Uncle called

My uncle, SC called.

Last night he called at about 7.27pm when it was raining heavily.

I did not picked up the phone. He left a message, asking if my father had changed his phone number. Uncle SC asked me to call him if I had my father new contact number.

Frankly, I was surprised. This is the first time I heard that my father changed his number. The last time that he changed his number, he did not informed me. I only got to know of it, during my grandmother's funeral.

That was about 2 years ago. And I have not talked to my father since then.

And today, uncle SC called again. At 10.46am.

Again I did not answered the call. He left a message, asking me to inform my father to contact him. Something about the 3rd year anniversary of my grandmother's death.

Had it been 3 years? I remembered that grandma passed away in Sept, 2 years back. Maybe they calculated it by the lunar calendar?

I did not called him back. I did not know if my father had changed his number. Or whether he was in town.

I had no spoken to him for about 2 years. Since that day at the funeral.

We had NO ill feelings or whatever. We did not hate each other. We just got nothing to talk about and hence no phone calls to each other. And we also did not see each other. There was no such intimate father-child bond.

How do I explain that to my uncle? Would he understand? Frankly, I dun think he would. He would probably say, he's your father! How could you not know? How is that even possible?

Well, he didn't understand our family culture very much. My family is not the same as that from other families.

We are not normal. We are like the Addams family! We just dun operate the same way as the other normal people.

I really envied my uncle SC and his family. They are so normal. So ordinary!

His son, whom is my age, has been married for years and have 2 kids. And his sister, whom is the same age as my sister, is also married for years. And they also have kids!

And my sister and I are childless! Uncle SC and his wife are grandparents. My parents are not!

In fact, out of the several siblings, my father was the only brother who was divorced. The rest of their marriages are still going strong.

Anyway, I tried calling the number I had for my father. The call was directed to answering mode. I left a message, telling him that his brother was looking for him. Frankly, I dun know if he retrieves his messages or even knows how!

I tried calling my sister. She's not answering either!

See! Our family is just like that! We are not slaves to technology. We dun answer phones. Our calls are directed to answering mode.

I messaged my sister, instructing her to inform father that his brother was looking for him, regarding the death anniversary of my grandma.

My father recently made an appearance in my sister's life again.

He left last year after the lunar new year, after a quarrel with my sister.

And my sister called him to wish him happy birthday in May this year and even invited him for a birthday treat. And a few days later, he appeared at her work place and even offered to help her again.

And since then, he has been popping in every few days.

Frankly, I did not know if she had passed him the messages. She did not messaged me back either.

Some time back, she told me she did not know how to sms.

Yah...like real, with smart lawyer's brains like her, who dun know how to sms? Simply too lazy to learn! How difficult is that?

I dun know if father called his brother back or whether he went along to commemorate the death anniversary.

Has it been 2 years? It seemed not long ago, and yet it also seemed very long ago.

Lunch at Raffles Royal China

I had lunch at Raffles Royal China restaurant yesterday
afternoon.

It started with a call from Mother on Monday. I wasn't expecting her to call me so soon
after the last time we chatted a few days ago.

She told me that my sister was treating her to a birthday lunch on Tuesday at Raffles Royal

China Restaurant and that my sister asked if I wanted to come along as well.

Frankly, it has been ages since we three ate together at a table. My sister has been treating Mother to special lunches and dinners on her birthdays.

Normally I am not that interested to go and would turned down such invitation. But my mother is old and how many more birthdays more does she has?

So yeah, against my better judgement, I told her yes.

Mother was not sure about the details so she said my sister would called me later to give me the full details of venue and time.

I had never been to lunch or dinner at any of Raffles hotel restaurants. I am not a gourmet. I have simple taste and dun really believe in expensive food. Frankly, I dun find very much difference between the food at a high class restaurants versus food elsewhere. What people are paying more is for the ambiance and branding.

Anyway, I was curious and did a search online for the Royal China restaurant.

The reviews I read online are mixed. Some said the food were good, others said it was just normal average. Some said the prices were a bit steep. Average prices per diner is about $25 to $45.

