A Sobering Moment II

Death never fails to set one thinking about life. 
I came close to my own death back in 2006 where I nearly died from acute gangrenous appendictis with perforation and severe serositis/ pertonitis. I was in great pain for 4 days as the initial A&E doctor couldn't diagnosed what was wrong with me. A normal 40 minutes procedure turned into a 3-hours operation. I was lucky, I am lucky. 

Below is an excerpt of what I wrote back in my blog post from 14 June 2007: A Year Later 

"Work is longer than life. Treasure your Life. 
It is true, there will always be work but if there is no life, there's nothing. Work is only part of our lives. If there is something that you have always wanted to do, something that you have always wanted to learn, something that you have always wanted to say, PLEASE do not put it off to another day or time. Because you never know what life is going to dish up to you next, don't be caught short. Don't take life for granted. I am very lucky and very thankful. I am living on extended time. From now on, I will live my life to its fullest (within limits, of course :P). I am not going to take anything for granted." 

However, as time passed, I have forgotten to not take my life for granted. I have forgotten to enjoy life. I have forgotten. 

Now is a timely reminder to reflect on what I am going to do with the 2nd life I have been given back in 2006.

A Sobering Moment

I received sad news this afternoon that a classmate of mine has passed away. It took me a while to process the news and I am still processing it. Questions and thoughts like "What happened?! How?! Why?! Too soon! Too young!" came rushing into my mind.
It is indeed a sobering moment for me.
May she rest in peace.

RIP, Tamagotchi

This evening, I saw this on my Tamagotchi. I am not sure what is happening.

An hour later, I saw this!

I am so sorry. This is my first time playing Tamagotchi. I will do better next time.
Rest in peace, Tamagotchi I! 

Noone's Seedling

My seedlings all died but in their place grew a single seedling, far taller than any of the previous seedlings. Apparently my mother had been sunning some chillies and one of the seeds had fallen into my makeshift pot. 

This brings to mind the Chinese proverb "有心栽花花不长,无心插柳柳成荫" which means "Well laid plans may fail and success may come when you least expect it". 

Rest In Peace, Mr S.R. Nathan

Heard news that the former president of Singapore, Mr S.R. Nathan has passed away at 9:48pm at the age of 92 at Singapore General Hospital. I remember him as the longest serving president of Singapore. 
Thank you for your contributions to Singapore. Rest in peace, Mr Nathan. 

Rest in Peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew

When I woke up this morning at 5:30am, I saw the news that our 1st Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew has passed away at 3:18am. Although it is inevitable given his age and health condition, it still came as a shock. Our leader has gone into the great beyond. 
Rest in Peace, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. 

Closure

During noon, I attended my friend's father's funeral service at the Mandai Crematorium. The funeral service was a beautiful one and it gave closure to many people. 
As I looked at my friend, I can't help but wonder what will I do if I am in his position. Although my parents have said that (touchwood!) if anything happens to them while overseas, please just cremate them. It is a lot easier to bring back the ashes and if I want to show my filial piety, it would have been while they are living and not when they are dead. Yes, that's my parents for you, very practical people. However, I may have closure but I am not sure if others would have closure if I do follow my parents' after death orders/ requests, namely my brother and his family who are in UK and the tons of friends they have in Singapore (and to a lesser extent, my parents' family who are in Taiwan and Malaysia).

Sobering Moment

A dear friend and colleague's father passed away suddenly yesterday afternoon while on tour in China. Friend was frantically arranging for flight yesterday night, etc to get to China to repatriate the body back to Singapore. Due to my proficiency in both written and spoken Chinese, I was helping to read Chinese documents and summarising into English for him, checking up the contacts for undertakers in China and helping to make calls to them, etc. Friend and brother managed to fly off last night and are currently in China dealing with the repatraiting of the body. I really hope all goes well for them.
I suddenly realised that my parents are out of Singapore between 4- 6 months at a stretch, usually in Xiamen, China or in Taiwan and (TOUCHWOOD!) something similar could befall on them...
A truly sobering moment for me. Would I be able to handle it?

