Pictures speak a
thousand words. I treasure those pictures taken of me in my younger days. When I look at those old photographs, I try to recall my state of
mind and the events around the period when the pictures were taken. I wonder
what I could have been thinking and how my views had changed . I have always aspired to become an
independent minded person and an individualist. Maybe some people are naturally more individualistic than others while some like to conform with social expectations and naturally fit into the environment they live in. There are the others who are still figuring out things. Sometimes I wish I had figured out some things sooner. Perhaps it is better late than never.
When I left home
to pursue my studies, my dad bought me a Canon camera . I believe it was a AE
SLR and it was one of the must haves which I carried everywhere I travelled to.
When I dabbled in some baking , my dad bought for our house a standing oven
during one of my vacations. My dad bought both me and my sister a treadmill and exercise machine in the
early nineties. The camera, the oven and the treadmill are representative of the interests that
had become an integral part of my adult lifestyle. I am not much of a cook but I am a foodie. I do incorporate
regular physical exercises in my weekly routine to keep fit and feel good. I
enjoy taking pictures and in this digital age, photography seems to inspire
infinite possibilities. During our growing years, we were sent to piano and
music lessons and the brand of our first piano was Pearl River and it was
subsequently replaced by a Baldwin which my daughters used when they first
started their music lessons. These were of course not the only purchases my dad
had expended on. However there were some items which were not purchased but
home made and I did not think I appreciated them then.
As a child, we
do not want to be different from the others. Peer pressure is real. As far as
my memory goes, I was never given
one of those paper lanterns which children hand carry during mid-autumn lantern festival or commonly
known as mooncake festival. Every such festival, children flock outside their
houses with their little lanterns brightly lit and they walk around their backyard or parade on the street in the neighbourhood. These paper
lanterns are usually in the shape of an animal e.g. a rabbit, a bird, a dragon or whatever that is striking and
colourful. These days the design of such lanterns may include those of the
anime characters. My enterprising and innovative dad used to make ornaments
for Christmas decorations; there was this one time my sister and I had asked
for a lantern. Instead of spending money buying one of those colourful paper
lantern which was flimsy and
probably would burn out after the season,
he made my sister and I each a wooden lantern with wheels which we had
to lug along on the road; he had modified one of those Christmassy dollhouses
which were left over from the previous year sale. If I remember correctly, it
was a dollhouse with some glitters and sparkles. Instead of a paper lantern
which is feather weight and can be carried around the neighbourhood, we each
had a wooden dollhouse which we had to pull or lug along the road. As a young child, I felt very self-
conscious and awkward about my “lantern” which was significantly different from
the traditional paper lanterns and
I certainly did not ever
ask for another lantern during subsequent years.
Cebu |
Looking back, I remember having a dad who was industrious and had little time to idle around. For a living, he had to constantly think of producing stuff to market. When he was in PVC plastic business, he made PVC bags printed with pretty pictures and printed stickers which bore meaningful and inspirational words which we now receive through our emails from our cyber friends . More often than not, my dad on his own learnt the ropes of whatever business he ventured into, be it books printing or screen printing or plastic industry. He also had to plan and strategize his marketing plan on his own. He had the ideas but he did not have the people to execute them. He was innovative but he was perhaps not sufficiently resourceful to engage the right people to perfect what he wanted to achieve. He had very little financing so he had to make money out of these merchandises quite quickly to make his businesses sustainable. As my dad felt his way around and invest his time and energy in making products which he thought were merchantable, he also found the time to play tenor saxophone in a music band which he had formed with his friends ; he arranged music for his band which took to perform in botanical garden during festive occasions as part of the community activities. He had married my mother and a decade later, fell for a woman who was poles apart from my mother. How he could have such contrasting tastes still baffles me till this day.
In some ways, my
dad was an individualist. Somehow throughout the years, his aspirations for his
children became pragmatic, conventional and earthy although once upon a time he had cared more
about virtues, intellect, artistic
and creative talents than money. Like all parents in the world, my dad
wanted his children to have material success and a comfortable lifestyle. As he
was caught in a race juggling
between his role as a breadwinner raising his family and his social obligations
in fulfilling his commitments and responsibilities in the positions he had
volunteered in various organizations, it appeared that he might have overlooked the essence of
moderation . Maybe each individual will have to somehow figure out our own
centre in order to find our balances. I figure it is easier said than done.
Malapascua Island, Philippines |