Royal China resturant main head quarters are based in London. And the Raffles restaurant is one of their overseas branch in Asia.

My sister called and said she could not contact the restaurant for a reservation. The number she called was unanswered, even after several tries. So she asked if I could tried calling and make the reservation.

I tried calling the number which I got from the Raffles hotel website. No one answered.

Hmm....a 5 star resturant in a 5 star hotel. No one answered the phone. That is considered bad service to me. I mean, dun we expect prompt service from such a restuarant?

So finally after a few tries, I gave up and emailed them using the email address from the website, making a reservation for table for 4. Actually, this was what my sister said. She told me to get a table for 4 so that they would provide a better table and seating position, even though there were only 3 of us.. She also asked me to get a better table. That meant not near the entrance, counter, cooking area etc. She is so damned fussy!

The next morning, I woke up quite late. And somehow, I was dilly dallying till about 1130am.
As we had agreed to meet around 1230 pm or so, I took a cab there.

I have not taken a cab for some time. The cab fare came out to be $13. And out of that, $2 is for ERP charges.

My sister was still at Mother's place when I called her at 1215pm. They had brought the dogs, Bob and Mick to Sentosa this morning.

Anyway, my sister asked me to wait inside the resturant at a table and that she would join me soon.













I walked in the resturant. The ladies at the counter were in cheong sam that was a fading shade of greyish blue(or bluish grey). The place was decorated in bright cyan color m(otherwise known as baby blue). That was one of my favorite colors. But the whole place in cyan? That is really too much! The owner must have really love that color! It was rather like in someone's baby nursery room! But the color is rather peaceful and calming. And the color also reminded me of some china plates and cups.

Anyway, I told them I emailed them last night for a reservation. After checking for a while, they told me they could not find my email. I found out from the name cards, that the number for the restaurant and even the email address provided in the Raffles Hotel website were different.

Sigh...contact data that is not updated. No wonder the numbers I have called went unanswered.

Shame on you, Raffles! Please update your website. 5 star restaurants with this type of online standards? A website is one of the first place that visitors, especially tourists first come into contact with. And if the information provided on the site is incorrect, all that visitors left with is a bad impression.

Yeah...frankly, I was expecting better standards. And I was a bit disappointed.

Anyway, the waitress showed me to a table. The place was near full house. Almost every table was occupied. In times of such inflation, this is certainly good business. If we had came later, I dun suppose there would be a table for us.





I sat there like a fool for about 15 mins. Frankly, I was not that comfortable. Such places just made me uneasy.

The waitress asked if I wanted a drink. She told me today's special was water chestnut drink.

Frankly, it was a good 15 mins before my sister sashayed in with my mother. It has been a few months since I last saw my mother and more than a year since I saw my sister.

Mother looked older, and her skin more sagging. She dun have much wrinkles but her skin was a greyish tone. Makeup? Or just old age?

My sister was slimmer. She had always been voluptuous. But now she is a slimmer voluptuous.





My mother and I are not that fussy eaters so we let my sister make the choices on the food.

She choose xiao long bao, scallops dumplings, shark fins in dumplings with superior soup, steamed prawn dumplings, chives dumplings, char siew buns, egg tarts, fried prawn dumpling, chee cheong fun, cod fish wraps etc. For dessert, I had the chilled mango pudding and she had the orange jelly dessert.

We waited for about 15 mins before the food were served. The serving came steadily, about 2 dishes at one time.

Even after all the food came, my sister said she was still hungry. Mother and I were full though.

I forgot to take photos of the food. It was towards the end of the meal that I remembered. So I ended up taking shots of the interior.

Total costs came out to be $108 for 3 persons, which I think was quite reasonable, but still a bit too expensive for my taste. She paid with the meal with her UOB card, which means there was a further 15% discount.

Frankly, thinking back, the food there did not really have the wow factor. I could not really remembered the taste of lunch. There was no extra yummy fact. I mean, the ingredients especially those using prawns and fish were fresh. The portions were average size. Nothing really stood out.

