I just looked into my phone to see what pictures I took in the past week. Here’s what I found.
1) Wedding Planner
We met up with our wedding planner. She’s the girl on the left and her name is Audrey! What a small world it is because it turns out I actually knew Audrey from my secondary school days in Penang. Right before I met her, Shorty was telling me how Audrey (our wedding planner) would call her and say “Hi Audrey, this is Audrey.. HAHAHA!”.
2) Shorty’s Grandma
Every Sunday, Shorty would make it a point to find some time out of her Sunday afternoon to visit her grandmother.
Sometimes I would tag along and just sit and watch while Shorty tells her about her week and what happened at work. This visit though grandma was watching some make-up show in Taiwan so Shorty gladly sat down next to her and watched the whole segment while talking all sorts of things about make-up. I feel asleep so I missed out most of the conversation.
3) Tiah Family Bak Kut Teh
On Saturday we went to do some prayers for my late grandfather. Almost the entire Tiah family of all my cousins went. After prayers we decided to go to Klang for BKT so we ended up at my favourite shop, taking up 6 tables. I took this picture of all the Tiah’s having their BKT.
They all thought it was the best BKT ever
4) Shorty and Fatty
I don’t know how this happened, but one night before we went to bed we decided to take a picture together. That’s Shorty without any of her make-up on.
I remember how Shorty used to be afraid to let me see her without make-up. But as you can all see… she’s still pretty cute without make-up and with her glasses right ?
Last night I went to bed before Shorty did. I was just about to doze off when her phone beeped from a WhatsApp and woke me up. I got fed up so I got up, picked up her phone and changed my name in her phone to “Mighty Cock”.
Then I gave her a missed call today.
She called me “irritating”.
But while I was in the shower after work she decided to change her name on my phone and give me a missed call.
Only when you lose someone do you really realize how important someone was to you. That was how… my whole family felt yesterday at my grandfather’s funeral. My grandfather’s name was Tiah Eng Bee.
The family home in which my father grew up along with my aunties and uncles was in the small town of Kluang, Johor. It was a single storey house with just a few rooms where my uncles and aunties would cram together growing up. At the back of the house there were constantly chickens or ducks walking around the house, probably not knowing they would all eventually end up in the kitchen with my grandmother one day. To feed the family.
My grandfather was a politican, the only one in our family till today. During Tunku Abdul Rahman’s time, he ran for elections and became a member of parliament. We had old pictures of him in the 60s, pictures of him campaigning for votes and pictures of him with prime ministers or leaders that we only get to read about in our history books. On one picture he was shaking hands with Tunku Abdul Rahman, another with Tun Hussein Onn and even one with Tun Mahathir.
At the end of his great life, I find myself remembering all the things that my grandfather was… and wasn’t.
My Grandfather was wise
In one of our conversations a few years ago, he praised me for doing well in business but he cautioned me. He said “When you make money, make sure you save enough. Because the opportunity to make money doesn’t always last and the world is a cruel place for people who don’t have money”.
My Grandfather cared.
About 2-3 months ago, I was having a lot of challenges at work and I was really stressed out. My parents knew and I think word got passed down to my grandpa.
I went to visit my sick grandpa one day. There he was laying in bed, gaunt and weak… with hardly the strength to talk to anyone. When I walked in I smiled, shouted “HELLO AH GONG!!!” and waved frantically. We all knew he was too weak to respond but I could see him acknowledging me in his eyes.
Then as he saw me come closer, he opened his mouth and muttered the only few words he could say to me.
“How is your problem?”.
I said I had managed to overcome them and it’s all ok. I could see him breathe a small sign of relief as he slowly slipped back into sleep.
I left his house that day thinking…. that there was my dying grandfather who hardly had the strength to do anything. But he mustered the strength to ask me how my problem was. My grandfather cared.
My Grandfather was honest.
As an MP and a politician, my grandfather was never corrupt and he was never rich. He told us of the many opportunities he had to be corrupt as an MP but he refused to turn on the people who had voted for him. So he never was rich on his own, but he believed his honesty was why he was blessed with successful children that cared for him all the way till his last days on earth.
My grandfather was 89 years old when he passed away 6 days ago. The Tiah family came together to mourn him and to see him off to his final resting place that was on a beautiful spot on a hill in Rawang. He lived not just a long life but a full life. He struggled to raise a family, he served our country and community.
In the end he left behind a legacy in us. His children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
I can only hope that I will be able to live a life as full and meaningful as his.