Final Farewell

On this day 29 September 2013, I attended BC's cremation at Mt Pleasant at 9am. 
We arrived slightly earlier than 9am so that we could bid our farewell to BC for the last time before the cremation. BC looked as if he was just sleeping... his fur still felt so soft... I was almost waiting for him to wake up... Alas, it was only wishful thinking on my part. Although BC passed away on 19 September, the grief is still as great. :( 

Good bye, BC. Thank you for the fond memories. You will always live on in my heart.

No one ever really dies as long as they took the time to leave us with fond memories. ~Chris Sorensen

Farewell, BC

Today, my friend's cat, BC passed away at 3:45pm. It is an auspicious day to leave for a better place as it is also the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, Mid Autumn Festival. The Chinese believe that only those with very good karma will leave for a better place either on the 1st or the 15th day of each lunar month. For that, I am very glad that BC left today. However, that fact alone couldn't take away the pain and grief I felt upon BC's passing. I still feel the pain and grief now.
Some would be puzzled as to why would I feel so deeply about BC, my friend's cat when I am not even his owner. I called BC my part-time cat because when his owner went away for holidays, ranging from a few days to 3 weeks, I would be taking care of BC. I would give him his medicine twice a day, feed him, change his water daily, clear his litter box twice a day, play with him and keep BC company. Most importantly, I gave BC my love and attention. BC, I am most honoured, returned the love and attention.
I am very glad that I managed to say my farewell to BC today. I was there with BC during his last moments, whispering in his ears that he has no need to worry about us, it is ok for him to go and I send my love with him to the next world. It is heart-wrenching to see BC whom I loved (and who loved me back) leave this world but I take heart that BC is now in a better place, in a England Hyde Park-like Cat Paradise chasing birds and sniffing the flowers under a blue sky dotted with candy floss like clouds and a warm sun.

Go with love and happiness, BC. Take care. 

Sad News

I heard from my mother in the afternoon that my eldest uncle-in-law (maternal) passed away in the morning in Taipei, Taiwan. I was much saddened to hear about his passing. 
My uncle was a stern man but he was always very nice to us, nieces and nephews. I recall when I was young, we would stay at his place whenever we go back to Taipei. During my visit to Taipei in 2010 with my girls, my uncle-in-law threw a huge feast for us because it was my girls' first visit and my return visit after 18 years. He didn't need to do that but he did because he said we are family. I am really glad that we saw him during our recent June trip to Taipei. Although he was already unwell then and in hospital, he was very happy to see us. Although we know he has been ill, it is still hard to know that I will never see my uncle again.
Rest in peace, Uncle.   

In Shock!

At first, I thought it was a really, really cruel and sick joke that the media has pulled about one of the stars in Glee being dead. Started Googling and found more and more news of his death. 
OMG! I am totally in shock!! Cory Monteith (who played Finn Hudson in Glee) has passed away! He was so young! SIGH. Rest in Peace, Cory (Finn). I will definitely miss you in Glee. :( 

Death in the Family

My cousin-in-law, aged 52, passed away this morning. Condolences to my cousin and her children as well as my 2nd aunt. We won't be able to attend the funeral in Taiwan but our thoughts are with them... I hope they will take it easy...

Passing of Another Diva

This time, it is the passing of a Taiwanese pop diva, Feng Fei Fei at 60 years old. She passed away on January 3 after succumbing to lung cancer. The news of her death was only released today in accordance to her wishes because the Lunar New Year was approaching and Feng Fei Fei did not want her fans to receive the bad news.
Feng Fei Fei was a huge hit with my parents' generation. Every Chinese in that age bracket knows who Feng Fei Fei is. Her fans know her fondly as The Queen of Hats because she loves wearing when performing. Rest in peace, Feng Fei Fei.

