Thursday 4 February 2010

Melakan, Thai and Russian

Isn't it amazing how learning 3 little things can make you so happy?

Much more so when you also realise the pressure in your head is no more. That pressure you had first felt at your mum's favourite clinic in Kg. Tunku - the clinic with the still pretty late-40's early-50's lady doctor whom she likes so much.

You remember marveling at your 82-year old mum's tenacity after she slipped on a rug and fell, hitting the side of her face on the terazzo floor, when she was all alone at her house.

You wince imagining the difficulty she had getting herself up off the floor, she who would take about 10 to 15 seconds to push herself off the lounge chair, she who had for the last couple of years opted to modify her prayer prostrations by sitting on a dining-chair.

You were proud of her spirit in administering her own first-aid by wrapping ice in a kitchen towel and placing it on her face. But you were aghast at her not informing anyone immediately preferring instead to wait until grandson came over as had been promised earlier.

But you were NOT surprised that she still wanted to make her monthly trip to her kampong house in Ayer Molek in Melaka despite her swollen cheek and bruised eye and cut upper lip. And balik kampong she did, after insisting on cooking a full course meal to take along for the evening's dinner when she and your brother arrived there.

You remember the doctor saying what an inspiration your mum was. Your mum had only decided to see the doctor 5 days after her fall after returning from the kampong, when the bruises had begun to fade, and her cut had begun to heal, and her cheek no longer tender to the touch.

She is an inspiration indeed, you feel proud of her, Alhamdulillah she has taken care of herself quite well:  blood sugar at 4.5 and blood pressure at 135/70 are very alright for an octogenarian.

And you think how miraculous it was she didn't break any bones falling on the hard floor and how she had told you and your sister that she has been taking calcium supplements for the last 18 years - "Makan kalsium, budak-budak oii, engkau orang dah berumur dah!"

And you think would you even reach her age? And you hear her say - "Baki umur kau nak buat apa lagi? Dah tak kerja buat lah amal ibadat banyak-banyak".

And you feel your headache getting worse, with gassy burps building up, and you think should you ask the pretty doctor to take your blood pressure? And you think naah... what if your BP's higher than your mum's, that would be embarassing.

And you start to think of reasons - maybe it was the half-dozen raw petai you had at dinner, which was tenggiri asam pedas with blanched kailan and braised lamb cubes. Maybe that was a lethal combination, or maybe it was the peanut butter sandwich you had for breakfast sans coffee. And you think it'll get better after some coffee at your mum's when you all get back.

And you feel some relief for the rest of the day after popping a panadol with the nescafe.

And then of course you simply can't go to bed early after the afternoon cuppa.

And when you finally do, you get up again after a mere 3  hours with the thumping up there again, and you pop another panadol and go back to bed.

And when you get up after a couple of hours, you decide to go over to the Thai massage place for some deep pressure-point treatment and to be manipulated into a wrestling hold and swung like a pendulum.

And you have a whopping of a time in pleasurable pain being thumb-pressed and elbowed and kneed and kneaded and stretched all over your body from head to toe.

And as you eat your healthy lunch at this place called ZEN, you feel the heaviness in your head slowly lifting.  And then you reward yourself by shopping for new inner wear, partly because there is a sale and also because you need a new band-size from all the push-ups you have been doing of late.

And you feel extremely pleased because in the middle of shopping your "vowels" nudged you for the second time that day and then you realise how true it is that every sickness originates in the stomach, even a headache, and how Thai makes things move.

And that's why you are in a good mood and that's why just learning 3 little new things make you elated. 3 letters of the Russian alphabet:

"Ю" looks like a head severed below the shoulders - it sound's like "YOO" 

"Я" looks like an R viewed in the mirror - it sounds like "YAH" 

"Ы" makes you want to go blearggh - but it sounds like "IH" 

And so Ю Я Ы sounds like YOU YAH IH

 


And somehow you are reminded of this song:




And you think you must get to bed now - there's pocho-pocho class to attend in the morning and the dentist to submit to in the afternoon. Can't allow a headache tomorrow.


____________________________________________

41 comments:

mamasita said...

Yeah..reminiscing about our old mothers is such a beautiful moment..I had my share of regret leaving my late old mum alone in her house..

