Childhood days

Just relieving my happy days of my childhood, my youth and naivete.

I reckon I was quite a morose when young, the happiest memories of my early childhood were having the chance to steal lengthy glances of those teen or music magazines bought from the nearby mama shop, belonging to my elder brother. Of course, made possible when there is nary a soul at home. Back then, stars like Leif Garrett, Andy Gibb, Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy were hot. I thought they were super cool. Before I go further, I am not gay, hor.

My earliest known fave song is likely to be “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, who so tragically died so young then. Other than that, “Physical” by ONJ sounded okay and I didn’t really know why it was deemed too controversial then. I also like the music of Grease and Xanadu. Boney M may seems goofy now, I thought I like them then. I also like Abba and The Osmonds a great deal.

Like most children, I was afraid of the dark. As far back as time deemed that I was old enough to sleep alone without falling off the bed, the issue of lights out and darkness irks me…. Big time.

I do have a couple of friends from the neighbouring blocks. Games were just the silly “one-leg”. I was hopeless with marbles, catching spiders or venturing down drains to catch guppies. To top it all, I can’t swim or cycle for nuts. To recap, my older siblings had never played with me that much. Frankly, I guess they were not that keen at it themselves.

It did not help much that I am always on the receiving end – being pelted by the tennis ball in “hantum bola” game, being caught all too easily when playing “One-Leg” and being discovered way too early in the “Police and Thieves” game.

In my teenage years, I spent the greater part of my day locked up in my room. Of course, I had radio for company, those Smash Hits and Shoot! magazines to keep me company. My first experience with blue movies was definitely “Deep Throat”. Ha ha…a porn classic. The stirring of one’s teenage groins…. Ooh aahh… Linda Lovelace and Traci Lords were goddesses. Not forgetting, my weekends… late Saturday nites were spent gluing to BBC radio, listening to the fortunes of Arsenal FC. Match highlights….I must say…the Terry Neill years were not that spectacular.

I love to laze on the floor. It’s cooling. With no one at home, there are always 1,001 things to do, besides school homework. I loves dreaming… I remember I often get lost in the picnic adventure world of The Famous Five…. even, being an Arsenal player. Some one like Graham Rix or Liam Brady. I consider them as silky skillful players back then.

My mom is not going like reading this… I actually dread going to my maternal grandparents’ place during Chinese New Year. It was sheer distaste to fulfill this social obligation. While CNY is a time for merry-making, setting off fire crackers… it is a much-dreaded event for me. Even, it is once in a year!

I can’t understand the evergreen habit of comparing of one’s height, weight, school grades, blah, blah, blah. Let me tell you, as the years goes by, one still had to be field questions on income, job and marital status.

For eons, I wanted to break away from this vicious CNY visits. It is a tedious social and family tradition. I just thought… will those relatives ever go away? Let me live entirely to my own free will, without their well meaning intents and uncalled interference, the world, or rather, my world, would be a better place to live in.

Now, as a parent, I would be mortified if ah girl thinks likewise. CNY visits are one heck of an undeniable facts of life and kinship are at best, of unbreakable bonds.