Post CNY

I'm quite relieved the chinese (lunar) new year season had finally ended. It had, afterall, been quite a dramatic period.

Our family went northwards to Kluang, Yan's birth place and resided with his mum and sister for 3 days. It was an eventful short stay. First of all, there was the immense traffic jam lasting more than an hour where we were stuck in the coach halfway between Singapore and Malaysia. (thankfully the return journey was a breeze saved for Rachel's non thumb print biometric passport which means we need to go through the manual immigration Q)

During the first night, around dinner time, Aerin, 3 fell off my mother in law's chair and suffered a nosebleed almost immediately afterwards. The poor kid had been coughing much for more than a month??? and since it was rather difficult to administer medication she was having close to "untreated" chesty cough and running nose with green mucus....super YUCK!!! Of course, i was unable to stop Rachel from playing with her younger cousin. The two of them hit off very well and can become rather uruly when at play.

Near midnight, on the same day which was also Valentine's Day, we decided to take Aerin to the A&E since she was crying much suddenly after she had gone to sleep just to be assured that her brain was not at all harmed by the nasty fall. Personally, I felt rather peaceful and believed that she was alright and that the nosebled (mixed with thick mucus) was properly unrelated to any bleeding in the brain.

My normally very loud and foul mouthed sis in law was grief stricken and all panicky.She managed to drive us through the wrong hospital (crowded public one) and through the mortuary section where my hair stood at its end before we finally reached the private hospital in the town. A CT scan was made on Aerin upon request and thankfully, the images showed no sign of trauma or bleeding. It was an affordable RM350!!! Which one can buy a pair of DKNY shoes or a Coach card holder!!!!

Thankfully, because of the emergency consultation Aerin was also given antibiotics to treat the infection in her respiratory tract and with Yan and my assistance, we were able to "force" administer 2/3 of the recommended dosage over our period of stay. It was tough adminstering medication to Aerin since she would struggle very violently and use her tongue to push out or vomit out all medication carefully syringed or hidden in food or drinks. She was definitely quite a challenge compared to Rachel!!! Rachel would super wail then cover her mouth when she sees the cough syrup or paracetamol in the 5ml syringe but still with the "pinch the nose method "much of the needed dosage gets into her stomach. She had since progressed to syringing, measuring her own meds and syringing herself.

To me, Kluang is not liveable!!!! The town went through water rationing during CNY where most households would up her utilites and water usage!!! It was also double whammy that I was having heavy period and not able to shower often. In fact, each household had to survive on the domestic water tank and I had merely wiped my body for 2 days using a small portion of water each time!!!! And the weather was so searing HOT!!! Definitely hotter than in Singapore where we have more trees and bushes and as an island we are surrounded by the sea.

Thankfully, there were good times as well. I enjoyed the Kluang Mall which made a huge difference to our stay. The almost "non" sound-proofed Karaoke rooms where one could hear and cheer or jeer the neighbouring units singing or croaking. Then, there was the God of Fortune Mascot that gave red packets only to Malays kids and adults and totally shunned both Rachel and Aerin!!!!

To combat boredom we brought along our violins and surprise!!! It was a breeze going through the check points with me carrying both rachel's 1/16 violin in the 1/4 case and my Maggini copy, 2 bows and a portable music stand and countless music scores, mainly Suzuki vol 1 -3. Its good to see Aerin all excited and busy around Rachel as she tried to practise her Lightly Row and Go Tell Aunt Rhody, besides her usual Twinkle,twinkle little star.

Rachel returned to Singapore with a nasty flu strain that emptied her ang pow collection which was not much since she is the only child. Each CNY we "lose" several hundred dollars...Hahaha. After Rachel finally recovered, I was down with possibly the same flu strain and took Lord's Supper regularly instead of going to our regular clinic in Raffles Hospital. Till now, I've recovered saved for blocked sinuses, headaches (due to the hot weather) and a slight cough. The higher registers of my singing voice have yet to return and for now, I am staying home to manage the household chores and practise music more till the weather improves. (becomes much cooler!!!)