The Fire ... epilogue

Storm snugly settled on my sofa...

After deciding that it would be more comfortable for Storm, the Quays moved into my house on 30th Nov. He had to be cooped up in the room whilst they were staying with doc’s brother. Here he has free rein to come and go as he pleases. Because he is accustomed to peeing and doing his business on lawns, the maid has to take him for walks at the park nearby. From my observation, he is truly enjoying his walks and this routine may very well carry on even after they have moved back home.

They will be staying for another week or so before they can move back home. I hope they have been comfortable in my house even though it is not as spacious as what they are accustomed to. There is no internet access or Astro, no garden for doc to practice his putting and only 1 shower room. The porch can only fit 1 car and Doc had to spend many sleepless nights getting up every now and then to ascertain that his car is safe. For Diane, who should be enjoying her holidays, there is no PS2 to play etc.. For both E & Diane there are no MSN or Facebook… Must be tough on them…

Their stay has benefited me too. Rohimah has done a good job cleaning every corner of the house. I tell people that I go back to clean house almost every Sunday but ‘cleaning’ meant just the hall and bathroom really… so the house now is as clean as it can ever get! She has rearranged and moved things so I figure I will have to spend a day finding out where things are kept once they move out. E too, had miraculously fixed the toilet bowl in the master bedroom, which had been leaking for the past 3 (?) years! Hmm… Maybe if they stay longer, my whole house might eventually get a new coat of paint, faulty faucets & wiring replaced etc ??

Even though the fire which occurred was most unfortunate, I believe that God was present throughout their ordeal.

Hard as it may be to recognize the hands of God at work in the face of any crisis, or understand why He allows certain things to happen, the fact that nobody was hurt in the fire was something to be really thankful for.

E would think it is easy for me to say since I am just an outsider but even as an onlooker, it was gratifying to know that God did not forsake them or let them them undergo this trial on their own. In the midst of adversity, God showed His love through people that cared. In days ensuing the fire, friends and relatives, in a show of support, rallied to help. God seemingly, wanted to convey a message that they were not alone.

With this I close. We do not need a certain number of friends, E. We only need a number of friends we can be certain of. May the certainty of knowing you have friends who care brings you much comfort.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. – 1st Corinthians 10:13

F

The Fire (Part 2)

Tuesday morning, S called bright and early. She drove past E’s house before going to office and said it looked bad when viewed from the back. Told her I was taking half-day’s leave and meeting P at 1.00 pm.. S said she’d also try to take off but it would depend on her workload.

At 1.00 pm. P was already at E’s, chatting with Mrs. Lee. We couldn’t go for lunch because they had to wait for the arrival of the MT container. Mrs Lee was there early, helping to clear the debris but they were advised to stop cleaning before the Insurance Adjuster assessed the damages. E & Dr were out filing reports with the various Departments but came back shortly after with our lunches. Diane was in school. She had a paper that day. Storm was running in and out barking non-stop till they locked him in Jo’s room. (Yeh yeh very good.)

Dr’s brother came with his family followed by Sue who brought some empty cartons. Then came the container. S was to return in the evening with a trolley and she was also trying hard to get hold of some workers to help with the moving.

We planned to be very systematic. Items from each cabinet were to be packed into one box and marked so that it would be easier to unpack later on. That didn’t work.. Halfway through we found certain boxes were too heavy to be lifted and eventually we had to mix the items. Sigh… S called, no luck with the workers. Doubly sigh…

The adjuster came and Dr and his brother went through the list of damages with him. Mrs Lee was tireless. She worked non-stop as compared with P and I who kept taking breaks to satisfy our cravings for nicotine! S called, she managed to get workers but they would be coming in much later as they had day jobs.

From the room upstairs, we notice the 2 Quay brothers standing outside. (the adjuster had left). The 2 strong able-bodied men were smoking and chatting while the ladies were hard at work.. Doesn’t that reminds you of a little village in Indonesia where the women worked whilst the men strummed their guitars and played checkers followed by long sessions of siestas??

Evening came, E left for classes. S finally arrived with 4 scrawny guys along with rolls of plastic sheets as well as a heavy trolley. P was the one who requested for the trolley but I doubt we would be able to handle it on our own. The leader opened the doors of the container with just a kick and some quick movements of the hands. P and I had earlier struggled to get the latches on the container to budge with no success. We wanted to do a test that the container was leak-free. It wasn’t roach free though and we had a fine time spraying Ridsect and sweeping away dead cockroaches !!