Service was okay. The waitress was quite polite, attentive and they cleared the plates once they were empty.

We had asked for a table for 4 so from time to time the waitress would asked if the 4th guest was coming. And all my sister could say each time was, "If he comes, he comes". And waved them away. I thought that was pretty cool. But personally, if it was up to me, I would just tell them the guest is not coming. Why bother to fib?

My sister on the other hand liked the food. She thought it was fresh and quite nice. She said she dun like to frequent those cheaper restaurants. She had visited quite a few restaurants and believe in quality value for money. She felt that expensive normally means good quality. She always had expensive taste.

Though it was lunch to celebrate my mother's birthday, there was no birthday card, no presents, no singing of Happy Birthday song. I really missed my Grandma's birthday. When she was in her 60s, the same age as my mother was now, grandma had relatively grand birthday celebrations. Sometimes we ate out, sometimes the daughters and daughters-in-laws cooked. That was a time I get to see all my uncles, aunts and cousins. I really missed those sort of grand celebrations and getting together. I suppose that sort of gathering would never occur again ever since grandma died some years back. Now we only gather during weddings and funerals.

I did not went to lunch at Royal China empty handed. I gave mother a bottle of fish oil, a bottle of primrose oil and 2 dog leases. Frankly, I did not know what to buy for her. I never bought her any birthday presents before. And so i just gave her the fish oil for her health. As for the dog lease, she was complaining some days back about her leases becoming loose.

Mother and I felt the food was average but expensive. We have more simpler taste. We dun believe in expensive food.

Personally I would not visit the place again with my money from my own pocket. I am NOT a cheapo. Maybe if someone treat me for a meal there, I would go. But then I may make other better alternative suggestions. The place was not that memorable or special. Just average.







Now, about what we talked about in the restaurant. My mother asked me if I had a operation on my eyes, earlier during lunch. And that about set the tone for the whole conversation through the meal.

I told her I did it about 2 years ago. About 2 months after grandma died. I told her I saw her a few months after the surgery and asked if she noticed it then. She said yeah, she noticed but now the eyes looked different.

My sister said she noticed too. But she felt the cut were too deep, making it unnatural. Maybe she was not used to my significantly different eyes?

If everyone noticed my double eye lid surgery, HOW COME NO ONE SAID ANYTHING then?

Mother said her colleague had it done 20 years ago and my cousin did it some years back. She did not oppose plastic surgery.

Frankly, I loved my new eyes. I always hated my old single eyelid eyes. And the worse was, one lid was more droopy than the other. So when I went for the surgery, I asked the surgeon to make my eyes the largest possible.

I am very pleased with the results. Nowadays when I looked at myself in the mirror, I dun cringe as I used to. In fact, from hating to look into the mirror, I now dun mind looking into the mirror.

We talked more about plastic surgery. Mother and sister were the conservative types. Both believe in natural beauty and natural aging. I was starting to think if we are even related? Where did these women came from?

Throughout the chat, I was rolling my eyes. They were so...I dun know how to describe them. Both of them dun use moisturiser, or sunscreen or night creams. My mother said she is old and thus dun use creams. She said she believes beauty comes from within and the food we eat. She dun think creams work. *rolleyes*

My sister was too lazy. She said she believes in natural beauty and natural aging. Her skin is still quite good and unblemished, unlike mine. She said she is seldom in the sun and thus never used sunscreen.

Frankly, they were so adamant about using creams. The ways they spoke of creams is like applying poison to their faces. I gave up. They are the only 2 women in the restaurant that did not used moisturiser, I suppose!

I did warned my sister of age spots, liver spots, skin cancer, freckles and pigmentation though. I told her she would regret her choices later in life when all these start to appear.

I told them I was going for a surgery next to pin back my ears. My ears were a bit floppy since young. I looked like Mickey mouse at times.

Mother and sister said I dun need to go for the surgery, that my ears were okay. Yah...this coming from Mother, a woman who told me how ugly I was since young. How my ears were floppy, how my lips small like chicken backside.

