“Where is P.C. Wu?” everyone is asking. After starting the year with a bang with 2 blogs on New Year’s Day, his presence online for the first month of 2005 is, perhaps to say the least, meagre. That is very unusual for this expressive person who has so much to express. Well, one can be expressive and yet does not have much life experience or does not put in much thoughts in their daily routine to allow them ideas and thoughts to share. P. C. suspects that many are just not willing to share for one reason or another.
Why is he not blogging? What is he busying with? Are we going to see him on Chinese New Year Day? These are some of the pressing questions by his contacts who already know of P.C.’s frequent disappearance from friends gatherings and his notoriety of missing in action at the eleventh hour due to his many unforseenable situations. However, out of his busy schedule, Eliwupc World has managed to secure an $88 deal to keep him on his chair for 8 minutes to conduct a rare and exclusive interview. Now, this is juicy…. Read on.
For a person on tasks like you, I cannot help asking…. Why did you grant us this exclusive interview which big guns like The Straight Times and Joint River Morning News has tried many times and failed to secure even one minute?
P.C., “Where did you hear this from? Yeah, I am close to being interviewed by Channel News Asia… but none from these big guns you are talking about. Although I still have tasks at hand, I thought a bit of public relations is good and that’s why you are here. $88 for 28 minutes…. That sounds auspicious. Happy Chinese New Year!”
Thank you. So in the past one month, what have you been busying with? I know you are a relief teacher and you have resume preparation for Singapore Marathon 2005, but it cannot be that bad, isnt’t it?
P.C., “It is not as easy as it sound to be a relief teacher, especially for one who do teach and is functioning pretty much like a full-fledge teacher. It is a very heavy responsibility which I am proud to take, although I am paid more than twice as low as a qualified teacher. All these planning, preparation and marking takes a lot of my time away. Sometimes, I feel like throwing the towel, but again, I have a duty to perform and thankfully, I have some good students who makes my days in school more enjoyable. I have not train much for SM 2005 or the IPPT, but I do try to maintain my fitness…. Eat some vitamins, watch my diet, drink more water to keep healthy…. I can’t afford any hiccups now. On top of teaching, I am also currently doing a project that would finally earn me a degree from a university in UK.”
This is something new…. a degree from UK. Can you tell us more about this?
There is a joint programme between ACCA and Oxford Brookes University from UK which allows students to complete a project and earn the degree once they have completed Level 2 of the ACCA examinations. I do not think it is very much to be proud of for certain reasons. However, I would like to go through this and experience how it is like to conduct a research and analysis project. I will be doing something about the marketing of McDonald’s Singapore. So if you happen to find me eating and wandering about often in a McDonald’s, I am surveying.”
That is a lot of tasks. We know the Chinese New Year is coming and you are, as usual, leading your siblings in some of the annual maintenance. That must be hard work.
P. C., “You are half-right. This year, I am also doing some maintenance in my girlfriend’s house and I can tell you that is physically and mentally challenging. 4pm last Friday to 11pm Sunday, my waking hours are spent at her home. Good for me, I have good friend, Ric, and my brother, Z.T., to help me. The project is towards the end and I hope it can be completed by Wednesday.”
I think your body hates you now. So what do you…. (abruptly interrupted)
P.C., “All right, I think that’s 8 minutes…. Let’s keep it this short and auspicious.”
Thank you for you time, P.C. I wonder when we will talk again.
P.C., “When we talk again, that is. Thank you for the Jasmine Green Tea.”
P.C. certainly enjoys the Pokka Jasmine Green Tea. I should have given him a 500ml bottle, instead of a 1.5l bottle so that he can answer more. But then the Chinese New Year is coming and most of his friends will be able to catch him live!. We do have some information that he will be running some long distances around the island which would prove once and for all that he has more free time than his counterparts. Maybe we will run a report on that…. Yes, we will run. With that, I end this $88 exclusive report which costs you nothing.
January 31, 2005
January 01, 2005
Remembering my Sri Lankan maid
She has a long name starting with the letter A. More affectionately known as ‘Alola’ (pronoun Ah-Low-Lah), she is introduced into my household from 1988 to 1990 to allow my mother to continue working after the birth of my sister.
Being a mother herself, she seems to empathize with my mother and stride to do her best in her job. Cooking, cleaning, washing, babysitting…. There seems to be nothing she cannot or would not do for my family. On top of these duties, she had to deal with my brother and I who sometimes gave ‘maid abuser’ new meanings. Of course, those silly things we did were nowhere near what we see in the news, but it can be heart-breaking for someone who has to be separated from her children by thousands of miles to make a better living. Although my family is not too well-to-do, her wage rate is considered slightly higher than the market rate and there is no lack of benefits-in-kind which aim to save her more money.
Things which I took for granted yesteryears are now becoming question marks above my head. Come to think of it, I have never seen Alola on a pair of shorts or jeans. At work or in her sleep, she is always wearing dress. That may be a tool to limit herself: Alola thinks, “If I have to wear shorts to perform a task, then that task is possibly dangerous and I should not do it for the love of my family.” Her love for her family is extremely evident. She can also be considered the vainest of maids. Every night before she goes to sleep, she would tie up her hair in knots nicely as if she is meeting someone in her dreams. Yes, other than letters and occasional cassette recordings, dreams bring her back to her hometown. It is however worth mentioning that having seen a few of her Sri Lankan counterparts and even comparing her with Indian women in Singapore, she is quite beautiful.