Yes..they were smarter in guarding their health than us..simple routines and religious health practices they took pains to follow..

p.s. I was also thinking about my mum recently..how her unbearable 'rumah usang' finally made her give up..but she fought well many times.

a.j. said...

tokmi the iron lady ! she remembers everything down to the very detail! i barely remember my last holiday trip ... but she remembered her trips with atok around the world as if it was yesterday she went with atok...

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Wah Zen, my mummy’s just like that too. They don’t come any tougher than those from The ‘Silent’ Generation. Ya, suffer in silent, don’t like to impose on others, especially their own kids. No drama type, just grit their teeth (if any left ..hehehe) & soldier on. Yes they are a stubborn lot, those oldies. Sigh, I missed my mummy & papa :((

We baby boomers r not too bad either, alas the X & Y gens, gee kepala pening lah, macam2 drama pun ada, let’s hope this new ‘Alpha’ generation born this year onwards r made of tougher character to face a brave new world order, climate change, judgement day, 2012....

Peace,

Tommy

P/S – What’s YOU YAH IH? U lost me there. I’m a bit slow too..hehehe, dementia?

Cat-from-Sydney said...

Aunty Zendra,
You didn't by any chance been partaking Aunty Mamasita's tapai ubi? Hence the headache? purrr....meow!

Zendra-Maria said...

Mamasita, the trouble with us is that we know what and how certain things can impact our health, but we chose to ignore them kan? Maybe "sebab ada ubat" and I've heard this uttered by diabetics and those with hypertension. Whereas our mums follow the pantang-larang and petua-petua based on pure faith. And they are the better for it than us.

Zendra-Maria said...

Ayub, it's because we always have things recorded in our blogs and we relieve our brains from the job of remembering hehehe. You remember 2X2 = 4 kan? That's because you learnt it before you started blogging HAHAHAHA!!!

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy who's to blame re the X an Y generation. We boomers lah, spoil them too much, giving them whatever they fancy on top of what they need. The alphas, let the XY's worry about them - we just take care of our health, betul tak?

PS the youyahih - is nothing - sounds so cheery like yippeeyahyay

Zendra-Maria said...

Hi Cat-in-Sydney, tapai could be the antidote rather, don't you think? But then again I don't know anything about tapai hangover - or any kind of hangover, for that matter hehehe

Any sign of autumn yet in the hills?

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,we have to ensure things are safe at our parents place always-lah. my 91 years oldman last year fell on the staircase and went into coma for 3 days, after which he is bed ridden until today !.
,,,its too bloody late to regret about not fixing this or that after such an event, so pls carry out an safety survey the next visit to their home. Am building an old folk home at Puncak Jalil to cater for my father plus myself later on, since am not getting any younger too. hahaha. Its oldman friendly concept with nil tripping hazards plus wheelchair layout too.
,,,hahaha Bib shall be in-charge with some pretty yong nurses to hold my hands ?.
,,,makan ulam banyak banyak but nil tomatoes if possible. Kurang kan nasi too. Exercise everyday and sweat it out to remain healthy. Makan serai aplenty, anti-cancer tau and it is effective as a cure for cancer too. Bawang puteh eat everyday also but don't over cook it.
,,,smile and be happy, good for the body and for everybody else around you too hehehe.

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, itu old-folks home, is a very good idea. Come to think of it I'm also not getting younger. If you can engage gorgeous male nurses for neck and shoulder massages, I'll make an advanced booking for a long-term stay hahahaa.

And thanks for the very useful tips, as usual.

Capt's Longhouse said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zendra-Maria said...

Ish Captain, love Bib, love her mom lah... if i were Bib i sure kecik hati you talk like that. Red Card!!!

Capt's Longhouse said...

,,,oops ! sorry bad mom-in-laws joke, indeed RED card for me, so the sharks goes hungry again ?.

Tommy,
,,,beware of the great whites, down under too ! hehehe.

,,,me guess am a bad son-in-law too ?. hehehe.

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!

If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too

Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it hiheha to my mom-in-law !

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt if you can raed rsasuin you can raed anhyintg

ЗЭHДPA Maрия

Capt's Longhouse said...

hahaha,

,,, ю́мор меню́mom-in-laws !. testing my rsasuin hihihi
,,, fast learner ?.

Lee said...

Hi Zendra, ha ha, interesting post.
You sure got a great mom there. She's one real tough cookie! Old days mom were built tough.

