This and that...

As mentioned in my previous posting, I was going to Putrajaya on Sunday 26th April.

Since my function was to start at 3 pm, I promised to meet up with Raden Galoh in the morning, at our usual meeting place, as she mentioned in her blog posting here. And yes, of course, I got myself a signed copy of her book, Kanser Payudaraku.

Then off I went for the launching of my alumni’s own building in Putrajaya.

What I’d like to bring up is about the motorist who was tailing me at the PLUS highway on my way back to Ipoh. It was somewhere along the Tanjung Malim stretch when suddenly there was this Mat Motor tailing my car. Yep, right behind my car. I was driving at the speed limit of 110 km/h and this mamat followed at exactly the same speed. The distance of his motorbike and my car, at that speed, was simply too close for comfort. If I had suddenly slammed on my brakes, he was sure to crash into the back of my car, with an impact that could be fatal.

I stepped on the gas to increase the speed of my car, with the hope of furthering the distance between my car and his motorbike, but every time I increased my speed, he did the same; and every time I slowed down, he did the same too. I got to the right lane to overtake another vehicle, he did the same. I went back to the left lane, he did the same. Sheesh! Kurang asam punya mamat! Although I didn’t get the “jantung berdebar” feeling I’d usually get when there’s trouble ahead, I was still extra alert nonetheless, just in case this mamat was up to no good.

Just as we were approaching Tapah R&R where I was going to stop for Maghrib, we overtook somebody else who was riding a motorbike at a rather slow pace. It was then that this Mat Motor who was tailing me suddenly slowed down to the same pace as this other motorist.

This other motorist happened to be a young lady riding alone.

Wonder what the Mat Motor had in mind when he tailed right behind my car and then when he suddenly slowed down to follow the pace of the woman on the motorbike?

I don’t know what happened thereafter because he soon got out of my sight.

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Yah called me while I was in my office this morning. She wanted to know if there are any orphanages in Ipoh that would accept both girls and boys. She said if she sends Abang Chik to a boys orphanage while his sisters are in another orphanage which takes in only girls, chances are Abang Chik would want out soon.

Huh? Now she wants to send Abang Chik to an orphanage too? Aduuh, when others would do anything to have their children staying with them, Yah seem to be sending one by one of her children to orphanages. I asked her why she wanted to do this, her only answer was, “Tak tau lah kak, tengah banyak masalah ni” – without mentioning what the problem was. What about her youngest daughter who’d be 3 years old this year? “Yang tu tok dia tak bagi. Dia nak bela sendiri.”

Frankly, I don’t know what Yah’s problem really is. Seems to me she’s having problem with her own parents. Last time she was the one who refused to let her in-laws take her kids away from her. Now she wants to send the children away to orphanages.

Then she asked me if I knew of any homes for single mothers she could seek shelter from.

Aduuuh… tak habis-habis problem lah perempuan sorang ni! For the children's sake, I will have to arrange to meet up with Yah soon to discuss things. Maybe it is indeed better for the children to stay in orphanages rather than with Yah.

And now they're bickering...

I remember once I was organizing a particular event and there was this lady who had agreed to help out to coordinate one of the programmes for the day. With everything set to go, the evening before the event, the lady called me up to tell me she was not able to make it as her son was very ill and she didn't feel good leaving him at home in such condition. She apologised profusely to me. I told her, "It's okay, I understand." She then replied, "How can you understand? You will not understand until you have children of your own."

I thought (and I still think) that last statement was not necessary. Had I persuaded her to attend the function no matter what her circumstances were because it was such a last minute notice, I would understand her statement. But I was in no way persuading her... as a matter of fact, I was empathizing. As someone who believes that "family comes first", I too, if I were in her shoes, pull out of the event. And when I told her I understood, it came from my heart. I may not have felt what she felt, but that didn't mean I didn't understand. Just because I am not married and I don't have children, doesn't mean I don't have feelings. Or does it?

Well, in the voluntary work that I'm doing right now, I never tell my PLHIV clients that I know how they feel, because really, I don't. I do however, understand their fears and their worries. But I have learnt not to say to them I understand because I may get the same response as I did in the above situation. Still, when we try to motivate them to move on with life, some may still say, "Easy for you to say, you don't know what it feels like."

So, we try to get these PLHIVs connected with each other, so that they'd get to know others "in the same boat". They'd probably understand each other better. I organised the deeparaya-do for the ladies so that they can get to know each other and so they may exchange ideas as to what they can do to get on with life after HIV. I encouraged them to exchange phone numbers so they can get in touch with each other. I brought Jah along with me during my house visits.

Well, Jah and Shila have become very good friends. And Asiah too would contact Jah from time to time. The rest, oh well, they may not be contacting each other, but when they do see each other at the hospital, they would at least talk to one another.

Fuzi and Yah too got to know each other during the deeparaya do. They exchanged phone numbers, and they do contact each other from time to time. But things are not well between those two now. Those who have been following my postings in this blog may remember I mentioned about Yah asking for the phone number of Fuzi's friend, which Fuzi gave without question and without even getting the friend's permission. Well, Yah did call up that friend and ended up telling him about Fuzi's HIV status.

Now things are getting worse. While they no longer talk to each other on the phone, they have been sending text messages accusing each other of this and that. Fuzi's message to Yah was to tell her to stop spreading news about her to others. Yah, on the other hand, denied she was involved in spreading lies about Fuzi, and in return she accused Fuzi of reporting bad things about her to me (yes, ME) and as a result she is no longer getting most of the financial assistance she used to get. Even a colleague of mine told me that when he met Yah recently, she was telling him the same thing.

Whoa, wait a minute! I must be such a powerful person to actually decide who should get assistance and who should not, as and when I like! Terror jugak Pi Bani ni ek...

To badmouth Fuzi further, Yah told my colleague that she once met Fuzi at a particular hotel in Ipoh. My colleague and I both know that Fuzi seldom gets out of her house and it was very unlikely that Fuzi was there. So he asked Yah back, "You jumpa Fuzi kat hotel tu, apa you buat kat situ?" Muahaha! With no way to say she wasn't there, Yah just said, "Jumpa kawan." OK fine, so if Fuzi really was at the hotel, if Yah herself could meet a friend there, why not Fuzi huh?