The conversation was getting to be straining and uncomfortable. It's like I am defending myself and the choices I made. We are just so different!

My sister smokes, enjoys good food and good living. She loves designer stuff and travelling. She has expensive taste.

For me, I dun have such vices. And I only did a plastic surgery operation once! A double eye lid that cost $2500. That's not being too extravagant as compared to what my sister spent in a month.

Seeing such adverse reactions, I did not tell them I am going for a nose operation this year. All I said was I consulted with a plastic surgeon about my nose and ears and that he advised me to do my ears first.

Mother and sister were horrified I asked the surgeon about my nose. They said it was normal ...blah...blah...natural beauty....blah....natural aging....blah....normal nose...blah...

My mother did said that I probably got this nose cos I loved digging my nose when I was young.
In other words, or her unspoken words, big is okay.

I just got the opinion that both of them thought that only very ugly people go for plastic surgery. And I am NOT ugly enough. Where on earth have they been? It's like they are living in the 70s or the middle ages.

My sister is actually not that bad looking. But with no grooming, no makeup, no skincare and a awful attitude to match, chances of her getting married is very slim. Did I forget to mention that she wants a man who listens to her? Who obeys her and gives in to her every whim?

She is probably going to end up a old maid! And here, I am, attached for more than 10 years. How different are we!

Sigh....frankly, I gave up. I am not seeking their acceptance. I am happy with what I am and the choices I made. No regrets. What they said is not going to make me change my decisions to undergo surgery. I am old enough to make my choices.

After all, I am the one looking in the mirror at the end of the day, not them. I am the one facing my own image, day in day out, not they.

So, it was a rather eventful lunch. Food was okay. I made my choices clear to them and I accepted the choices they made.

Thank goodness, we dun do such lunches often. It is so stressful!

Maybe the next time would be a year later? or 2 years later?

My sister's Lexus

My sister owned a Lexus. She bought the car last year after testing a few models and finally settled on the Lexus, cos it was roomy. She's not a petite, slim lady but eh..rather voluptuous and the Lexus gave her that extra space.

She bought the car in installments for about $100k. That means she's paying about $1k or more per month, and that's excluding petrol.

Mother said that my sister is regretting buying the Lexus. Petrol costs are increasing, ERP are increasing, car park fees are increasing. And my sister parked her car in a mall, where the charges are several times higher than other car parks. And also her business is not that well this year.

My sister is not a very cautious driver. She is a BITCH on Wheels! On land, she's already a MEGA BITCH and can you just imagine her on WHEELS?

Two years ago, when SO and I drove her and mother home from Grandma 's funeral, my sister said she would never buy a car. She said she was seriously involved in a car accident in UK when she was studying there and nearly died. She herself admitted she got no patience on wheels. And that she's happy taking cabs everywhere.

But last year, mother told me, my sister decided that she wanted to get a car, cos she felt it was cheaper than taking cabs.

And she bought a $100K Lexus cos her business was doing well.

Well, my sister did not have a thrift bone in her body. She buys only expensive branded stuff and somethings she used once and forgot about it. And when she came back from UK, broke and penniless, she used her credit card to the maximum. She eventually ended up with $40k in debt, with no means of repaying. And THAT BITCH ignored all those red warning letters the bank sent her. Repeated reminders and warning letters. She simply did not care.

Anyway, she made peace with father after that and he paid all her debts. And now he's broke! We did not come from a rich family background. My father was a low ranking civil service employee.

Back to the Lexus. My mother said the car, less than 6 months old is now badly dented with lots of scratches. That BITCH just dun care. She dun have any pride in her possessions. She told my mother she just drove wildly especially during curves and bends. Hence the scratches and marks.

Well....frankly, I think my sister is going to die in 2 ways (I am NOT cursing her!). She is either going to die in a car accident, since she drove like a she-demon possessed. OR she is going to die of lung cancer, for smoking a few packs a day.

She does not listen to advice, so no use advising her. I did informed her of the risks of lung cancer. She just said she is aware but she simply enjoyed smoking too much to give it up.

Oh well....