Kampong Tunku? I used tolive near there. Still remember the post office I used to go buy stamps or post letters.

And the playground with the 2 badminton courts.
Guess I will not recognize that place now.
You keep well, Zendra, best regards, and wishing your mom okay, Lee.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Actn, acn I fcuk uyo otdya?..eheheh.Jangan marah, saja only. That's the latest catch phase :))

I see both of u r conceding that u r getting OLD. It's all in the mind lah deh. Think young!

It's nearly one am now, just got back from Sir Cliff Richard (69y.o) & the Shadow's concert at Burswoods < that my HQ :)

We all going on a Summer Holiday / Apache.BTW, FYI Hank Marvin's now sama kampung with Tommy.

Salam,
Tommy

Capt's Longhouse said...

tommy,

,,,you want red card or RA after you ?.

,,,or we let loose Anwar to you ! huhuhu

Tommy Yewfigure said...

oops soli, 'Actn' supposed to be 'Capt' jumbled up...hahaha but then again I withdraw lah, I memang takut your 1% angin :). Angin as in gone crazy, not break wind :)

Good nite!
Tommy

Capt's Longhouse said...

tommy,

,,,,”Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”,,,,

,,,some angin for you ! you are missing some fun up here - funny stuff in the malaysian court about down under..with an war & siafool

Zendra-Maria said...

Dear Lee, you may be surprised that much of Kg Tunku has not changed. The Post Office is still there - bet all the clerks knew you back then hehe. But the playground, am not sure - did not pak tor there those days HAHAHAHA

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, that Cliff arr, why he not married one? And why you like to watch him one? And why you ask Capn that question one?
EWWW - I so suspicious of you now... hehe

Jgn marah, nanti new year i ask for forgiveness OK?

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt don't waste time following the case lah - better you learn some russian words.

Like this word - SUKA

It is what Jane is - a bitch

So don't teach your russian lady guests this malay phrase "Saya Suka" OK?

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,Oh OOOh ! Suka to the Saya, will get us into big trouble too ! hehehe. Dia suka kuda kuda yop oii !. you get a special high riding horses too, apparently so for ladies riders according to a lady friend of mine !. yoo.

Capt's Longhouse said...

,,,fb vs blog ?...i prefer blogging somehow-lah.
,,,in fb, lots of funny characters suddenly pop up from no where !

DrSam said...

such a strong and blissful lady your mother is Kanda. After reading your entry, I am a strong believer to calcium wonder. I hope all of us will have the opportunity to join the octogenarian club, Insyaallah. Live well Kanda!

Zendra-Maria said...

Capt, for someone who prefers blogging over fb, you haven't updated it much have you?

Zendra-Maria said...

Dinda DrSam, indeed calcium is the way to go. Her teeth are splendid too. She drinks plenty of plain water (always has a bottle of water with her) - you'll need that to prevent kidney stones in case your system can't handle too much calcium. And easy on the sugary stuff too.

Have a good week ahead, dinda.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Ouch! That was very cheeky Zen, so which side of ur suspicions r u leaning towards..hahaha.

After every rugby games, the team normally have their showers together & each time the soap drops, nobody dares to bend over to pick it up, betul tak Capt? Why huh??..hahaha.

Nah, I ni suka SUKAs only, not if there's anything wrong with those 'ppl'. As a matter of fact they seems to be more talented & creative than us 'normal' ppl, true or not?

Cheers,

Tommy

P/S - Capt, funny characters in fb as in Happy & Gay ppl kah :))

Capt's Longhouse said...

Zendra,

,,,in fact am busy writing comments to other bloggers lah but i do keep copies of it in my kapaspirates.blogspot.com under comments in Sharing my thoughts if anyone cares. hehehe...close to 60 comments within the last 2 months only !...care to read them ? hehehe maybe not your cup of tea-lah ?. boleh buat buku dgn comments kitai tau ! hahaha

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, what's your fb id? Mari kawan-kawan lah. We'll leave Capt. to his blogging.

Capt. at least in fb there are records of where you have left comments, there's no need to copy and paste back to your own place haha

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Hiyah my fb very boring one leh. Only there just to check up on my childrens / denieces / denephews / decousins & my degenerates friends r up to. Me no entries lah, either tooo shy or my activities r not suitable for public airing, bad2 role model...hehehe.

