Chapter 32: Aerogram's Story - An Aborted Trip to Paris

When clearing some of the old files, I found this aerogram written exactly thirty eight years ago on 5 March 1984. This air letter, a thin lightweight piece of folder paper was popular in the 1970s and the 1980s. But by late 1990s when the use of emails exploded worldwide, this mode of exchanging news almost disappeared instantly.

I received this aerogram from my wife when I was in UK for a short course at the Loughbarough University of Technology, UK. The course on "Airports and Environment" lasted a mere five days from 12 March to 16 March 1984. 

Participants of the course on "Airports and Environment" organized by Loughbarough University of Technology, UK.

I had planned to do some sight-seeing including a trip to Paris after the end of the course. After the course, I was supposed to travel south from London to Sandwich after which I would cross the English Channel via the Euro-Tunnel to Paris. That's the reason why the letter was addressed to my sister-in-law's house in Sandwich. That letter arrived to its destination slightly too early. It was re-directed by my SIL to an address in London, a friend's home where I stayed. 

I was supposed to have visited Paris. Unfortunately, at the very last minute, I had to cancel the trip and rushed back to Sabah for a new job interview. Earlier,  just before leaving for UK for the short course which was near the end of my second 3-year employment contract, I had applied for a new job in Permodalan Bumiputra Sabah Berhad (PBSB) - a GLC. In the event I was successful, I would not renew for a third contract with PWD.

According to my wife, the Property Development Manager of PBSB, Mr. Cheng Lik Seng was insistent that I return as soon as possible to attend the interview. In the end, I abandoned the trip to Paris in favour of opting for a new job opportunity. I was fortunate to be successful in my new job interview after I returned. That decision changed the course of my whole life. 

By the time I returned to Sabah, it was just a couple of days before my contract with PWD would end on 7 April 1984. The trip to UK turned out to be a sort of a paid overseas holiday trip for my employment contract.

The decision to forgo the trip to Paris was a bitter-sweet decision. It took another thirty years before I finally visited Paris in 2014 (Read here).

It's Just a While Ago....

Recently, one of my ex-sixth former schoolmates posted an untitled poem in the chat. For this group of people who are hitting the platinum age, it is normal to have nostalgia of the past occasionally.

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Sometimes, I feel I want to go back in time, not to change things, but to feel a couple of things twice.....

Sometimes, I wish I was a baby for a while, not to be walked in the pram but to see my mother's smile.....

Sometimes, I wish I could go back to school, not to become a child but to spend more time with those friends, I never met after school.....

Sometimes, I wish I could be back in college, not to be a rebel but to really understand what I studied......

Sometimes, I wish I was a fresher at my work, not to do less work but to recall the joy of the first pay cheque......

Sometimes, I wish I could marry all over again, not to change the partner but to "feel" the ceremony better......

Sometimes, I wish my kids were younger, not because they grew too fast but to play with them a bit more......

Sometimes, I wish I have more time to live, not to have a longer life but to know what I could give to others.....

Since the times that are gone can never come back, let's enjoy the moments as we live them from now on to the fullest.....

Let's celebrate our lives - Every Moment, Everyday.....

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For these seniors, events come and go exceptionally fast. Many things seem to have happened just a while ago. It seems just a while ago that my fourth grandchild was born (Read here). In the blink of the eyes, she has now grown to be a gutsy little fellow capable of matching the older sister's wittiness. Sadly, the set of grandparents across the South China Sea have yet to physically meet up with her.

Chinese New Year 2022 Virtual Family Reunion.

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Nature is not kinder to us either. Just when Delta variants was subsiding, Omicron surfaced. Travelling plans of many were again dashed.

One former schoolmate exclaimed. "I am craving for Tamparuli mee etc. Aiyaya, but have to wait until better days to come back to KK....."

Tamparuli Mee.

Another ex-classmate who has moved to live overseas lamented: "Life has been the same ever since I came over here, to be honest - it's eating, drinking, gambling and sleeping and of course have to babysit once in a while. Cook and travel whenever permitted. Go to church once a week with my wife. Otherwise, what's the point in life? Looking forward to meet you all in the near future!"

Another who has migrated to Canada texted with a tinge of sadness: "May be the next time when I go back,  we will arrange our former badminton buddies to yam cha (coffee), though Peter Lee (Read here) had already left us for eternity!"