I am sick and tired of listening to their bickering. All the while I was afraid about a "Yah vs Lin" confrontation over Mr Darling but Lin is so fed up of Mr D she couldn't be bothered whoever wanted to be his girlfriend. I never thought the confrontation would be between Yah and Fuzi instead.

Ah, so much for getting them connected. Oh well, at least it proves that PLHIVs are humans like the rest of us. Some get along very well and become best of friends. Some are rather anti-social and not bothered to get in touch with the others. Some, end up bickering like Fuzi and Yah.

Maybe the next event I need to organise for my PLHIV clients is a ladies wrestling competition.

Am now imagining Fuzi and Yah in the ring, twisting each other's arms, pulling each other's hair, scratching each other's face... uhhh... I wouldn't want to be the referee lah...

To leave or not to leave...

When I went to visit Fuzi the other day, she complained to me about Yah again. Remember earlier I mentioned about Yah telling Fuzi’s friend that Fuzi has HIV? Well, that was not all there was to it. It seems after that Yah also mentioned to the friend that Fuzi was flirting around with a few male friends, bla, bla, bla…

Now, now… first disclosing confidential information, then she went to the extent of adding all sorts of herbs, spices and MSG to her story?! God, what does she get anyway? If she wants to get a kick out of it, I don’t mind kicking her myself!!

Come to think of it, I think Yah was telling this guy about herself (but saying that Fuzi’s the one she was talking about lah) – Yah’s the one who has been flirting around! Fuzi on the other hand is a direct opposite – she hardly even gets out of the house unless she has to.

Guess what? The very next day after I went to visit Fuzi, I received a call from Yah – and as always it’s from a totally different number. I asked her direct if she purposely used a different number every time she called me so that I wouldn’t be able to call her back. She insisted she changed to a new number because she lost her old phone.

As usual, whenever Yah calls me, she doesn’t talk about her “extra-curricular” activities. I suppose it’s because she “takut nanti Kak Afizah marah” just like during our last Family Day when she donned on the tudung on the bus for that very reason. All the stories about the guys she meets she’d tell to a male colleague of mine who’s also a non-Muslim. She probably thinks that male colleague of mine wouldn’t be telling me of her (mis)adventures.

Anyway, Yah called me because she tried to call that male colleague of mine but her calls didn’t get through. So she sought my favor to pass a message to him – that she’s coming to get her medication in Ipoh next week and needs to see him for some matters. Waah… must tease my colleague lah… got a hot date with Yah! Muahaha!

It has been quite some time since I got any updates on Yah’s children so when she called I took the opportunity to ask her about them. Her 2 older daughters, who are at an orphanage, seem to be doing very well in school. In fact both of them were top in their respective classes. But, although they themselves were the ones who wanted to go to the orphanage in the first place, now they are the ones who want to balik kampong.

And so Yah is worried. I am not too sure what she’s worried about though. Maybe she’s worried she’ll have less money to spend on herself. Maybe she feels she wouldn’t have as much freedom as she has now if the girls are back at home. Her eldest daughter had after all voiced out her concern earlier on when Yah were exchanging calls and SMS with Mr Darling.

Frankly, I am worried too if the girls stay with their mother. Right now they are doing quite well in school. Maybe they are just not happy because their life is so regimented at the orphanage – but that does not seem to affect their studies. My worry if they stay with Yah is that Yah’s behavior may have a bad influence on them.

Things aren’t confirmed yet though. Whether or not they will leave the orphanage, I will have to wait and see whatever the outcome is when school reopens. I have not met the 2 girls ever since they went to stay at the orphanage. But every time they see their mother they'd always tell their mother to convey their salam to me.

Oh well, the mother makes my blood boils… the daughters cool me down…

The problematic ladies...

When I was on clinic duty last Wednesday, I took the opportunity to get some additional info from SN on some of my old clients. SN now has an assistant helping her out at the HIV clinic so at least she has a bit of time to entertain me with my queries. Previously she was all alone in assisting the doctor - so it wasn't a good idea getting info from her on a clinic day. She'd be rushing here and there.

I had been trying to get in touch with a 69 year old lady client to whom I was assigned to as a buddy 2 months ago, but somehow all my calls didn't get through. Every time I called, I'd get the message, "Please try later." So I checked with SN in case I wrongly copied the phone number. SN took out the client's file, and yes, it was the correct number. What SN is afraid of, is that usually if we are unable to call the clients, chances are they'd be missing their next appointment. This lady's next appointment is in February 2009, so let's just wait and see if she's going to turn up. So far the other elderly lady I was assigned to, Makcik Minah, 74, came only for her first appointment and disappeared after that.

I also asked about Ifa, who, during my last meet with her, told me her blood test at a particular district hospital showed that she didn't have HIV. Well, according to SN, the latest blood test done at Ipoh GH showed Ifa's CD4 count had dropped drastically while her viral load shot up. My guess is, at the district hospital Ifa mentioned, they didn't even test her for HIV (she was warded for asthma). So of course the results didn't show anything about her HIV status. Obviously Ifa had not been compliant in taking her ARV medication. In fact, Ifa openly admitted she doesn't take her medication on weekends as she'd usually be at the disco then - and she didn't want the ARV medication to clash with the ecstasy pills she takes when at the disco. Ifa had told me earlier about this, and I've talked to her about the implications then. But whatever said to her seemed to be going in one ear and immediately out the other. Her earlier khalwat case has not been settled, yet she seems to be getting herself into more trouble. Earlier on, she used to cry a lot. Nowadays she doesn't cry anymore, but she seems oh so stubborn! She doesn't seem to care about the implications of whatever that she does. She said she doesn't want to think about her HIV anymore. To me, it looks as though she's not even thinking at all. Susahlah ini macam... we're trying to help her, but she doesn't want to help herself. And the fact that her father doesn't give a hoot about whatever happens to her is making it even worse. Sigh...

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When my colleague and I were on our way to visit Suhaila and Samsul last week, my colleague told me about Yah's latest "adventures". Well, Yah doesn't seem to call me anymore (unless the financial assistance she usually gets are banked in late - even though I told her time and again, all the financial assistance she gets are not under my control) ever since she got herself involved with so many men. First she got herself involved with Mr Darling. Then with one engineer (the one she chased all the way to Kelantan and caught this guy in bed with another woman). Then with one army guy whom she slept with without informing the guy of her HIV status. The army guy did find out later about her HIV and threatened to kill her if tests show he's infected. Hmmm... I wonder what happened to this guy... never heard about him since then.

