It's the first post of 2013 and again, I've ditched the mountain of homework I have to blog (not a very smart move considering school starts in 5 days). But today I really want to write about my dad. I've always wanted to write about my dad; like REALLY write about him, his quirks, his likes, his habits. I've tried to do it several times, but always fail to do so because the right words never seem to come to me. Most of the time, I'd just replace it with poems or pictures about dads in general. But today, I'm going to write about the man himself.
I've only known my dad for 17 years and counting (well, my whole life I guess). He is semi bald now and has a paunch, I guess most middle-aged men look like that. But he often brags about how handsome he was when he was young, with his bell bottom jeans (fashion of his time) and cool shades. He is the youngest in his family, with 2 older sisters and 2 older brothers. He has another older brother but he died of lung cancer at a young age. Sometimes I wonder how it would be like if this uncle was still alive, whether he would be funny and shower us with gifts or whether he would be just another distant uncle. But lets not dwell on that. My father sets out a patriarchal figure in our household and though my sister and I like to joke around with him and try to push his buttons, I think we both have this respect for him as patriarch of the family. He has never hit me (at least since a very long time ago), and I guess I try my best to make sure he never does. Well he is happiest when we make him proud with our results or when he strikes 4D/Toto. He once said to me, "the best gift I can give you in life is an education, so you make sure you work hard.". These words have been ingrained in my mind, and I guess it's part of the reason why I work as hard as I do (sometimes, at least). He always tell us about the rough childhood and teenage years he had, because he wasn't really handed the opportunity of having education and had to work to pay for his school fees and shuffle between different uncles' houses to study. He tells us how poor he was in the past, about how he could only afford nasi-lemak at a certain stall and only watch others drink fizzy drinks during special occasions (they were expensive in the past). And yet despite his humble beginnings, he is never stingy. When I was considering whether to choose RJC as my first choice after receiving my o-level results, and one major factor holding me back was the school fees ($450 ++ per month just for school fees alone). He told me that I should just go ahead with it and said that money isn't something I should worry about now, and that I should just try and make the money's worth by working hard. Ok, maybe that doesn't really prove the point. But he is willing to splurge on family trips and what makes me and my sister happy (like ZARA clothes, or hotel buffets). Yet he doesn't buy many things for himself, I think the bulk of what he spends for himself goes to Toto and 4D tickets, as money-wasting as I may find them to be.
Argh, I have to go now. I should probably continue this some other day with another post on my mum! Alright that's all for today!
Toodles!
