The End of an Era

I haven’t blogged much this month. Last Tuesday (12/06), I received an email from the X out of the blue. It was sent to the new email address that I thought he didn’t know about. I wondered for one whole week as to how he found my new email address and why he was contacting me before actually reading the email. It turned out that he only wanted to let me know that he had moved out of our ‘home’. This place of residence meant a lot for me from day one and thus I am writing a piece about it.

The X and I lived for a long time at the same address. I fell in love with that building about a year before moving there but it wasn’t love at first sight for the X. The X was brought up in the outer suburbs. Moving to the city was not something he was particularly keen to do at the time. Time changed everything or so it seemed. By the time I left, the X apparently saw himself a city guy and loved the place to bits.

We lived very close to the city. We are close to all of the action that Melbourne has to offer all year round. From the balconies, we observed beautiful displays of fireworks almost at least once a month. Because we are so close to everything, we also walked everywhere. I really enjoyed walking in Spring. The start of the season is like ‘New Year’ once again. Everything is so fresh and bright. When Costco first opened its doors, we walked all the way to the Docklands to visit it. When we used to watch movies at the casino, I would do a silly wave to everyone as we turned into the boulevard to head home because other people still have to get to their cars or to the station/tram stops. We had access to trams, trains and buses. If one is heading southerly, the buses were almost always empty. It was like having my own chauffeur. LOL. When heading to the opposite direction, the buses would take us past the famous Victoria Market and if we kept going, they would take us to Footscray. Both are my Mum’s favourite places to visit. As for the trams, I still wake up some days thinking that I just heard it going past. I am pretty sure that they will still be there when I return one day. To people lacking the experience, trams seem so outdated but they really are a very handy mode of transport. Melbourne would be quite weird without the trams.

Our ‘home’ was actually a two bedroom apartment on the top floor. It was built before developers began building tiny apartments. So, the living areas were actually quite spacious. The only thing it probably lacked when comparing it to the new building next door was that the main bedroom didn’t come with an ensuite. I liked it all the same and still do. I used to complain to my parents about a wonky tile in the shower but that really was nothing to compare with super horrible bathrooms I have seen of late. Our ‘home’ was not homely in the first place because we didn’t have much furniture but over the years, we have added ‘cheap’ pieces from IKEA. Again, while I wasn’t all too happy with our choice of furniture at the time, it truly was better than a lot of what I have seen of late.

It was at this little ‘home’ that my creative juices flowed. I learned to sew and made heaps of cute little things. I was even thinking of selling some of the things I made when I heard the news that my Dad was dying of cancer. I even managed to keep a pretty healthy garden with the help of one trusty gnome named Norm. A couple of plants actually joined us a week or so after we moved in many years ago. They were still thriving when I left last year. After the big hail storm that damaged our roof in 2010, tomato plants also grew and flourish for a year and a bit. It was great eating homegrown tomatoes. Also from within our compact kitchen, I learned to cook. I used to think that I didn’t have enough storage space but it was the best kitchen ever. I miss the oven so much.

My Melbourne ‘home’ was also what I dubbed as my ‘fancy cage’. I also have bad memories to do with that place. I made many wrong decisions that hurt not only the X but other people too. I am very aware of my mistakes now and am working to get over them slowly. It may be the end of an era with the X moving away, I am hopeful that I could call this part of Melbourne home again one day. Even though I haven’t been there for a little over a year, I still feel that it is home. I still cry for it on some days but not as often. I am definitely sure of one thing though. I will never deliberately forget my time at this ‘home’. 

Seemed Different

Last week was my one week off work. I had planned to visit a few places with my Mum but due to domestic politics, almost nothing was carried out. Other than the trip to Keningau & Tenom, I managed to visit Tanjung Aru Beach. It was my second visit to the beach since returning to Sabah. It was a bad day to visit the beach. The tide was in. The sea was choppy and it was windy. I checked out the beach – the very area where I used to play regularly as a child. Everything seemed different from what I remember. May be it was because the tide was in, the beach seemed smaller. I went to look for that house I used to like as a child and was glad to learn that it was still there. All sorts of trees and plants still grow on its site effectively concealing it. I still wonder who lives there. Tanjung Aru Beach seemed very different from the beaches I have visited in the last 20 odd years. It wasn’t magical. It didn’t remove my heartache like it used to make me super happy as a child. May be what I need is good company.

During my first trip to Tanjung Aru last year, we parked the car near the playground with the skating rink. That is near the children’s traffic school. I remember feeling good seeing kids using the facilities at the traffic school. It was a relief to see that it was used and not locked up. My Mum and I visited the run down Prince Philip park to look for the other old playground. It was still there. Everything also seemed smaller. I only grew an extra two inches after leaving Sabah but why do things suddenly look so small?

On my way home from the beach last week, we dropped by Perdana Park to see if the English Tea House moved there. I went in while my Mum waited in the car. The English Tea House was nowhere to be found but I found a second super playground at the park instead. It was a Kompan playground for the under 5’s. It was super cool even though it didn’t have a Kompan Supernova. (OK, the Kompan Supernova may not be suitable for most under 5’s.) I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the playground. For a brief moment, I thought that I was back in Melbourne and then I was kicking myself because I could be a Mum if I was good and this could be a place to visit with my little one if I have one. I had my camera with me that day but I don’t know why I didn’t take any photos. I think that I will return to Perdana Park on another day to take photos. Since if they could afford the Kompan equipment, there might even be a Kompan Supernova hiding elsewhere in the park. I wish to properly explore the park on another day. If only I could go there with good company.

Question: Where in the world is Kota Kinabalu’s English Tea House? Where did it move to? Is it gone for good? Do I have to fly over to Sandakan for Fish n’ Chips and Scones?