The 4 ‘scrawny’ guys were stronger than I would have given them credit for and boy did they work fast and efficiently! They made shrink-wrapping looked so easy but when we tried it, you know it definitely isn’t easy! They finished loading everything in less than 2 hours and there we were wondering if we would be done by midnight! It was just before 9 p.m. S, who had gone home after leaving instructions with the guys came back with cold drinks for everybody.


E came straight from class to meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Admittedly, we looked a trifle scruffy….. and I for one would pass off as an Indon maid had anyone been observing our group that night. We were pleased with the amount of work done. What was left were the smaller items, Diane’s books etc…Tomorrow, she would be able to help since there was only 1 more paper left to “merdeka!” …

F

The Fire (Part 1?)

It was an ordinary Monday evening after work on 24th Nov, 2008.

Whilst at the office I chatted briefly with P & E. E seemed a bit distracted but she’s been that way the past few weeks. We’ve been talking amongst ourselves and worrying about her, is she okay?

Back home, I had just withdrew cash from the ATM and was sitting at the hall reading the papers, waiting for dinner. At 7.29 pm my hand-phone beeped, alerting me that an SMS message had come in. It was from E, a message that simply said “Luck very bad. House on fire.” I froze. What did she mean, fire? Big fire, small fire, what? If big fire, she wouldn’t have time to sms, would she??? Questions, questions…

As usual, when feeling tensed, I took out a cigarette. Went to the back of my shop, lit my cig, then called E. Why is she not answering ? I tried again and she hello-ed. I don’t remember what my first question was. (probably something stupid).For a brief moment her voice broke when she said “I got no where to stay tonite….” and my heart did a dive. We didn’t talk long; just long enough for me to get some facts from her. After offering her the use of my house, we hung up. Seemingly, a couple of drug addicts had caused an explosion while they were in the vacant house next door. Neighbours saw them running out soon after.

Dinner forgotten, I decided to go over to her place immediately. Thank God my brother didn’t take the car yet….. Faster faster ‘chup’ the car keys… I called S and then P… P already heard from Mrs Lee. We all agreed to meet at E’s.

As I was about to leave the house I remembered the cash I withdrew earlier was still in the pocket of the shorts I was wearing. I ran upstairs to keep the cash and when I was downstairs again, aiyo.. I couldn’t remember where I had placed the car keys. Since the phone call with E, I had gone out to the shop to tell Supri that I was going out so she should feed the dogs, I used the toilet, went upstairs to keep the cash…. now where did I put the keys??? Just as I decided to use the spare keys, I found it next to the sink where I had gone to wash a cup.

On reaching E’s, the whole place was a hive of activity even though by then, the fire was under control. The fire brigade was parked outside, firemen were walking in and out of the house, curious on-lookers and busybodies were loitering outside. It was already dark. Mrs Lee was there and the 2 of us went in to view the damage. In the dark you can hardly make out anything except that the floors were wet. The power supply had to be shut down when the fire occurred.

M dropped by with her niece for a while. P arrived soon after and E passed us some of her things for safe-keeping. The guitar is with me along with the I-POD and i-Home and ahh…Diane’s PS 2. Where is S? Called her again and she said she was still at dinner and would come later. Some officers from Fire Dept (?) came and E had to make a statement.

Storm was a pampered pooch that night. He had to be carried most of the time as the floors were wet and grimy. Mrs Lee instructed Rohimah on how to go about sweeping water into the toilet. P & I helped. Doc’s brother said that he would arrange for a 40’ container to be placed outside the house for storage purpose during the renovation and repair works which apparently would be quite extensive, based on what the contractor said.

We emptied the freezer. S’s was quite empty so she was suppose to take the food to store in her fridge. But where was S? Unbeknownst to us, S was having dinner with clients and she didn’t tell us that she was dependent on her colleague for transport. She didn’t figure that dinner would drag on and on. Instead of waiting for S, on my way home, I would leave the things with her husband instead.

There wasn’t much that could be done that night so they decided to lock up. E and family, including Storm and their maid would move in with Dr’s brother.

P and I planned to drop by the next day to help in spite of E’s insistence that they could cope…. If she wasn’t so distressed, I would have asked her to shut-up even though her I know it was just that she didn’t want to impose on us… We are friends. Wouldn’t you do the same for me had I been in the same situation?

By the time I got home, it was close to midnight. Suddenly I was hungry… time to raid the fridge….