My daughter announced: "Brace yourselves.... Border might be opening soon! We're "dying" to see you!"

These are the news that spike up the daily routine!

Ending 2021 - Letting Go Old Family House

2021 ended with the disposal of our old house. It was a bitter-sweet moment. Happy, because we finally managed to find a buyer through our agent. Sad, because of letting go a house where we have stayed over eighteen years from 1986 to 2005. There was so much memory associated with this house where our three children grew up from little kids to young adults. Our older two children stayed in this house until they left for overseas to pursue tertiary education. We moved out from this house to our new home at the end of 2005.

The sale took place at an unusual time when the whole world is caught in the turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With our agent at the Lawyer's office.

Handing over the land title at the Lawyer's office.

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The skyline at the neighbourhood has changed significantly after 35 years. Now a twin tower acclaimed to be the tallest in Borneo is under construction just outside the southern boundary of the housing estate. A major traffic improvement is also currently underway at the entrance of the housing estate.

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Our involvement with the house could be traced all the way to 1982 soon after we signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement. We visited the site to check on the construction work almost from the initial stage. Our eldest daughter was then almost two while our second child was still being carried by the mother in her tummy.

The original house in mid-1980's soon after we shifted in. The porch could easily accommodate our first car, Daihatsu Charade and our second car, a Ford Telstar. The house underwent a major renovation in 1989.

Empty land and hill in 1988.

In late 1980s and 1990s, we used to roam the empty land and hike the hill at the front of the house. This empty land is now occupied by rows of town houses each valued at least a million Ringgit.

The kids enjoyed cycling/playing along the dead-end access road outside the house and hiked the hill in front of the house.

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There are so many happy moments that we can recollect inside the house - family meals, birthday parties, play times, Christmas celebrations, CNY celebrations and friends coming over.....

Play time with neighbouring kid in the bedroom.

We spent our first Christmas in the new house after we moved in in 1985. Our youngest son was barely one year old.

1992.

Celebrating my wife's birthday in 2002, that's 20 years ago!

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Outside the house, we can recall equally great moments as each of us moved into various stages of our lives!

The porch is big enough to accommodate three cars. At one time, we had a Ford Telstar!

In the late 1980s, we had a Proton Saga!

The Toyota land cruiser photographed in the background was sold in August 2016 (Read here).

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We gathered that the house buyer intends to shift in after his marriage. We hope that this house will last another thirty years or more for another new family story to unfold.

A Freak Accident in Devonport, Tasmania

When the news of two children have died and several others have been seriously injured after a bouncy castle was blown 10m into the air at a primary school in Devonport, Tasmania flashed in TV on 16 December, I was instantly reminded of Devonport. We passed through this small town at the north of Tasmania a few times in our driving tour in Tasmania in April 2019.

I was curious to find out what kind of wind speed was able to lift a bouncy castle some ten meters into the air. A check indicated that many parts of Tasmania do experience gusty wind. Malaysia has an annual wind speed of just 1.8 m/s while Kota Kinabalu has an average wind speed is 2 m/s. Devonport however has an average wind speed of 20 m/s. Devonport is indeed a windy town!

On the day of accident, it was reported that Devonport Airport had a wind speed of 1.9 m/s at 9.30am. It then increased to 3.6 m/s. By the afternoon, the wind speed picked up and peaked at 8.3 m/s.  The freak accident which happened at around 10am was attributed to change of wind direction and speed.

The reported wind speed at the day of the freak accident appeared to be much lower than the wind speed of a hurricane. Category 1 hurricane is declared if a sustained wind speed of 119 Km/hour or 33.1 m/s is reached. By coincidence, building structures in KK are designed to a maximum wind speed of 33.1 m/s!

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The most tragic news I read about an individual who was struck and killed by a gas tank lifted by strong wind was reported in Australian Associated Press on 18 February 2020. That unfortunate man happened to be the son-in-law of the Fifians Christian Fellowship's mentor, David Tow.

STS 31st and 32nd Graduation in 2021

The STS 31st Graduation Ceremony, originally scheduled for the end of 2020, was postponed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. It was eventually held on 6 November 2021, together with the 32nd Graduation Ceremony.

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As per usual practice, the Board of Governors (BOG) meeting was convened a week earlier, on 30 October 2021, to endorse the graduating students for both years 2020 and 2021. At that time, face masks were still widely worn, especially in crowded or enclosed spaces such as the meeting hall.