And remember in my earlier posting I mentioned about Yah getting from Fuzi the phone number of Fuzi's friend and ended up telling this friend about Fuzi's HIV status? Well, according to Fuzi, Yah asked for the number "saja nak kawan-kawan". Aiyo, she wanted to kawan-kawan and Fuzi just gave her the number?? To me Fuzi was at fault too for giving Yah the number. I mean, the least she could have done was to ask for the friend's permission to give his number to someone else.

Anyway, according to my colleague, he spoke to Yah quite recently and she told him about her newfound "Datuk" friend who bought her a RM200 handbag. Well, I'm not quite sure if this Datuk is a spouse to a datin or to a nenek, but as my colleague mentioned, we don't understand why anyone would want to "saja-saja" buy her an expensive handbag. We're quite sure Yah did not mention to him about her HIV. What we're not sure about is what Yah gave in exchange for the handbag... after flirting around from one man to another, you get what I mean lah...

Sigh. First she was just Yah, the tough kampong lady. Then after her angau episode with Mr Darling, she became Yah Ah Ngau. I guess now it's Wild, Wild Yah...

How lah like this?

We finally managed to hold our Buddies group meeting last night. Unlike the Board meetings which are held on monthly basis to discuss more on administration and general matters, the group meetings are supposed to be held once every 2 months to specifically discuss matters pertaining to our PLHIV (People Living with HIV) clients. However for the past few months we have not had any group meetings as every time one is planned, there is always not enough volunteers able to attend due to other commitments. Ah, we are all busy working people, when this person is free, that person is not.

Each of us who attended the meeting last night had to report on our clients - but most of the other volunteers only had a short report to give. Somehow or rather I seem to get the more complicated (and dramatic!) cases so my reports tend to take a longer time.

The case I'd like to highlight this time is not a case I'm handling; but I've mentioned about Devi before as I met her during one of my clinic duties.

So, what's up with Devi?

In my earlier posting here, I mentioned that Devi was staying with a friend of hers. Well, the friend now wants her to move out as the friend's husband, who was earlier working outstation, would be coming back soon. Devi has been given until end of November to find herself a new home.

Devi had recently managed to get her EPF withdrawal of RM13K, but as of yesterday, she only had a balance of RM2K left in her account. Apparently she had been borrowing here and there, promising them she'd pay the money once she gets her EPF and so when the money came, the bulk of it was used to pay off her borrowings. I guess this is a case of dengar guruh di langit, air tempayan dicurahkan (or should it be dengar guruh di langit, kepala paip ditanggalkan? :)) - the money was not even in yet; but she was already spending them.

Never mind that. Now she has to find herself a new home. But she is not working, if we help her find a new place to stay in, how on earth is she going to pay for her rental? She'd be chased out in no time. The way I see her, I think she should be able to work - maybe as a cleaner or any other suitable jobs. But in her mind, she is too weak to work.

One of my fellow volunteers had actually managed to get a good offer for her. Someone who had recently opened an Old Folks Home had agreed to offer her a stay-in job at the home. He even allowed her to bring her 2 sons along to stay with her at the home. But Devi turned down the offer! Can you believe it? She wants a house nearer to her present place. I can understand that if she's working somewhere there, or if her children are schooling there but she's not working and her children aren't schooling! We offered to help the older boy to go back to school, but the boy doesn't want to go back to school. He said he helps out his grandmother from time to time "when he feels like it". Adoi, susahlah ini macam, we are thinking about their future but they don't seem bothered at all.

Just recently another volunteer had arranged for her employers to contribute some Deepavali goodies to poor families under our care. Devi was one of the recipients. When Devi came to our center to receive the goodies, the volunteer did ask her what else she needed. And Devi's answer to that was, "Boleh carikan saya rumah?" And my friend immediately responded with "HAAA?!" My friend then asked her, "Habis, kerja macam mana?" Devi just kept quiet. She wants a home, not a job.

We volunteers have to work to cari makan, and the people we are voluntarily helping actually expect necessities to bergolek their way? How lah like that?

People say beggars can't be choosy - but this one seem to think she can!

We decided to let things be first. Maybe when Devi becomes more desperate (when she runs out of money and when it's time to leave the present house) she would accept our suggestions.

On another note, here's an update on Yah - who is not only getting on my nerves, she seems to be getting on other people's nerves as well. Before this I've mentioned about her sleeping around with guys without telling them she's HIV positive. This time around, she got on Fuzi's nerves.

Apparently during our Family Day in August when Yah and Fuzi met, Fuzi must have told Yah about the friend who's helping her to settle her daughter's problem in getting her MyKad done. For whatever reasons, Yah asked for the friend's phone number and Fuzi actually gave her the number.

Yah did call up Fuzi's friend. That's quite okay I guess, otherwise what's the point of Fuzi giving her the number kan? But what was totally unnecessary was that Yah actually told Fuzi's friend that Fuzi has HIV! What on earth was she trying to do? Just because she lost her job when her own in-laws told her last employer about her HIV infection, Yah is now seeking revenge on other PLHIVs?! Is she getting to be a sicko?!

I'm losing my patience lah with this woman.

Sabar Pi, sabar...

Various updates

I was in my office last week when a call came from an unfamiliar number. I thought it was another one of those unwanted calls from unwelcome marketers but most of the time those unwanted calls are from KL/Selangor mobile numbers. This one came from a northern mobile number so I just answered the call and heard a familiar voice saying, “Kak, saya ni.”

Even if I could not recognize the voice, there was only one person I knew who would take for granted I’d know who “saya” was. It was none other than Yah, who has changed her number for the umpteenth time. No wonder she didn’t reply my Raya message. I bet she will change her number again in no time so I guess I will have to wait for her to call me each time instead of me calling her.

Yah: “Kak dah tak masuk dah ke duit yang Kak selalu masukkan tiap-tiap bulan tu?”
Me: “Duit apa? Mana ada saya masukkan duit tiap-tiap bulan?”
Yah: “Alaa… duit yang Kak masukkan dalam Giro saya tu…”

Haiya… ini orang… I told her many times before that the contribution was from an anonymous donor who’d bank in direct into her account – I don’t even know how much is banked in every month, and she’s asking ME if I had stopped banking in the money?