F

4 + 1

Last night while i was sleeping, it suddenly dawn to me that now we have an additional member to our "what we do every friday" thing. Her presence and fellowship is throughly enjoyed by the existing fems and we have gone for some impromptu outings, dinners, lunches, karaokes and of course "what we do every friday" thing lah. !! Her initial is P for P........... So how to arrange P into fems ? Can it be FEMSP or PSMEF or ...... ( lets play scramble hehehe)... anyway, thanks to E that we have another kaki that shares almost the same interest like the rest of the fems and also "gila-gila".....

I would like to officially nominate P into "gang" and also invite P to participate in our blog as well. What say the rest of FEMS ?

Anyway, to P, if you are reading this blog..... welcome....!!

S

1 is good, 2 even better ....

Me seated, flanked by my 2 doting 'daughters' ...

I reckon I should be feeling on top of the world.

My eldest ‘daughter’, Abby, recently purchased 2 shops-lots in Bayu Perdana. She has done some renovations, taking the top 2 floors as offices for the businesses she is running, and is expecting to move into her new building within this month. My 2nd ‘daughter’ , Percy will be getting married next month. Its ‘s a dual celebration for my ‘family’, sort of double happiness!

I would be in euphoria land i.e. if I were truly their mother but as it is, sigh, …I am only their kaimah. (godmother). I suppose that’s better than no relationship at all. Both are good girls and I would be truly blessed if indeed they were the daughters I would never have. (come on, face it, even if I do get married tomorrow, at my age would I take the risk of having children? But let you in on a secret, I always pictured myself having sons, rather than daughters and had in fact decided on names for my boys, Damien, Ethan and Fabian.. D, E and F. And if got more, carry on from there … Gavin, Hayden, Ivan…., eh .. maximum 6 okay! Carry on dreaming…)

I don’t remember how it happened or when it happened but overnight, lo and behold, I became a godmother! I know for a fact though that they ‘adopted’ me rather than the other way around. What! You all think I pointed a knife at them and said “call me kaimah or you die?”

Both of them couldn’t be more different and yet both have their own virtues. (and faults, but who doesn’t?)

Abby’s the noisy one blessed with the gift of the gab. Like the Chinese saying, something about ‘bird also can be conned to come down from the tree’, that she can do. People are generally drawn to her as she has a ‘presence’ and it’s not just because of her height. She is strong in character and I know I need not worry about her because she’s quite capable of taking care of herself. Better than I can take care of myself even!

Percy’s much more reticent, a typical ‘goat.’ But she can be chatty when she’s with people she’s familiar with. She’s more sensitive and hurt more easily. I admit I don’t quite ‘approve’ of my future godson-in-law (shhhush…) and have for ages, been skeptical about his ability to take care of a wife the way a man should. Maybe I am being over-protective. I really hope my perception of him is wrong though and that my feelings for him stem from a personality clash rather than that he is ‘bad’.

Funny how I always figured that I was just a kaimah in name only. We did not go through any ceremony whereby I was expected to give them big angpows when they kneel to serve me tea. Wahhh .. picture that … “Yum char, Kaimah … ” Gaya…

They do in public, call me kaimah and I suppose many people wonder “apa sal ini kaimah so young?” (ahem!) Abby is 12 yrs my junior and Percy, 17. Most kaimahs I know are rich older ladies, or if they aren’t rich, maybe they are rich in wisdom, both of which I tak ada. I have told them from early on that upon my death, their total inheritance will amount to RM3200.00 each. That’s all, whoa!

In recent days, 2 separate incidents pointed out me that these ‘adoptions’ was less than a farce than I thought.

About a week ago, Abby took me to dinner. Her mother (i.e. her biological mother –la) happened to call and I overheard Abby telling her mum that she was dining with kaimah. That really stunned me as all along I thought I was 'kaimah' only within our group of friends. Abby nonchalantly told me her mum was aware she had a kaimah and I thought to myself “wow.! I didn’t know that.”

Last Saturday, Percy gave me a box of wedding cake (part of the dowry given by the groom). She told me last night that the cakes were only given to relatives and her sister had advised her that it was only right she gave me a box since I was 'part of the family’.

