masterwordsmith-unplugged

It is almost 5 a.m. on Friday morning. I went to bed at 11ish and woke up in the middle of the night because I am too excited to sleep. And why so?

My favorite and closest cousin, Hoy, from San Francisco called me last night and invited me for tea in Penang Hill later in the day together with Alice and Freddy. You will think I have lost my marbles for getting excited over such a humdrum run-of-the-mill event but you see, my best childhood experiences were with Hoy whom I get to see once every two years or so.

Thanks to Hobart who shifted his session to an earlier slot in the afternoon, I can go with them. But my main concern is whether the funicular train is working and if we would be stranded up there :-) and then hike down the hill. God forbid! Holy smoke if that were to happen!

Gee! And we will be going to David Brown's Restaurant and tea Terrace on Strawberry Hill for tea - something that I have wanted to do since the restaurant first opened last year.

I am gushing like a schoolgirl and so so so excited because the last time I went on an outing with Hoy was to Great America Theme Park in Santa Clara, California and we were so zonked from motion sickness after taking the rides that even when we reached downtown in Frisco, our heads were still spinning and the ground seemed to be moving!

Such a pity my boy and hubby will not be able to go with us as my son has his music theory lesson in the evening. I can imagine us laughing and cracking up all the way, especially with Alice around! Too bad Wilson will not be able to be with us to entertain us with his stories and to explain stuff to us in his usual wikiwilsonpedia style :-).

During our childhood days, a treat was going to Maxim's along Penang Road (not the cake shop but a restaurant) and having a Merry Widow or a Butterscotch Special - that was the ultimate. Then a Division 2 treat would be tea at Wing Lock along Penang Road where Hoy and I would enjoy the chicken chop and cream horn plus other cakes. Division 3 treat would be a dinner at Seng Kee at Dato Kramat Road for the char hor fun :-). Sadly, Seng Kee closed down recently.

I am mega flooded with memories of the times I spent with Hoy ...when our mothers would go shopping for chiffon and other material in quaint Indian shops in Little India and Chulia Street. Our mothers would buy a packet of sequins and then scatter them on the floor for us to pick!!! I cannot believe that we were dumb enough to fall for that ploy to keep us busy. Goodness! If I were to do that to Nick or Xuan, they would not only scoff at me but would most likely laugh hysterically at the ridiculous scenario. But such was our naivety that we found so much joy in each other's company and played endlessly together. Another highlight of my childhood days were sleepovers at his home during the holidays where we would play and then fight and then play and fight etc. Such bliss...Oh to be young again...*sigh*

Truly, I cannot imagine what sort of person I would have been if I did not get to play with my Hoy and my other cousins. I blogged about those playtime experiences a few months ago....

Just the other night when we were reminiscing at dinner, I recalled how I would be the director deciding what scene to play and who would take on which role. Once, we reenacted the manger scene in Bethlehem and at that time, Hoy's baby brother was perfect as baby Jesus sleeping peacefully in his pram until he wailed and we all scurried away before our mothers reprimanded us for being absurdly irresponsible..

Believe me, I played a lot when I was young, mainly all kinds of imaginative games and it was truly such fun. No wonder Hoy and I are creative in our own ways. He is a superb artist but did not end up as one though. As such, I have always emphasized the importance of creative games for my boys and other students. Needless to say, I disapprove of electronic games :-) with the exception of Pet Society in Facebook ;).

Hoy is almost six months older than me and he is the closest relative that I have and I love him as my own brother. He was a pillar of strength in my most challenging times in the 1990's and I will never ever forget his words of wisdom and perspective. A warm and caring person, both my boys love him and his brother very much too!

When he goes back to US on next Tuesday, I will miss him dreadfully and do not know when we will see each other again...but I know my life is all the richer because of his love and that of his family for mine.

Penang Hill - here we come!!!! And now, I'd better hit the sack! Thanks for reading the middle of the night ramblings of an eccentric blogger!

Cheers! I am in such a happy mooooooooooooooooooood!!!!! Yipppeeeee!!!

How I can ever fall asleep ever I log off will be a mystery!!!