I guess since Yah had lost her job again (remember my earlier posting about her outlaw in-laws telling her employer about her HIV – causing her to lose her last job?) she’s depending on the monthly welfare aid and the contribution from the anonymous donor. I asked her when the last amount was banked in – thinking it must have been quite some time since the last one. She said the last one was in September. September?! October is not over yet and she’s asking if the contribution has stopped? Adoii… I told her that maybe it’s just a bit later than usual and told her to be a bit more patient.

Hmmm… or did she overspend for Raya?

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Last night I received a call from Pat, a fellow volunteer who stays in the same town as Hana. She was at the hospital with Hana at that time. Hana had actually called Pat earlier on Saturday when Pat was on her way to KL; telling Pat that her 8 year old daughter was ill. Pat promised to visit her once she came back from KL – and so yesterday right after she came back she immediately went to visit. Hana’s daughter was actually down with tonsillitis. Pat brought them to the district hospital where the daughter was eventually warded.

Remember in my earlier posting I mentioned about Hana asking me if she could claim from Socso for the accident that happened right before Raya causing her to break her arm? When I asked her earlier, she said the accident occurred on her way back from work. Well, last night when I asked her (Pat passed the phone to her so I could ask Hana direct) she said the accident occurred at home – AFTER she got back from work.

What actually happened was she fell at home due to the poor condition of her house. Whenever I visited her at home, she’d always let me in through the kitchen door which is downstairs. She wouldn’t dare let visitors go upstairs due to the poor condition – but she and her children would still sleep upstairs. The penghulu and some other jawatankuasa kampong promised they’d help to fix her house before Raya but to date nothing has been done. Right before Raya, one of the wooden planks gave in and Hana fell. Hana told me she “patah tangan” but last night when I spoke to Pat, it’s her shoulders that was injured.

The accident occurred about 3 weeks ago and Hana has not been going to work since then. And so she has not been earning anything this month. In other words, this month she’s broke and needs help. That was why Pat called me – so I could find possible ways of getting help for her.

Well, her children are under sponsorship, so schooling needs are already covered. I guess I’d better make a plan to visit her soon and bring along some groceries and whatever other household necessities to lessen her burden.

I will be attending a function in KL this Saturday, so I can’t possibly visit her then. Hmmm… maybe during Deepavali then? Maybe, I can’t confirm just yet…

Apa mau jadi?

11 days of Ramadan have passed – wow! How time flies!

And guess what? I haven’t gone to visit any of my PLWHA clients yet! But I do plan to go this weekend. I already have with me some Raya hampers to be given to the families. The plan is to first go to visit Mr & Mrs K; then if Lin is discharged from the hospital, over to her place first before crossing over to another town to Jah’s house, followed by Hana’s house in the same town. Then on the way back, drop over at Shila’s house.

Well, THAT is my plan for the moment. Hopefully nothing else will crop up.

Fuzi’s house is totally the opposite direction so the visit to her house may have to wait till the next public holiday, ie on Wednesday.

Most of my clients (with the exception of Mrs. K) have not bothered me for the past month since they knew I was busy taking care of my own mother. Other than the day of my mother’s knee operation when Mrs. K called me from KL, last week I received a text message from her – asking if she could borrow some money… giving all sorts of excuses why she needed to borrow and promising to pay by such and such a date without saying exactly what she needed the money for.

My answer to her was a clear NO. They had their chance. We helped them to get back on their feet – they did not make use of the opportunity. They instead took for granted that there’s always someone who will be helping them when the need arises. They don’t plan for their future. Ada duit pakai, tak ada duit buat muka kesian. I do pity the children but I have to be firm. What made me even mad was the fact that they told my colleague (the one handling clients’ welfare) that they have decided against moving to the flats with very low rental rate my colleague had helped to arrange for them.

Jual mahal for the chance of getting a place to stay at a lower rental rate… yet trying to borrow money at the same time? The way I see it, they want to live an easy life – that’s why they finished Mr. K’s EPF drawings within just weeks (which they got right before Raya last year and so they raya sakan!). Ahah, I bet she wanted to borrow money to spend for Raya…

I will still observe their needs, particularly the children’s educational needs and I will still visit them from time to time, but no way am I going to let them take advantage of me or my NGO!

On another note, remember in my earlier posting here, I mentioned that Yah had been flirting around with an army guy? Well, she was afraid to tell me the whole story – just like she was afraid “Nanti Kak Afizah marah” if she did not wear her tudung during the Family Day trip to Taiping recently. You see, she told my colleague she had actually been sleeping around with that army guy – without telling him that she has HIV. Somehow the guy had not been feeling well lately and someone actually told him about Yah’s HIV infection and that he should get tested for HIV. Well, the army guy got mad and told Yah that if he is tested positive, he’d kill Yah!!

Adoi!!! Apa mau jadi sama ini minah? Getting worse and worse each day! I think I may need to send her for a complete overhaul!!

Thank God for my other clients who are better off now after some initial assistance from us. I think if Mrs K and Yah were the first 2 cases for me to handle, I would have already given up on this voluntary work… SIGH!

New clients, old clients...

When I woke up for sahur yesterday morning, I noticed there was a message on my hand phone that I had not read. The message was from the telco informing me that there was a missed call from a particular number at 4 pm the day before. For whatever reason that call didn’t even get through; otherwise I would have noticed the missed call on my hand phone and if the number was registered in my phone I would have immediately known who the caller was. But because the missed call notice came in the form of a message from the telco, only the number appeared. The number looked quite familiar but I couldn’t for the life of me remember whose number it was.

I had to look through the whole list of phone numbers listed in my hand phone and finally found it – it was the number of the couple referred by SN to me in July. I had called them earlier and they promised to call me the next time they were coming to Ipoh.

So yesterday morning I returned the call. The couple was on their way to the Ipoh GH for their appointment. Ahah, so they’d be in Ipoh – a good chance to meet up and get all their details! But I was not on clinic duty yesterday and after having to take so many days off from work before this to take care of my mother, I felt bad about leaving the office just to meet up with them. Since 2 of my fellow volunteers were on clinic duty yesterday, I told one of them to meet this couple and get all their particulars. I also gave my colleague’s number to the couple so they could contact him.

Today I went to my NGO center. My colleague is usually there every Thursday afternoons so I took the opportunity to find out more details from him on what transpired the day before at the clinic.

