Chicken Soup For The Twisted Mind

As I was typing this entry, the mooncake festival is coming to an end. I have been getting some request to put up an article on how to make mooncake, but i have to put off that for now due to some personal reasons.

For those of you who don’t know, my family has been in the mooncakes business for more than 10 years. I was tempted to write about it this year, but heck, think will let it pass at the moment.

I’ll write about something else instead. Last month, my eldest aunt from SIngapore finally come over to pay us a visit. The last time she was here, it was like 10 to 15 years ago. At first she was intended to give us a surprise by appearing in front of our house without notice. Too bad the landscape around BM has changed so much that most of the landmark and buildings that she once remembered has eithered changed name or torn down.

So it’s rather comical when she called my mom early in the morning to tell us that she’s lost. And she brought along two of her sons and a friend. The last time I saw my aunt was when I’m in Singapore during my form five. Yes, ages ago. 

And when you meet somebody you haven’t met for a long time, you will have tonnes of things to talk. In my aunt case, she gave me a history lesson of my maternal great grandmother. I have heard my mom talked about my great grandmother before, on how tough and grumpy the lady is, and how she enjoy playing mah jong. She passed away while sitting after winning a mahjong game. Yeah, spooky if you ask me.

My grand mother pass away after involving in an accident, and my grandfather pass away after working too hard to raise my mom’s 5 siblings. That’s left my great grandmother to take care of the five grandson and daughter. She work as a hawker selling hokkien mee, and always drag my mom’s and eldest aunt to help out. Maybe because of going such hardship, my mom’s bonding with her brother and sister is very good.

And my aunt told me a little about my grandfather as well. He is a quiet man that cares a lot about his family. Like to watch chinese opera after work, and bringing my eldest aunt along. And because my aunt doesn’t like to watch the opera, she always nag my grandfather to bring her home. And my grandfather would bribe her with a pack of roasted nuts to stay at the opera longer.

As my aunt told me the story, I can feel that she is reliving back the memories on her own. I can only imagine all that, as my grandfather, grandmother and great grandmother has all long gone when I was born.

But I was thankful that she told me about my family history. Bits and bits of them is what that shaping me whole today.