Last Saturday was one of those moments when dad and I had an urge to drive to Miri just for makan angin - to have breakfast at 2020, a coffee stopover at Ipoh Kopitiam for dad's favourite kuay tiaw soup and olang tengok olang at the Bintang Plaza. My mother was visiting, so we took her along. We zoomed for 2 hrs and reached Miri at 8.15 am - met Sebugey, apai Jill and my aunt for breakfast at 2020. Daphne and Cris joined us later and as we were exchanging family news, along came my cousin Mary, the DJ Mary Bajang. Food was good and the company was excellent - it was indeed a very pleasurable way to spend Saturday morning. So here are our pictures folks....
The DJ berindu kasih with my mum and aunt.
Nama, nama utai ke diketawa?Mum is suffering from leg pain and despite several visits to our local gps, her condition has not improved. So I took her to see a doctor as well - Sebugey recommended a gp, so I took her there - the doc said there's something wrong with her nerves and she also has osteoathritis. Mum was given glucosamine on top of a jab and painkillers. Next was to visit my father's grave. While my family and I visit my father's grave frequently (this is our 2nd visit for the year), mum has not been there for years. After praying, mum said (to my dad) "Nyamai nuan diatu wai, udah di serega." Then she told me of her dream some years ago. "Udah din apai nuan Yang, aku kala bemimpi meda niang apai nuan biak amat, begulai enggau apai Jini". (Jini is Sebugey, or as aki Lakam called her, "Gini") Mum continued "Niang apai nuan enda bejaku enggau aku. Kami ka mindah maya nya, aku bedau tembu beradu. Meda aku bedau tembu, apai Jini lalu mai apai nuan mupuk. "Tinggalka Jeburi nya, lama amat iya", pia ku niang madi aku", said mum. Puji Tuhan indai, niang apai enggau niang madi nuan udah di serega ku aku.
Flowers for a much-loved and still-missed father. Apai, may you rest in peace.
On the way home we stopped at Niah, tanah ai menua aku. It's the beginning of durian season at my kampung, so we had durian for tea. My sister served us a late lunch - belauk tubu undang, daun ubi kusuk, buah dabai, chabi guring gulai belacan, daun ensabi enggau kari rusa rusi....anang ngining kita..(Sebugey enda ngining, enda nemu belauk daun babas iya). My aunt, my mum's younger sister arrived from Miri and we had a pleasant time berandau. My folks wanted us to stay for the night but dadi insisted on going back, pasal apa, pasal mau tengok football match Manchester United vs Malaysia live from Bukit Jalil. Now, at this very moment as I am blogging, he is watching the 2nd match...
This is our dabai, fruiting. Soon its harvest time... nyamai amat dabai kami tu.
Rambutan is also fruiting.
At the background is the kuini tree I used to climb when I was in my junior secondary. The tree must be about four decades old now. I didn't climb the kuini tree for the fruit, I climbed it to outdo my cousin Raphael in singing. Raphael's house was by the hillside, across the road from ours, so when he sang his voice could be heard from my house. Piqued that his voice could be heard loudly and because yours sincerely thought she could sing better than Raphael, she climbed to the top of the kuini tree and sang at the top of her decibels...sampai nyau raguk rekung, ba dadak.Raphael was my punching bag, when I played hooky during my kindergarden years, I splashed mud on my uniform and told my mom it was Raphael who did that, so that was why I just had to go home. I couldn't very well stay in class with a dirty dress, I told my mom. See, awal-awal saya sudah belajar jadi luyar buruk. After many incidents, my mom wised up and I was given a good thrashing. When we walked home from school and the bigger boys and girls ran fast and left us smaller kids behind, I cried and told my mom Raphael was the bad guy - I blamed him squarely. When I lost to him playing ingka-ingka, running and swimming, I made faces at him and called him "Reno" - Reno was a derogatory name, Raphael hated the name. Despite those childhood spates, Raphael did not hold any grudge against me. We are still friends to this day. Raphael got himself a good wife and has beautiful kids, praise the Lord. And the luyar buruk became a real lawyer, still brash at times (a throw back to those mischievious growing up years) but God-fearing, mostly solemn and serious, sensitive but forgiving, stubborn at times but has a lot of love to give and determined, at times wont take no for an answer and worked to achieving it with or without others' help - did I tell you I dug our very first fish pond (10 ft x 3 ft) - got my maid to help me, just because dadi said no, no fish pond. See, I was so in love with the koi fish, I must have them and build a pond for them at the front yard. Dadi said no, not interested in that and refused to help. But when he saw me and my maid nyangkul penyangkul, he said "Stop that. Ba dik pama, pama, enda ulih enda dititihka"... so next day he got me some workers and a week later my pond was all done....Despite the trying times with my antics over the years, dadi, during the silver jubilee celebration, thanked my mum for giving him ME for a wife ....wee wit, pama meh, ku Jumau.