Yes, my colleague got to meet the couple… Samsul and Suhaila – a young couple with a 4 year old son. Suhaila doesn’t work, while Samsul does odd jobs to feed his wife and son. Their own families have deserted them due to Samsul's past drug addictions and especially so after they found out about the couple’s HIV infection.

According to my colleague, the couple was quite reluctant to talk as there were so many people around and they asked if we could visit them at home so they could be more open. Well, they stay in the same town as Nuri and Ani; so maybe some time soon I may just visit them all in one day.

My colleague also told me that they (the 2 buddies who were on duty yesterday) had decided to assign me to another new client – a rather “peculiar” case. I was thinking… what lah these people, any complicated or peculiar cases they’d always pass to me!! Anyway, the new client is an orang asli lady in her 60’s who came to the clinic yesterday with her step-daughter. As to why my colleagues mentioned the case was rather peculiar, they said it was because the lady seemed to just sit there like a zombie. It was her step-daughter doing much of the talking.

“Are you sure she wants a buddy? Maybe she’s reluctant to have a buddy… that’s why she didn’t talk much?” I asked my colleague.

According to my colleague, it was the step-daughter who requested that a buddy be assigned to the mother. Ah well, I guess I will just have to give it a try then. Coincidentally, this lady stays in an orang asli settlement in the same town as Nuri, Ani and Suhaila, so I guess I don’t really have to go out of the way. Just visit them all at one go! The problem now is just to find the right day…

Oh, my colleague also told me that he met Yah at the clinic yesterday. Yah actually came to the hospital together with Mr Darling! Aiyo… I thought Yah’s days with Mr Darling were over! First Mr Darling… then with the engineer whom she caught red-handed in a hotel room in Kelantan with another woman… then I was told Yah was flirting around with an army guy… and now she’s back with Mr Darling??? Ayoma... ini kasanona getting worse lah! Ahh, lantak pi dia lah… I malas want to pikir already…

Anyway, Mr Darling told my colleague that he just went to visit his ex-wife Lin at the ward. Huh? I thought Lin was already discharged? I did send her a message earlier but there was no reply. According to Mr Darling, his ex-wife “dah teruk”. Alamak, I was thinking the worse when he mentioned that. I must, must, must make it a point to visit her. So I called the daughter’s number. The daughter is back at the nursing college where’s currently studying. She told me her mother was still in the same ward, but a different bed.

I headed right to the hospital after I left my NGO center. As I entered the ward, I saw Lin’s other daughter (the one who’s studying overseas but is back in Malaysia for holidays – I met her earlier during the family day trip). Thank God the daughter was there. If Lin was alone I wouldn’t have recognized her!! She looked totally different! No wonder Mr Darling said “dah teruk”. Her skin, her bloated face, her swollen lips… probably Mr Darling thought Lin was already at her “end stage”.

Apparently Lin had just started her HIV medication a few weeks before and all those symptoms were due to medication allergies. According to the daughter, the ID specialist had already confirmed that Lin’s condition was due to medication allergies. So for the time being they have told Lin to stop taking those medications and wait until her condition gets better before they start giving her a new combination of antiretroviral drugs.

You see, there are various combinations of antiretroviral drugs. Some people are allergic to a certain type of drug while some may be allergic to another type of drug. Some may not be allergic at all to any of the drugs. But they won’t be able to tell unless and until they take the medication. That’s why for those who just started medication, the doctors would ask them to come back for another appointment within 2 weeks. Usually by then, if their bodies could not tolerate the drugs, it would show.

Well, Lin did come for her appointment after 2 weeks. At that time, there seemed to be just some minimal swelling around the eyes, but it didn’t look too serious. So she was asked to continue with the medication. Sometimes they may get some effects initially but will gradually go away. But after a while Lin started getting very high fever, her skin started getting very itchy, her feet started swelling, her face and lips looked so bloated; she couldn’t open her eyes and neither could she open her mouth. When she sought the help of her brother to bring her to the hospital, she was actually hoping she’d be warded as she couldn’t take it anymore. When I visited her today, her condition had actually improved, but still, I could not have recognized her if not for her daughter who was there with her.

The daughter has been by her mother’s side ever since Lin was admitted. Lin’s younger children now temporarily stays with their grandma (Mr Darling’s mother). Yes, Lin “looks” terrible right now - I bet even Mr Darling has second thoughts about wooing her back (oooh, I’m bad!). But Lin herself admitted she’s feeling much better. It may still take some time before she gets back to her normal self but hopefully with that positive attitude of hers, she’d be able to go home soon enough. Before raya I hope!

Various updates

When I first got back to Ipoh after my mother’s knee operation, I had quite a peaceful week in the sense that none of my PLWHA clients called me.

Somehow it is when I am out of Ipoh that those calls kept coming. I was in Klang Valley at the end of last week for my mother’s follow-up appointment in Putrajaya Hospital when a few calls came in.

First call came in while I was at the hospital, asking for Puan Afizah. From the way the caller spoke, I knew she was an Indian lady. The lady was actually a friend of Devi who called to seek help for Devi’s children. Devi herself doesn’t own a phone, so she had to depend on her friend to make the calls. I told the lady I was in KL and asked her to call my colleague instead, as this colleague is Devi’s co-buddy. I then sent a text message to this lady giving her my colleague’s number.

Then as I was relaxing at my brother’s home on Saturday, Yah called. When I saw Yah’s name, I wondered what she wanted. She had stopped calling me to talk about her love life, so I was hoping she wasn’t going to go into that again. Well, she did not. Instead, she asked if I could tell SN (of Ipoh HIV clinic) not to disclose to Yah’s in-laws on the date of Yah’s appointments. Huh? I told Yah it was none of SN’s business to disclose the patients’ date of appointments to others. Yah herself should know by now what type of a person SN is. In fact, I think if ever Yah’s in-laws attempted to get such info from SN, they’d probably get a scolding from her as she has better things to do!

Frankly, I think Yah wasn’t really asking me to talk to SN. It was just her way of telling me about her problems with her in-laws. Remember Yah used to have lots of problems with her in-laws who were always demanding for money – like it was Yah’s responsibility after the demise of her late husband, their brother. I thought it had cooled down a bit but apparently it had not. In a way, I think it was Yah’s fault that this matter was brought up again. When Yah got a job in Ipoh she went and stayed with her sister-in-law despite all her previous experiences with her in-laws.