Death of a Diva

I did a double take when I saw on Yahoo's Breaking News: Whitney Houston, Dies at 48. I almost couldn't believe my eyes! I told my mother and she was shocked as well.
I listened to Whitney's songs when I was growing up, such as Saving All My Love for You, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, So Emotional, I am Your Baby Tonight, Didn't We Almost Have It All?, Where Do Broken Hearts Go?, Greatest Love of All, One Moment in Time, and who can forget, I Will Always Love You from The Bodyguard movie. It is such a pity that her life is cut short. But I hope she will rest in peace and know that she has given pleasure to many with her beautiful voice and songs.

One Moment In Time (uploaded by Planetland)


Where Do Broken Hearts Go? (uploaded by AngelsFstyle)


I Wanna Dance with Somebody (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)


I Will Always Love You (uploaded by whitneyhoustonVEVO)

RIP, Steve Jobs

I was really shocked to hear about Steve Jobs' passing this morning. Although I am not a die-hard Apple fan, I do own an iPad which I can't live without. Steve Jobs has, through Apple, really revolutionised technology and changed the world digitally. For that, I am grateful and appreciative.

Rest in Peace, Steve Jobs.

The Send Off

The girls took leave of absence from school today to attend their great-grandmother's funeral. We went to the wake at 8am because the body would be leaving for Mandai Crematorium at 9am. There was a short service before the funeral hearse left for Mandai Crematorium. As the funeral hearse was leaving for Mandai Crematorium, we walked behind it for a short distance.
We arrived at Mandai Crematorium just after 9am. There was another service and the air-con in the hall was extremely COLD! The girls cuddled up close against me for warmth. We soon moved to the Viewing Hall to send off the the girls' great-grandmother for cremation. There was refreshment after the final send off. The girls and I reached home close to 11am.
At 3.30pm, we had an Ashes-at-Sea ceremony (the girls stayed home). A boat was rented to take 12 of us out to sea to scatter the ashes. The sea was pretty choppy and the boat had to stop in order to perform the ceremony but it went off without a hitch.
Good-bye.

Wake

The girls and I were at their great-grandmother's wake at Mount Vernon. It was an experience for the girls because it is their first wake, and their first Christian wake. We left the wake before the service because the girls still have school tomorrow and Marieann still has homework to complete.
At the wake, the girls, especially Marieann, were initially curious and wanted to have a look at their late great-grandmother. But Juliane chickened out and closed her eyes when she got near the coffin. Marieann was uneasy after the first look. But sil made her look again before we left the wake. I was annoyed with that. It is their first encounter with death and their first close up view of the dead. It is totally understandable if they are uneasy and it doesn't matter if the deceased is family. I know of adults who are phobic of attending wake/ funerals because they are totally uncomfortable with/ about death/ the dead, let alone children. Some people believe in exposing someone repeatedly to something he/she fears and he/she will be cured of that fear. Unfortunately I don't believe that. If anything, it might make things worse, psychologically. Sigh. I didn't want the girls to be traumatised. I conducted psychological debriefing with the girls after we came home.

Inevitable

Inevitable I
My father went to see the eye doctor at SGH. It is inevitable that he needed the cataract operation as soon as possible for he has delayed it for far too long. He will be going in for operation tomorrow morning!

Inevitable II
My grandmother-in-law slipped into a coma after being admitted into hospital yesterday. Today, she passed away in the late morning.

My Grandmother's Last Journey

Today, my grandmother is setting off for her last journey and I couldn't be there to send her off. It will always be a deep regret for me. Even though I have tried my hardest to get a flight back, even though my Taiwanese relatives have said it was ok, even though my grandmother would understand, I still feel very upset.

Some have said at least I managed to see my grandmother in June and that was better than not at all. But I promised her that I would be back to see her again. Not being able to send my grandmother off, I have broken that promise. There would be no closure for me...


Ah Ma, rest in peace.

love,
your granddaughter in Singapore