just that the economy was so bad in 1997 and he made a choice to stay in the US, and runs a grocery store. I just knew that eventhough it’s not easy for him, at least that ‘s what he wanted to do, and he is satisfied with his little store.
errkk..this is my longest post, yikess..i don’t even think I have the time to edit, so I’m just going to post this..
2 comments:
never is easy to have close relative on cancer and some more it's in the far away land.
ninuk: she had stroke and
then cancer. They later found out that the medication she was prescribed for her stroke, could have activated the cancerous cells.
tu lah, hopefully, by going there, boleh dekatkan hati-hati kami ni balik..
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