Now the in-laws are asking Yah to pay a fixed monthly amount as “living allowance” for her mother-in-law. Their mother and they are telling Yah to provide some monthly allowance? When Yah refused, one of the in-laws told Yah’s employer that Yah has HIV and that he should not employ her anymore. So now Yah is jobless.

But the in-laws (the outlaws?) have not given up chasing Yah for money. Haiya, ini macam punya orang pun ada ka??? I told Yah to just ignore them.

On Sunday morning, I got a text message from an unfamiliar number. The sender introduced herself as Lin’s daughter. The message was to inform me that Lin had been warded in Ipoh GH due to high fever.

When I got back to Ipoh on Sunday afternoon, and after some rest at home, I decided to drop by the hospital to visit Lin. My house is not that far from the hospital and I needed to go out to buy something anyway. But when I got to Lin’s bed, the whole clan (I think many were Lin’s siblings) was there except Lin. Lin’s youngest daughter who recognized me (she had joined the Family Day trip early this month) told me that her mother was having a bath. Since there were simply too many family members there, I decided not to wait. I thought it would be better if I were to visit on a weekday.

Today I checked - Lin was no longer at the hospital. She must have been discharged. I will check on her again later…

Family Day Showdown?

2 weeks to go to the Buddies Annual Family Day. While I am not sure if I’d be able to join this year’s fun in Taiping Zoo due to uncertainties on the date of my mother’s knee operation, as much as possible, I still get involved (read: menyibuk) in the preparations. Besides, most of the PLWHA clients and their families joining the trip are MY clients. Fuzi plus 5 children and Lin plus 5 children already make a dozen!! Also joining are Jah, Zainab (plus husband and 2 kids), Yah (and son) and not forgetting Hana (with her 3 children and her mother as well).

Ahah… notice both Lin’s and Yah’s names up there?

One is Mr. Darling’s ex-wife and the other is Mr. Darling’s stalker!! Yep, if things go as planned, Lin and Yah will finally meet each other.

Initially I thought neither of them was going to make it. Lin, as I had explained here, has to work on Sundays and taking leave means earning less. But I guess after discussing with her children and thinking things over, she probably figured that this is a good opportunity for her to bring her children makan angin.

As for Yah, I couldn’t seem to contact her of late. Neither could my colleague. But coincidentally, last week Yah called up my colleague to ask about something and so my colleague took the opportunity to inform her about the family day. A few days later she called to confirm that she’d be coming along with her son.

And why haven’t I been able to contact Yah lately? Apparently, she got herself a new number. I’m not sure if she had lost her old phone or whatever, but when she called my colleague recently (she got my colleague’s number from Mr. Darling), she did ask for my phone number. However, to date, she has yet to call me.

So, do you think the unthinkable will happen when they meet up? Frankly I don’t think so. Even if I’m able to join, I will only introduce them as fellow PLWHAs. I don’t intend to mention anything about their relationship with the romeo. It would be an awkward situation of course if Mr. Darling himself also attends. I wonder how he’d react seeing both Yah and Lin there at the same time! But Mr. D didn’t want to be assigned a buddy, and so he is not our client. As such, he is not invited to join.

The only way for both Lin and Yah to find out about each other is if Yah asks Lin the right questions… like “Tinggal di mana?” and when Lin mentions the town; Yah may say “Oh, saya ada kawan tinggal kat sana. Kat kampong xxx.” Then Lin, upon hearing the name of the kampong, which so happens to be the kampong she used to stay in when she was still married to Mr. D, may ask for the name as she knows quite a number of people in the kampong. And then Yah will mention Mr. D’s name… and TADAA!! There you go!

That, of course, is just part of my imagination. We will not know the actual script until D-day comes. Even if I’m not able to join the Family Day, I will make sure I get updates from my colleagues! I am after all, my NGO’s kay-poh-Chair!!

Ada bilik kosong?

When Yah called me last time to tell me she was already working in Ipoh, I was made to understand that she was renting a room near her workplace. As such, I thought there should be no problem accommodation-wise. So when she called last Friday asking me about getting a cheap flat for her to rent, I was wondering why she would want to move further from her workplace.

Apparently when she said she was renting a room near her workplace, she was actually staying at her sister-in-law’s house. Now, if readers had been following Yah’s story from the beginning, you would remember that Yah had been having some problems with her in-laws – from mother-in-law, brother-in-law right to sister-in-law. They were very calculative people who would even charge for every single thing and they even had the cheek to ask Yah to pay them their share when Yah withdrew her EPF. It was Yah’s EPF in the first place, why on earth would Yah need to give a certain percentage to them?? All because of money, the in-laws became out-laws!

Despite all that, Yah still decided to stay with her sister-in-law when she got a job in Ipoh. Why on earth did she do that? Beats me! In the first place, I still feel Yah should have tried to get a job nearer to her kampong where her children are.

Now the problem is surfacing again. According to Yah, all her pay is gone having to pay for her sister-in-law’s household needs – especially since the husband is a drug addict! Now Yah wants to move out and she heard about the cheap flats for rent meant for poor people. That was why she called me.

Actually the flats are meant for poor families. Yah, on the other hand, wants to stay alone! No way will her application be approved unless she’s bringing all her children to stay with her. Well, if she does bring them here, then who will be taking care of them while she’s at work, especially when she has to follow her employer for outstation catering jobs?

When she found out that she’s not eligible for the flats, she asked if I could look around for rooms to let. Frankly, at the area where she works, there are lots of rooms to let. She would be the best person to scout around for one. She can’t expect me to be her kuli to look for a room for her to stay when she's more familiar with the area. I told her to take the initiative to find one herself.

On another note, her 2 daughters who went to an orphanage since the beginning of this year are now back at home for the school holidays. Earlier they were the ones who wanted to go to the orphanage, now they want out! According to Yah, her second daughter Kak Ngah, the chubby one, is now just as skinny as her Kak Long. Oh wow! She must have lost a lot of weight. She’s not happy at the orphanage as she said the seniors there like to bully her. Adoii… at an orphanage also like that ah?

Yah told them to give it another month or so before they should really decide if they want out for sure. Maybe they just needed some time to adjust. I guess we shall just wait and see, although I do hope Yah does not see them as a burden if they do come home for good.

Anyway, there was one thing I noticed. For the past 2 calls from Yah, she did not mention anything about Mr. Darling. Not a single word!