Hey unlike u guys I'm still working 9 - 5 each day (5 hours surfing, 1 hour sometimes 2 hours meal breaks, only 1 hour quality time for work..hehehe, don't let them BS u that Chinamen r hard working :))))

Tommy

Cheers,
Tommy

Unknown said...

..hi, zen..you got a mom who is a oc-to-ge-na-rian..?..sheesh, I cannot even say the word..and I don'nt know whether I'll live to be an octopus..but they say octopus got sharp teeth..but my tentacles do not anymore have suction...:)..but my children says I am stubborn like that concrete stain on the floor..and I say that stain adds beauty to floor and they go Russian for I cannot make out what they say...yes, being old has its ups..and I loved your mom..

Saya... said...

Tommy, bukan you "demented" ka? Kih Kih...wah Zen punya post so dasat one I cannot faham..she very smart lady mah :)

My mummy dulu kitaorg panggil dia "wonderwoman"...now old already..poor mummy forgetful already, and need helper and I know her independent side hates that...doesnt want to stay with us either..she says "i can take care of myself"... :)

Our mums stronger than us lah..we all very manja one nowadays...

Saya... said...

According to reports, now blogging passe already lah..fb instant connection meh... :)

But blog can reach further kot, FB only friends

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Tumpang lalu Zen, (Y U busy ka?)

Hey PakMat, when u become an octopus, we shall send u to Octopus’s Garden at Abbey Road…hehehe. And then……..Remember Charlton Heston & Edward G Robinson in ‘Soylent Green’ that sci-fi movie in early 70's; look like it’s going to be like that pretty soon!

Enjoy while we can.

Cheers,
Tommy
P/S - Hello SAYA, do I know u from somewhere b4??

Zendra-Maria said...

Whoa there's a first-time visitor in my shabby hut, welcome pakmat, and also the choc-fudge kejap ada kejap takde Saya - time to get the good tea-set out hehe.

Hey Tommy, that remark of yours is simply classic "don't let them BS u that Chinamen r hard working". Reminds me of that well-known saying "there's nothing straight about Chinamen but their hair" hahaha. NOTHING? Enlighten us Tommy.

Pakmat, yes my mum is an octo.... but it's only recently that she realised she's no longer a sexa.... like you are hehe. Ah well if your tentacles no longer suck, you can still use them to hug :) Thanks for dropping by, pakmat and for loving my mum...

Saya, my mum still says "it's alright I can manage, not too worry". It's this mindset that keeps her going I think, whereas I'd jump at the chance if anyone offers me help hahaha. Hey I understand if you can't understand what I write, often i don't understand too but capt. (self-confessed schizo) always understands hehe. Pity he's not here for tea.

Tommy Yewfigure said...

Oh Maria, u trying to phishing with the master fisherman ka?...hahaha. True what, Chinamen all r master of Tai Chi, ( i.e passing the buck for those not 'quick' enuff.) But this Chinaman oso learnt the act of Aussie rules footie's 'hand balling' technique, so it's double trouble!...hahaha.

As for; "there's nothing straight about Chinamen but their hair" hahaha. NOTHING? Enlighten us Tommy.

Hmmmm, this is truly a short & curly one, Zen. How about; asking whether a blond got any black hair at all.

Cheers,
Tommy

P/S - Lucky u got these 2 old sages, Capt & Pakmat here to keep u in a straight line :)

Capt's Longhouse said...

yoo tommy boy ! who you calling old sag here...eerrmm but young at heart with even younger chicks hehehe.
,,,still brushing some russians but nil to practise with..but there is indeed a young russian but now an swedish, on the island, i met y'tday...maybe can pick up some bad words from him.
,,,season has started and having some houstguests plus additional 3 extra pirate crew, just reported for duty today !..got them on the job training immediately hahaha.
,,,3 x aussies checking in tomorrow too, they checked in at the wrong resort but finally found their way...downunder brains, i guess ?. they finished my tigers too.
,,,o.k. and happy chinese new year of the tiger too, to you and family. kong hee fat choy ?. hehehe

Zendra-Maria said...

Tommy, re Capt, as malay proverb goes

"Sekilau ikan di air sudah dia tahu jantan betina"

Never mess with words, where Tok Uban is concerned :)