The Year that is Almost Was

2009 has been a most interesting year for me, punctuated by many learning experiences and reunions with old friends from afar.

Chinese New Year was the first festival of the year and we celebrated it in Kuala Lumpur in my youngest brother's house even though he was away in Melbourne, because that is where our family's ancestral tablets are. We have to pay our respects to our departed ones and then have our reunion dinner together. All my siblings and their families will gather here annually to celebrate the Chinese New Year.The children enjoy it most as they get their "ang pows" (red packets containing money, symbolising good luck and prosperity)


We had a short holiday in Hokkaido, Japan, in Spring so that we could see the beautiful cherry blossoms or Sakura.
That was an eye-opener. The Japanese lifestyle is very different from our Malaysian lifestyle. Theirs is so much healthier as can been seen from the people all of whom are very slender. No excess weight carried on their bodies. Many of them walk or cycle in Hokkaido. Japanese food, especially the seafood was a new experience for me and I enjoyed the crabs,scallops and the abalone.They were unbelievably fresh, succulent and tasty. MMmmmmm...


I was fortunate enough to meet up with my former classmates, some of whom I have not seen for half a century (!!!! I feel really old!!!) and would not have recognised if not for the others who re-introduced us. White-haired, nicely-rounded, bespectacled, but thankfully all still walking without the aid of walking sticks, we still behaved like school girls of yesteryears when we started catching up over long drawn-out meals.


Another reunion was that of college mates, one of whom flew in from Switzerland, another from Kota Bahru, the capital of a state on the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and of course myself from Kota Kinabalu, on Borneo Island. Kuala Lumpur is the place to meet as it is central and many of my friends still reside there.


There was a new addition to our family clan, my brother's second grandson, Tristan. The family has grown. My sister also has a new granddaughter Amelia in addition to her other two. My niece also had a new daughter. She now has two children, both of whom were not seen by my late sister, who would have been a proud and doting grandma. She died far too young, succumbing to ovarian cancer after a valiant fight.

I also attended computer camps where I learned many new things. Unfortunately, being a senior, the brain doesn't grasp things easily and it also tends to forget very quickly! So what I've learned, I've only retained about 25%, sad to say, although I try hard to put into practice what I can remember. But there's never enough time to read up about it and to try it out. I have 3 books open right now and I do wish I have three heads to cope with all that stuff. Oh no! That would make me a Hydra, a creature with many heads! Ugh, what a sight! Better to stick to my own head!

The best news of all is that my son, the baby of the family has got engaged recently and will get married next year. He is the last of the dragon babies to become attached, the other four from my siblings, all having married and settled down, some with two children. My future daughter-in-law is a lovely young person and I'm very happy for the both of them.

On the other side of the coin, though, are two incidents about which I just found out yesterday. My dear golf buddy has been told to rest for a period of time as she hurt her back yesterday while playing competition golf. So that means I have to lay off too while she recuperates. We play together because both of us are early birds, meaning we tee off even before there is sufficient light to see where the ball lands. This is to enjoy the beautiful fresh air before it gets polluted by the exhaust from motor vehicles that carry over to our fairways from the roads that border our club.It is also to avoid the damaging rays of the sun which is ultrahot these days. However she assures me that there is no serious damage and a bit of rest will soon put her right.


The other bad news is that one of my friends had a fall and fractured her thigh bone. She had to have surgery but is now resting at home. I shall be visiting her tomorrow, after lunching with another dear old friend. Tomorrow will be the new year, the beginning of the second decade of this century. A good time to toast to true and tested friendships. I look forward to tomorrow's lunch with eager anticipation.

It is raining now but I doubt it will stop the revellers who will be partying, seeing out this year and ushering in the new.Happy New Year 2010 and goodbye to 2009.