Hmmm… I hope… I really, really hope… that means good news. Ye think?

Various updates... #2

Last week I received another text message from Zana. She was asking if I had called her earlier. (Remember my earlier call which didn’t get through?) I was busy in my office then and did not reply immediately. After a while another text message came from Zana, this time asking if I was busy. I had to reply that message, telling her I was indeed busy, and that I would call her later.

Later when I was at my NGO centre, I decided to give her a call. This time the call went through. When I heard children’s voices in the background, I suspected that the nursery where she was working in was indeed a children’s nursery.

I asked Zana direct if her child was left at the shelter home for good, or if it was just a temporary measure.

“Itulah kak, saya dah terlepas cakap hari tu. Saya kata saya ambil balik budak tu lepas saya kawin. Tapi macam mana saya nak kawin? Sekarang saya kena cari jalan nak ambil balik anak saya.”

Actually after Kak Hawa, the lady in charge at the shelter home, told me last year that Zana had started working as a security guard, I never received any more news about Zana. At that time, Zana was still taking care of her baby. I did try to call Zana earlier, but my calls never got through. It was only recently when I got a text message from Zana’s new number that I finally managed to get hold of her again.

Before I could ask Zana what took place, Zana said, “Sebenarnya hari tu saya kena buang kerja, jadi Mak Hawa datang ambil budak tu. Saya pun cakaplah kat Mak Hawa nanti lepas saya kawin saya ambil balik budak tu.”

Hmmm… she was fired? Oh dear, this problematic young woman always seem to be in all kinds of trouble! I wonder what happened. I didn’t want to ask why. I know usually she’d come up with different stories for different people, so I thought I might as well just call Kak Hawa direct to get the other side of the story. But when I tried to call Kak Hawa immediately after that, she didn’t pick up the phone. Kak Hawa is probably busy. I will try again later.

Anyway, Zana did call her family in Ipoh although she didn’t speak to her father who had disowned her. She managed to speak to her mother and also to her 6 year old daughter to wish her happy birthday. According to Zana, she may come to Ipoh for a while to see her daughter. I’m not sure how she’s going to do that. I know she still doesn’t dare go home for fear of her father. Chances are she’s thinking of asking her younger sister to bring her daughter out to meet her somewhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember my earlier posting about my house visits for sponsorship assessment? We managed to visit 4 families that day. However, although we did find the area where Pushpa was staying, we couldn’t find the house. We tried to call but there was no answer.

So I decided to visit her last Friday, this time with another colleague of mine. I wanted to get things over and done with. We made arrangements to meet up with Pushpa’s buddy somewhere and then together we’d visit Pushpa. On the way to her house, we had to slow down somewhere as a herd of cows was crossing the road. Too bad I was driving. Otherwise I would gladly take out the camera in my handbag and get the cows to pose for a photo to be put in this blog… :)

Pushpa is a sweet 12 year old girl who became orphaned since she was small. The difference between Pushpa and the other children considered for sponsorship is that the others are affected children from infected families, while poor Pushpa is herself HIV infected and is on medication.

Earlier on Pushpa stayed with her grandmother and her aunt who’s still single. However, due to their feeling of sympathy for her (she’s an orphan, remember? amma ilek… appa ilek…), they ended up spoiling her rotten. What she wants, she gets. When she didn’t want to take her medication, they just let her be.

Finally Pushpa’s uncle who stays not far from the grandmother’s house, decided to get Pushpa to stay with him instead so he could supervise her. So our visit that day was to her uncle’s house, not to her grandma’s house.

Pushpa will be sitting for UPSR this year but so far she has not been doing too well in school. Her family hopes to arrange for some tuition for her. Frankly, I feel the school should be arranging that… there are only 8 students in her class (it’s a Tamil school near an estate) so the class teacher could actually give individual attention to each student. Whatever it is, we will try to arrange something for her.

While we were at Pushpa’s house, her buddy Pat received a call from Valli. Valli needed help to get her supply of medication for this month as she’s unable to get leave from work to go all the way to Ipoh. She left the medicine slip at Pat’s place. So my colleague and I decided to go over to Pat’s place which was about 15 to 20 minutes drive.

Since Pat said she would be visiting Hana that night, I left some money with Pat to be handed over to Hana. Sponsorship money for Hana’s children is already in and the money I left with Pat was for their pocket money for this month. I also left the same amount of money to be given to Valli’s 2 boys who are also sponsored.

While we were chatting about Hana, Pat highlighted to me the problems faced by Hana’s younger daughter. You see, although she performed quite well in her studies, of late she has been reluctant to go to school. Both Pat and I had been wondering why earlier… when I asked the girl she just said her friends like to tease her but she didn’t say what about. Now that Pat has got copies of the children’s birth cert, she suspects the teasing was about the girl’s status. You see, in her birth cert, the father’s info was stated as “Maklumat Tidak Diketahui.”

Oh dear, not another one…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After the above visit, when I sent my colleague back to my NGO centre, I told him I hoped none of my clients would call me over the weekend. I needed a break.

But guess who called? Our mollywood heroine… Yah Ah Ngau!!

My colleague had earlier told her to call me and inform me about her new job so she finally did. She was back at her hometown over the weekend when she called.

I pretended I didn’t know anything and asked her about her job. Well, at least there is a difference between her job and Lin’s job. The place where Lin works is just a restaurant while the place where Yah works offers catering services as well. While Lin's job involve washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen, Yah helps out with the cooking as well. Yah stays at a room provided by her employer.

Anyway, what amused me most was when Yah told me about Mr. Darling.

“xxx (Mr. D’s real name) dah balik kat saya. Tak taulah kenapa tiba-tiba dia mau baik balik dengan saya. Tapi saya kena berjaga-jaga sikitlah. Dah tau perangai dia macam mana.”

I almost choked. While I acted calm, deep down inside me I was thinking… “PTTUIII!! As though I didn’t know YOU were the one who went nuts chasing him!”

Yes, I was tempted to tell her what Mr. D said to my colleague earlier… but no way was I going to get myself directly involved in their drama. Our voluntary work does not include that. I just told Yah that whatever it is, she must focus more on her future and her children’s future, and that she shouldn’t let her involvement with Mr. D make her lose focus.

Let’s just see how it goes from here…

The twist continues...

