A funeral is the time where you see the most relatives.

Was back in Malaysia for almost a week. I said "back' because Malaysia have always been a second home for me, a yearly ritual since I was born to visit my grandmother in KL. I'm not sure whether the ritual will continue now that my grandma is no longer around. I had originally planned to visit her that Saturday, but she passed away 3 days earlier, and I didn't get to see her for the last time. I packed my bags and followed my parents in the next day.

Her funeral was held at Nirvana, a huge building with impressive decor on the inside. The portrait of my Grandma was huge.. probably the size of a 42inch tv, making my mum cry the moment she reached the place. We stayed at the place overnight, saying hourly prayers that lasts as long as I can remember, till 2am. Drifted in and out of sleep, and resumed the prayers at 8am till 10am, when it's time to move out for the cremation.

My grandma was 90years old this year. It's only now that I realised, she actually lived through world war II in her twenties. I asked my mum how did grandma lived through those periods, and was told they hided in the forests, and moved locations from time to time. It must have been tough, and I have no chance to ask her about it now.

The cremation was followed by the picking of the remains(bones) into the urn. A piece of jade remains among the bones, which my cousin said was because it was too small to be removed from my grandma, she probably started wearing it since she was young. We then moved to another location to place her remains in the resting place of Nirvana memorial park.

The last time I saw her was 2009. I can still remember her voice, calling out for me "yi wei ah".. I can remember her standing by the corridor on the second floor, watching us leave.

The funeral was where I saw a lot distant relatives. My 1st aunt (Mum's eldest sis) who lived in Pangkok island. I chatted with my cousin who's working as a painter in Pangkok's resort, first time I saw him actually. My cousins in Kajang who's a businessman. Another cousin who's married and working as a salesperson in Kuantan. My uncle who's into arowana business in JB now. My 3rd aunt, who's was born handicapped, and placed in a home now. It was a journey down my family roots, discovering and realising things I never know before. I never asked many questions in the past and I wished I did.

It was 6 days of getting together, for my grandma. And we are back in our own life now.

From the movie "New Year's Eve"

"...it's (the ball) suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by.


To remember both our triumphs and missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt. Because that's what new year is all about -- getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about what if and start embracing what would be.


So when the ball drops at midnight, and it will drop, let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long."

I want my life to be full of adventures. In 2012, I will join a company that allows just that. Now or never.

Hope

I'm not a believer in religion, but I spent the past week in prayers, partly because I don't want to upset anyone, but also because I hope my grandma will have a better afterlife. That's what religion is about, Hope.

Sorry for being 3days late. Rest in peace Grandma. Thank you for all these years.

14.12.2011

27 things I did when I was 27

27 things I did when I was 27

1. Went on a house-building trip in Phnom Penh. Spent a day setting up the tin sheet.

2. Stepped foot into Europe, with Italy my first destination. Saw world famous sights like Colosseum, Leaning tower of Pisa, Gondolas of Venice.

3. Watched Milan vs Roma match at San Siro Stadium.

4. Viewed in person Leonardo's The Last Supper painting, an amazing artpiece.

 

5. Saw snow flakes for the first time in my life.


6. Tasted the best Gelato ever, San Crispino in Rome.


7. Saw a turtle in the water while snorkeling off Phuket. Makes me want to pick up diving in the coming year.


8. Flew up in the air on the parasailing at Phuket, nice ride other than the fact that it lasts less than 5mins I think.


9. Skydive! An amazing experience that simply blew me away. The prelude was filled with fear and anxiety, but the actual jump was absolutely awesome.



10. Went black water rafting at Waitomo, and see little creatures know as glowworm shining in the dark like little LEDs.


11. Hopped onto a jetboat and watched Huka Falls from the bottom. Plus plenty of turns and spinning.

12. Watched Pohutu geyser erupted, reminisced of Old Faithful.


13. Went on a dolphin tour and watched dolphins swimming in the wild off the waters in Auckland.



14. Stayed in Shanghai for a total of 5weeks, for work. Quite familiar with the place now.


15. Went over to Hangzhou on a day trip by myself, and realized solo trip is not for me.

16.Went kayaking at P.Ubin, another deal bought of Groupon.

17. Went on both rides at Universal Battlestar Galactica. Conclude that the blue one is not as scary as the red one.

18. Went for a self-snap photoshoot, got a great deal off Groupon, ended up shooting with 3 different groups of people.

19. Had dinner on board the cable car. Had to hold on to the wine glass everytime the car enter the station.

20. Bought my first macro lens, and started to take everything micro.

21. Cycled from my office in tampines to ecp. Been wanting to do this for a while, and finally found the people to do it with.



22. Experience a third world country in Myanmar, and felt blessed to be born in Singapore.


23. Sat on the back of a truck with 41 others up the hill of Golden Rock Pagoda


24. Went for the Loy Krathong festival in Chiangmai which is amazing.

25. Ride around the city of Pai, and stayed at a nice fish farm.


26. Tried ATV on mountain tracks in Chiangmai

27. Run my second full marathon on my birthday this year, awful run jby last year standards, but still manage to complete it.

And I'm 28 now!

Standard Chartered Marathon 2011

Im actually upset about getting a timing that's worse off than last year. Thought my willpower will carry through, but it wasn't to be.