The X may not agree but I loved Christmas time in Australia. When things were good, I used to go with the X to his parents' house for Christmas day. Almost a whole day used to be spent eating foods that I now crave for each day of the year. LOL. The kids: his nephews and nieces, were spoilt rotten with the amount of gifts from everyone, including us. Then I stopped attending family events like the annual Christmas gathering. That was life....
If Christmas day was fun, Boxing Day was even more exciting. We would go shopping. If one would like to see Aussies parking like Sabahans, one would have to go to Chadstone on Boxing Day. It is actually quite amusing. We would normally go to Bourke Street mall in the morning and spend the afternoon at either Victoria Gardens or Highpoint. It was fun hunting for bargains and we had a trick to help us get the things we want.
There at Target stores all over Melbourne, they sell Christmas ornaments by Hallmark. They are called Keepsakes. We have been collecting them since we met and yes, everytime we replaced a Christmas tree, we had to go one size bigger to accomodate our growing collection of ornaments! Those flimsy little things were actually quite pricey and periodically, they went on sale before Christmas and we would purchase the new ones we liked most first. As for the ones that are not at the top of the list, we or I would stash them away from where they were normally on display. Sometimes I would keep them in a Nappy Bucket with the lid on at the baby's department and then retrieved them on Boxing Day to purchase them heavily discounted. That way, we always get the best dip before the other customers. How sneaky?
On the Boxing Day 10 years ago, I went shopping on my own. I can't recall where the X went but he wasn't with me that day. I started the day with a visit to Myer and David Jones on Bourke St Mall. By the time I got to Myer, I felt like something was wrong but didn't know what. I had lunch before popping over to QV and bought a few more things before going home by tram. I remember getting on an old tram but that doesn't make sense because the #1 tram is not like the old rickety #8 in those days. As the tram rumbled down St Kilda Road, it turned into Southbank like a #1. So may be all of the trams were travelling through Southbank that day. Just as it was turning, I heard the news about the Tsunami. I clearly heard that Malaysia was affected. I freaked out of course. I got off at my stop and ran for the apartment. In the living room, I turned on Sky News to double check what was going on and lo and behold something massive had happened in South East Asia! I grabbed the phone to call my parents. My mind was racing. My Mum picked up the phone and I was relieved that she could still pick up the phone. My first question to her was, "Is everyone OK?" and her first two questions were, "Why did you call again? Is everything ok?" I thought she was trying to shield me from the truth and started crying. LOL. I told her about the earthquake and tsunami and her response was, "What earthquake? If you feel tremors in Melbourne, we don't feel them over here. Sabah is too far from Australia." It was obvious that my folks had no idea what was happening in their region. They were in the middle of a Mahjong game with family friends. I felt like an absolute fool! For the rest of the day and for many days afterwards, Sky News was on every minute that I was home. I will never forget watching a jerky footage of an Indonesian family on the first floor balcony of their home looking out at the sea sweeping everything in its path. The house was not even by the beach but the sea just came in. It was surreal. The people were calling but who could help? I remember watching the little boy Martinus who was rescued in Indonesia. He was found eating uncooked Maggi Noodles dropped by rescuers. Everyone wanted to adopt the boy. It must have been a super scary experience for him. I recently read a piece about the boy. He is all grown up and is hoping to be a football (soccer) player.
Boxing day 2014 is here. I am still here in Borneo. Today is the last day of my holidays. I will start prepping for the new year tomorrow. I have to keep everything in check to ensure a smooth ride. It is very important for 2015 to be as stress free as possible. I will post again in a few days about what 2014 was for me and what I would like to achieve in 2015.
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