Both of these incidents touched me more than I would imagine. From here on, I better take my role of kaimah seriously. So help me God to be the kind of kaimah that my 2 girls deserve …

F

Mamma Mia Mania

Its seems like Mamma Mia Mania is hitting our shores! Both the movie and the musical seems to be the talk of the town this past month. I do like Abba songs when i was a teenager but i don't think that much about them now. That was why i wasn't willing to fork out a few hundred RM to buy the tickets for the Musical ,unlike some people ...wink wink!
And even when the movie hit the cinemas i still didn't feel the need to come out with the few Rm to buy the tickets!!! I didn't see the hype in it but it kept resounding in every conversation with every single group of my friends! Every where i turned , there was someone asking me if i saw that movie.
So finally i had the DVD in hand ,courtesy of Fong but even then i kept for almost a month before i stuck it into the player! I only did that cuz i thought it was way over due and i had better return that disc to her . I know its a popular one and everyone is probably asking for it.
So this Sunday afternoon i lay on the sofa , with legs propped up and a pillow or 2 as cushions for my head and opened a whole new Abba mania.
It is an entertaining movie, with a simple story line. Of course the songs are the best part of the movie. I had forgotten how catchy they are and how everyone can sing along and dance to them! there were a couple of songs that i don't even know ..... but i love the majority of them if not all!
I can understand now how some of my friends are ooooo-ing and ahhh-ing over this movie and some even watched it more than once!
I love the mum and daughter relationship in the movie ~ which brought tears to my eyes. If u know me and what i went thru this past month , u will understand. Out of the 3 men i like Pierce Brosnan the best.... of course , lah! As for the bride and groom , i didn't think they were all that good looking but towards the end i did like the groom better.
My fave songs for the show.... i think its Mamma Mia and Winner takes it all...... or maybe, Dancing Queen and Honey Honey...... but then again i like Super Trouper and Thank You for the Music......oh i forgot about SOS and Money ,Money ,Money!!! ..... heck, i think i like them ALL!!!!

E-bba!!!!

Upon this rock I will build my Church ...

It irks me sometimes when people ask if I am a Catholic or a Protestant.

Thinking it over I suppose they don’t know better. By ‘Catholic’, they are referring specifically to Roman Catholicism as opposed to “Protestant”, which is too ambiguous an expression; like asking if someone is a Malaysian or a creature of the earth.. (which covers both human and animals! Something like that-la.)

Do you know, we do not call ourselves Protestants? To me, I am just a ‘Christian.’ (of the Pentecostal denomination). Only those of the Roman Catholic Churches has a tendency to call Christians of other denominations Protestants. In other words, Protestantism is often a general term merely to signify that one is not a Catholic.

Now, this seems too good a topic not to blog about. Don’t worry, I am not going to touch on sensitive issues but it is my intention to give you all a brief lesson in the history of the Church. Hah… that’ll teach you not to call me a “Protestant.”

Catholic comes from the Greek word, KATHOLIKOS which means “throughout the whole, or universal” and was used as a general reference to the ENTIRE Christian church until the reformation period. (which I will touch on later.)

Prior to 313 A.D. Christians in the Roman Empire were often brutally prosecuted and given opportunities to avoid further punishment by publicly offering sacrifices or burning incense to Roman gods. Refusal was punishable by arrest, imprisonment, torture and executions.

Constantine I ‘legalised’ Christianity when he became the Emperor in 313 A.D. and Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

The next 400 years saw many new beliefs added to the Roman Church. In 1054, a break in the church occurred and the western (Roman Catholic) and the eastern (Greek Orthodox) churches developed separately. It must be pointed out that Roman Catholics cannot claim exclusive right to the term “Catholic” as even today, some of the orthodox churches are also Catholics!

Fast forward to the year 1517 (though its roots lie further back in time) when Martin Luther (not to be confused with Martin Luther King, the civil rights activist famous for his “I have a dream” speech. Again not to be confused with the song “I have a dream” by ABBA) started the Reformation movement.

Luther was convinced that within the Church were malpractises and the movement began as an attempt to reform the Church. In 1529, the Emperor Charles V attempted to smother Luther’s movement by banning Luther’s documents but some of the German state princes stood up in protest. Thus, because of their protest, the movement began to be known as the “Protestants.” (The word “Protestant” is derived from the Latin “protestari” meaning publicly declare which refers to the letter of protestation issued by these princes against this decision.) What had originally been intended to reform Catholicism from within was now a split from the original body. Despite Luther’s attempt to present his views and beliefs, the division between Catholic and Protestants remain even up to this day.

In the wake of the reformation movement, Martin Luther started the first “Protestant” or “Evangelical” church but before long, different opinions in the interpretations of the Scripture and the split along doctrinal lines caused a rift. This led to a division in the reformed church and the emergence of several rival ‘Protestant/Evangelical’ churches or denominations e.g. Lutherans, Calvinists, Presbyterians.

Today, the Christian World database records about 9,000 denominations throughout the world. When you ask “ are you a Catholic or a protestant ?” you could very well be referring to any of the 8,999 denominations….

F