Relief...!

I am a true novice at this blogging thing, although I must admit that I have been a frequent visitor to blogs of others, including yours, Lydia Teh, of the "Honk! If you're Malaysian" fame! How do I even begin my blog? What do I say or write about? Well, taking the cue from established writers, I should write about something I know well. Having been on this planet for more years than I care to count (aka old, by any standards), I do know quite a lot about quite a few things. So, where do I start? With something close to my heart. Until something 'better' comes along.

Today my second son starts his first day at work, at a bank in KL. I am relieved that he is finally settling down to a job (not yet a career) after weeks of lepaKING at home. He returned home after almost 4 years away with a "forget how to read, forget how to write - just wanna lepak" maxim. Yeah, oklah. For one month. Then, after 2 months, I started to panic- is this guy ever going to work or not? I have never seen him scan the job ads in the newspapers and when I broached the subject, I got this shrug of the shoulder and little else. What was I to think?And this from someone whose ambition is to own a BMW when he is 30. Get real, get a job first....I hear myself saying for the umteenth time. But my fears were actually baseless; he had attended a couple of interviews abroad before coming home and was quite optimistic about a couple of them. (Was this over-confidence, positive-thinking or what??). And, he had been applying for jobs - through the Internet - without my knowing it. All this while I thought he was merely chatting up his buddies (and girlfriend) when he was glued to the computer. So much for a mother's misgivings. You can't blame me really; after all, he had studied overseas on MAPA scholarship. That's right - not MARA, but Mama & Papa's hard-earned, blood-sweat-and-tears
savings and the last thing I wanted was to see him fritter that away as a couch-potato. Not that we couldn't feed him anymore; but I was afraid he might become self-indulgent and enjoy the lepaking too much for his own good.

So, you can imagine my relief when he was called for a second interview with the bank about three weeks back and got a job offer a couple of days later. Phew!! :) That was no means the end of my worry. Next question was - was he going to accept or not? My husband and I were beside ourselves trying to persuade him that it was a very good offer. He didn't have to stay with the bank if he wasn't happy with it, but even a short stint was worth it for the experience, we said. You see, he was harbouring (still is, I'm sure) thoughts of working overseas. He had said repeatedly that working overseas would be an invaluable experience and he was prepared to face the challenge of proving his mettle on foreign soil. Even if it was only for 2 or 3 years, he said. But I had 'missed' him for the last 4 years when he was away studying. The prospect of losing him for the next few years was a gloomy thought; more so now when my husband and I are nearing our twilight years. It was bad enough that he was not with us for the birthdays, the weddings, the kenduris, the Rayas, etc. over the last few years.

So now you know why I am relieved - he has accepted the job! At least for now, he is only 2hours away by car. He can come home to Mama's cooking when he craves for it and not have to fly home. I can call him on the phone without having to worry about the bill and the time of day. And I can drop in on him when next I go to KL. Till when? I'll cross the bridge when I get to it