Hardship

I sometimes blogged about my childhood as a form of catharsis, and also to note down some minor details in life which I thought are good to remember.

Howoever, a person who had suffered less or no hardship than others does not make him a lesser person. While hardship is sometimes perceived, everyone's life experience is unique and everyone has his own trial and tribulation which others may not had experienced. Some people may not have suffered poverty or broken home, but may have fought battles with diseases and illnesses. Some may have led a relatively peaceful life had taken on challenges by acquiring new knowledge and skills, and yet some are strong advocates against cruelty towards animals.

It is impossible for us to experience everything, but as we interact with one another, we can learn from one another.

20B, Nankin Street

20B, Nankin Street was where I spent some time living with my paternal grandparents. My grand parents and two of my uncles lived in the attic floor (3rd floor) of the shop house. The ground floor was a warehouse for Chinese herbs. The 2nd and 3rd floors were rental rooms.

On the attic floor was devided into 4 small rooms, 2 of which were occupied by other families. My grandma and my uncles occupied the other two. There was an a kitchen and bathroom at the rear of the attic floor. That's were I learned to use karosene and charcoal stove to boil water, cook and make soups.

I haven't been back to Nankin Street since it was revamped. But I'll do so some day.

The pic on the top right shows the crossroad between Nankin Street and China Street. At the background is OCBS building. The ground floor at the corner shop house used to be occupied by fish mongers. I did most of the grocery shopping were done at the back lane of China Street.

I completed the Sundown 10km

Yes, I did it. Not only did I make it to the Sundown starting point, I had also completed the run in better timing than last year.

I had problem getting the shuttle bus service. There wasn't any in sight after 30 mins wait. So I took a cab to the Changi Exhibition Centre (starting point). It cost me another $12.40. I was on time. And just before the flag off, participant's attention were directed to the beautiful sunset. It's so mesmerising. Somehow it reminded me of the yummy salted egg yoke.

The moment the race started, I felt that it was all worth the while. The evening was so serene. I reminded myself not to rush. Any stitches or cramp would spoil the fun. So I focused on enjoying the evening sky with airplanes soaring like birds and the occasional roaring of airplanes from the runway. As darkness engulfed the route, the breeze help cool our tired bodies.

When I reached the finishing point, I was so famished I gobbled up two bananas, almost swallowing the skin as well. Met a colleague who participated in the corporate challenge. After a short chat with her, I took a bus home. I think I had improved on last year's timing.

Pre-run Jitters

About 2 more hours to the 10 km run.

Just reached home from fetching Alyssa, changed into the race T. Don't think I have the time to take dinner. So ate a piece of bread with peanut butter., hydrate myself with a glass of water. Now I'm having pre-race jitters. Not sure whether the shuttle bus service route is correct. Checked website. It says pick-up point is at Pasir Ris Interchange, also available along Dr 1. Is the info reliable? I think I am trying to come up with some excuses. I think I had better start going.

Untitled

From these:

To these:


and these:

and these.

87B Duxton Road

87B Duxton Road, that's the place I had lived from the time I was born till I turned 19. My humble (I mean really humble) abode was a tiny rented room on the 3rd storey pre-war shop house. Furnishings consisted of a double bed, a small round dining table, a shelf 1 cupboard and 1 wardrobe and 1 dressing table. A monochrome wedding photo displayed prominently on the wall until one fine day when someone felt it no longer deserve a place in the room. Our room was quite airy, with very large windows on two sides. The six sq ft or so free space available served as our play area as well as a place for us to sleeping.

A small pantry was placed outside the room for crockery and left over food. Kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities were shared amongst tenants living on the same floor. In the earlier years, the place was well maintained as the tenants were mainly families. In the later years, most families had moved out, and with the influx of M'sia workers, it was more lucrative for the land lady to sub-let the rooms to them. During my first year in varsity, we relocated because of urban renewal.

Sometime last year, I brought my children to check on the place. The shop house where I used to stay is now part of Berjaya Hotel Singapore.

Grandma and her children

My paternal grandma told me alot of her life stories during my stay with her. Though I was very young, some of the them etched deeply in my memory.

Grandma arrived at Singapore in a Junk from Samsui Province, Guangdong, China at the age of 12. Her mother, i.e. my great grandma, had been here working at construction sites. Grandma was matched made and married when she was 19. She had a total of 12 children. The first 10 were boys. Times were bad. Four out of the first five died at infancy, one of them was sent to a church when he was ill. My grandma hoped that he would receive medical attention and be given a fighting chance. "The priest sprinkled some water on him and took him away," she said matter of factly. She never knew what happened to that child. In the interim, my grandpa turned to opium as a form of escape. Life became tougher for the family. The sixth to tenth sons (including my father) survived, and gradually grandpa quit opium. But he could only afford very basic education for them. So all the five boys were street urchins. The last two children were girls. WWII broke out and the girls contracted diseases and died as they couldn't get any medical attention. I often wonder how grandma coped with all these set backs.