Six Years of Jesse

Jesse is six today.

It wasn't all that long ago when he was just an itch in my groin a baby. And suddenly, lo and behold, the boy is six.

Suddenly, he's all independent and stuff. Suddenly he doesn't need Daddy to switch on the lights for him anymore. Suddenly he's operating the DVD player all on his own, and working the iPhone. Suddenly he's Googling, and reading his own bedtime stories. Suddenly he doesn't need Daddy to wipe his ass anymore.

And suddenly I miss it all. Except maybe that last one.

He's even begun dictating the terms of his birthday celebration. "Daddy, for my birthday, I want to go the the place," he explains, "where we eat the fish on the leaf, with the Roti Canai and the sugar."

It used to be McDonald's. But my little boy is all grown up now. *sniff*

In other news, Little Maddie is on her way into her McDonald's phase very soon. Ah, the stories I have to tell. :) More blogging!!!

Reprise, Repeat, Repulsor

I haven't blogged in ages and I figured I should. Aside from being a nice reminder of things that happened in our lives, it's also pretty therapeutic. And Lord knows I need therapy from time to time. Comes with the whole territory of being Hainanese. Heh.

Anyway, it's been over six years of blogging now. Or semi-blogging, as the case may be. Jesse's going to Primary 1 next year. Maddie turns 1 this Sunday. I'm pushing 40. And Mae is 25. (It's statements like this last one that ensures I get to turn 40.)

At this stage, if you've read this far, you'd realise I'm just rambling. Sort of a freestyle riffing. There is probably a point to this post, but it might take awhile getting there. It probably has to do with growing old and getting verbose. A few more years, I'll be recounting war stories and their many reruns from a rocking chair.

So yeah, this one's about growing old, and growing up.

I look back at the last six years of blogging and I don't recognise the blogger. I've grown awfully cynical and perhaps even somewhat bitter. I don't marvel at too many things these days. And people don't surprise me any more. I've grown to hate more things than I love. Because with age and experience, comes the ability to see through all kinds of bullshit. You know, the kind that suspends your disbelief in anything, allowing you to be happy and well-adjusted.

Growing old sucks. Cos you can't find the time to watch a movie at the cinemas. No wonder I'm bitter.

I need to watch Iron Man 2 before I self-destruct.

Valentine & Old Couples

So yeah. Almost everyone online seem to be calling it Sucker's Day and we're inclined to agree that Valentine's Day is just another excuse for businesses to bleed your wallets.

But Valentine on Saturday was just another Saturday to us. We took the kid to The Curve and let him run loose. Meanwhile, young lovers (and suckers) were everywhere, dressed to the nines lugging around bouquets, gifts and other Valentine paraphernalia. As Mae and I watched with amusement, we were also painfully aware that this part of our lives is now over.

Let's face it. Mae and I are no spring chickens. Pushing 40, married for 7 years with a hyperactive 5-year-old in tow and another in the oven, we don't really get much more alone-time to be together anymore. In fact, it's probably never gonna happen until we ship the kids off to college and stuff. Sure, when Jesse was younger, we could always just dump him at my In-Laws and go for a movie or something, but now that he's bigger, we're never gonna get this past him.

Last Saturday, we took him all over and let him stay at the playground to his heart's content. He had a ball, running up and down like a monkey on speed. By 9pm that evening, the boy was out like a light. And so, after leaving the household under the care of our maid, TheaVy, Mae and I snuck out for our Valentine's Day Dinner. And, having the wisdom of our years (*ahem), we did not submit to the crass commercialisation of the day. There was no bouquet (sorry Honey!), no dressing up, no make-up and no pretenses. Instead, we ended up at our favourite Pokkari haunt in the Chow Kit area, in our t-shirts and shorts.

So there we were, right smack of the seediest side of downtown KL, surrounded by a community of traders, prostitutes, drug addicts and transvestites, backdropped by raging traffic and screeching Mat Rempits. And right there in the midst of it all, we were alone at last. And for a fleeting moment, we were like young lovers once again. Until the night air caused our bones to ache, that is. Okay, I was kidding about that last part! We're not quite that far over the hill yet.

So yeah, Valentine's Day may be Suckers Day to you, but hey, we old couples need this. If only as an excuse to drop everything for a couple of hours and pay attention to each other again. Tragic as that may sound. :)



happy valentine's day

Working Class Heroes

As of last week we became, once again, full-time working parents.

Mae had been on hiatus from the workforce for about a year. In that time, she had been pretty much a full-time Mommy to Jesse. Her day had been pretty much filled with activities for him. Daily trips to the mall (which I'm sure is every woman's dream), visits to Grandma's and the ocassional walks to the park with the boy. Over the last few months, her schedule also included ferrying Jesse to school and back.

Fortunately for Mae, there was Roma to take care of the chores.

However, this arrangement does take it toll on our finances. Though we weren't exactly hand-to-mouth, we could no longer afford little luxuries like weekend getaways to nice little places. Or nice breakfasts in posh places. Or more toys for the boy. And then there was the little apartment in which we live - which has gotten a little too small for our family.

Then an opportunity came which allowed Mae the opportunity to go back to work. In all honesty, I'm relieved. At least now we'll be able to save some money for a new house and even set aside some for a rainy day. Unfortunately for Jesse though, he'd be seeing a lot less of Mommy. For now, thankfully he doesn't seem to mind.

As for Mae and I, we'll be slaving our asses off for awhile until she makes tonnes of money. And then I can be a homemaker. Go window shopping. Watch lots of television and DVDs. KEkekke! Wish me luck, people!