She only telephoned us once 4 or 5 years after her stint with us ended. She was probably working for another Singaporean family. Ever since, there is no news of her, even though our telephone number is not changed. Once in a blue moon, I do think of her. More recently, she came to my mind when I arranged my stamps collection into new and bigger albums. All the stamps from Sri Lanka in the collection are contributed by her. She came to my mind again when the tsunami affected her country.
It is a shame that there is no attempt by me to trace her whereabouts all these years and it is only now when disaster struck that I find the need to know whether she and her family are safe. Still, I wish for the best for her and her family and just as her other employers she worked for, I hold on to the belief that she will call home again. For now, it will be to gather some money to help her country and other countries affected.
Being a mother herself, she seems to empathize with my mother and stride to do her best in her job. Cooking, cleaning, washing, babysitting…. There seems to be nothing she cannot or would not do for my family. On top of these duties, she had to deal with my brother and I who sometimes gave ‘maid abuser’ new meanings. Of course, those silly things we did were nowhere near what we see in the news, but it can be heart-breaking for someone who has to be separated from her children by thousands of miles to make a better living. Although my family is not too well-to-do, her wage rate is considered slightly higher than the market rate and there is no lack of benefits-in-kind which aim to save her more money.
Things which I took for granted yesteryears are now becoming question marks above my head. Come to think of it, I have never seen Alola on a pair of shorts or jeans. At work or in her sleep, she is always wearing dress. That may be a tool to limit herself: Alola thinks, “If I have to wear shorts to perform a task, then that task is possibly dangerous and I should not do it for the love of my family.” Her love for her family is extremely evident. She can also be considered the vainest of maids. Every night before she goes to sleep, she would tie up her hair in knots nicely as if she is meeting someone in her dreams. Yes, other than letters and occasional cassette recordings, dreams bring her back to her hometown. It is however worth mentioning that having seen a few of her Sri Lankan counterparts and even comparing her with Indian women in Singapore, she is quite beautiful.
She only telephoned us once 4 or 5 years after her stint with us ended. She was probably working for another Singaporean family. Ever since, there is no news of her, even though our telephone number is not changed. Once in a blue moon, I do think of her. More recently, she came to my mind when I arranged my stamps collection into new and bigger albums. All the stamps from Sri Lanka in the collection are contributed by her. She came to my mind again when the tsunami affected her country.
It is a shame that there is no attempt by me to trace her whereabouts all these years and it is only now when disaster struck that I find the need to know whether she and her family are safe. Still, I wish for the best for her and her family and just as her other employers she worked for, I hold on to the belief that she will call home again. For now, it will be to gather some money to help her country and other countries affected.
After 10 days, he is back....
It must be frustrating to log on to Eliwupc’s World during the past 10 days and find no new blogs. The frustration is equal for me when every time I try to write something, I find nothing worthy to record. When there is something significant to write about, I would be too tired or lazy to entertain.
Some of you must have thought that after my failed attempt to “kill” myself physically by running the Singapore Marathon and mentally by sitting for the ACCA Core exam papers, the uncharacteristically low yield is justifiable. This can be true to some extent. My lack of participation in a programme of my own is mainly due to some periodic household maintenance. Although I normally kick-off spring cleaning (a.k.a. use your hands campaign 2004/5) for my house at this time, it is not the periodic maintenance I am talking about. Similar to the exterior of HDB flats and other town facilities to be refurbished with new coat of paint every 6 years, the walls, ceiling and doors in my house are due for a re-paint this year. The project, headed by my father (as usual), started in late October. Due to exam preparation, while all other rooms (even the toilets) are painted, my* room is to be left odourless. This also serve to lessen my father’s burden a little, as I want to “put my leg” into the project, at least for my* room – when “my leg is put in”, inaction from my brother is rare.
As my brother and I were transferring some furniture to another room to make room for the project, I took the opportunity to dispose some old items and change the way I store some other old items.
One of the changes relates to my stamps collection, which filled about 7 small stamp albums. I started the collection during my primary school days. A substantial number of stamps are given by my aunt, Faith. Due to childhood innocence, my albums and stamps are poorly taken care of. As for my aunt’s albums, the passage of time has discoloured them and just the sight of them would induce a sneeze. The collection is thus transferred to 2 bigger albums which not only enhanced its value, but also saves more shelf space. Appreciating the beauty of the stamps while reclassifying them, I start to believe that my interest in graphics and design begins from these stamps.
Another improvement in storage is that of my A-levels lecture and tutorial notes which sit on a prominent spot of one of the bookshelves. They used to be put together in metal and plastic binds. They are now filed in 30cents paper files, which are economical and nicer to look at. Looking through them again filled me with so much regrets about the missed opportunities at that time and how I have let myself and my teachers down. I reckon they would sit on that prominent spot for quite some time.
Therefore, you can see that my time is mostly committed to improving my living quarters, before the New Year and the new opportunities i.e. mess that comes with it. In fact, some of the mess has already been created with the introduction of some textbooks on lessons with I am to deliver as a temporary teacher for the first term in Northland SS, while waiting for my exam results.
Now, the New Year has started, I would like to thank you for visiting Eliwupc’s World (My World) for the past 4 months. Looking at the number of visits from the counter blink me with pride, although more than one-third of them may be due to me when I enter to check for errors in my new postings or to check for your comments made. Just as good music and games will be provided in a party, I will continue to post as much writings as I can. However, a party can only be fun if we get some weird, crazy people dancing, screaming and shouting…. Or at least, clap your hands. As I write to entertain you and myself, I hope you can also make yourselves heard by writing some comments. Do not be overly-concerned with your (and my) disability to write Newsweek-standard English…. We can only improve if we use the language. If you are concerned with internet security while posting a message, please give me a call immediately. Once again, thank you for your support and wish you a fulfilling year ahead.
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