It was already 3 pm when I finished running some errands around town yesterday and so I thought I might as well go straight to the bus-station to wait for Lin. I told her earlier that I should be free after 2.30 pm and Lin promised she’d inform me once she reaches the bus station. Although she didn’t call yet by then, I didn’t want to get back into town. There’s always traffic jam in Ipoh town centre whenever it’s nearing Chinese New Year and the past few days were no exception.

So I just went straight to where we promised to meet up, got myself a parking space and waited in the car. Lin sent me a text message about 3.20 pm. I got down and walked to the nearby taxi stand where she promised to wait for me. Lin was surprised when I came from behind her as she was actually looking elsewhere expecting to see my car.

As I said, I didn’t want to get caught in the traffic jam in town, so we just walked to a nearby restaurant. Just like the first time we met, Lin simply ordered exactly what I ordered. So yesterday we had rojak pasembur and milo ais kurang manis…

This time Lin was even more relaxed than the first time she met me. I felt more relaxed too… we got along really well like we were old friends whereas we only got to know each other a month ago and this was just our second meet.

Lin works as a helper at a restaurant. She has never worked before this but this time she simply had to work because her ex-husband, Mr. Romeo Darling, is not consistent in giving money for the children who are staying with Lin. At the most he’d give the 4 children a total of RM300 for the whole month. Sometimes when they ask from him, he’d give only RM50. He always complained about not having enough money to give them. Hmmm… wonder where his salary usually goes to...

Now that he knows Lin is working, I bet it’ll even be harder to get any money from him. But as of yesterday, Lin had not got her salary yet. Hopefully by today she’d get it.

Actually originally it was Lin’s eldest daughter who applied for and got this job. But right when she got the job, the offer to continue her studies in a nursing college came. When she asked the employer if someone else could replace her, the taukeh simply said yes although Lin was initially not too confident about it… the person who got the job in the first place was a young lady half her age. Frankly I think Lin was the better person for the job… she had to wash the dishes, clean the kitchen, etc so she’d probably stick to the job longer. A younger person would probably quit soon enough to find another job. Lin may not be as young and energetic as her daughter, but at the same time she’s not too old either. Heck, she’s just 2 or 3 years younger than me and I am NOT OLD! Mature maybe, but not old. (Sebut betul-betul… MATURE… not MORE-TUA!)

As we were gossiping… oops… I mean chatting… naturally the topic of Mr. Darling came up. Recently Mr. Darling got ill and you know lah how some people can become so manja whenever they’re ill. Mr. D was no exception. He called his children asking them to take care of him at his mother’s house. Lin’s 3 older daughters are actually angry with their father for causing the mother to be infected with HIV, but Lin managed to convince them that no matter what happens, they still need to respect their father. And so yes, her eldest and 3rd daughter went to take care of him (her 2nd daughter is overseas). But these girls, who are so supportive of their mother, went back (after their father got better) and were giggling away telling their mother what their father told them. And what did their father tell them?

“Sebenarnya bukan tak ada orang nakkan abah ni, tapi abah masih sayangkan mak kamu.”

Haha… yah, right… I know the person who wants him so much but he’s the one who’s trying to avoid her… I’m sure you readers know who too, yah? ;)

Anyway, somehow Lin and I did end up talking about “this other woman” Mr. Darling had been seeing. Lin knows I know about her ex-husband and since she heard this other woman also has HIV, she figured I knew this other woman as well. But she’s not at all bothered. Except for the financial problems, Lin actually feels a lot better without Mr. Darling in her life. When I suggested to her that this other woman (I didn’t mention Yah’s name) was probably feeling lonely and enjoyed the attention given to her by Mr. Darling (at first lah), Lin agreed that her ex-husband is a soft-spoken person and THAT was probably his strong point in winning women’s hearts.

After some time, I decided to send Lin home so that next time I know how to get to her house on my own. The town she’s staying in is not that far from Mr. K’s place, so the next time I visit Mr. K’s family, I may visit Lin’s family too.

Lin and her children stay at her father’s house in a nice kampong environment. So at least she doesn’t have to worry about paying rental. Her only problem is that the house was transferred to her eldest brother’s name some time ago by their father (who now stays elsewhere with his new wife). Their father thought it was best to transfer the house to his eldest son whom he thought would be the best person to handle the family’s properties. Although the brother did not say it openly, he did confess to another sibling that he’d sell the house once his father dies.

Lin simply didn’t want to think that far ahead. To her, if need be, she’d just have to move out and look for another place to live in. Hopefully, if that ever happens, by then Lin would be more stable financially.

Judging from her character, I’m not worried about Lin’s reaction if she ever gets to meet Yah. I’m not sure how Yah would react though… apparently she’s still heads over heels over Mr. Romeo Darling…

Yep, I do have some updates on Yah after all… she has got herself a job too. Yah works as a helper at a restaurant.

JANGAN BETULKAN COMPUTER SCREEN ANDA.

You read that right. Lin works as a helper at a restaurant. Yah works as a helper at a restaurant. BOTH Lin and Yah work as helpers at restaurants. How much more coincidental can things get?!

But thank goodness they’re not working at the same restaurant. Lin works at a restaurant near her house while Yah works at a restaurant in Ipoh.

Yah actually have not told me yet that she found herself a job in Ipoh. I guess earlier on when she called me to talk about her problems with Mr. Darling, she was probably expecting me to advice her on how to find ways to get hold of him. I instead gave her a short lecture. I told her that if Mr. D changed his phone number he probably wasn’t interested in her. I told her she must think about her children’s well being. When she started going out for karaoke sessions and taking taxis instead of buses to travel out of town, and then sent me text messages telling me that she ran out of milk powder and diapers for her toddler, I decided to put the onus back on her.

I know for a fact that other than the monthly welfare aid she gets, an anonymous donor has also been banking in a fixed amount into her account every month. And since her 2 older daughters had gone to an orphanage since the beginning of this year, she has 2 less dependents. So I told her that the money banked in by the anonymous donor is meant to buy her children’s necessities and as such she should use the money to buy milk powder and diapers instead of asking from me.

The good thing that came out of it is that Yah has now found herself a job. But why did she specifically look for a job in Ipoh? Further away from her children? Her 2 older children had already gone to an orphanage and now she left her 2 younger children to stay with their grandparents?

As I said earlier, Yah had not told me about her new job. Ever since the lecture I gave her, she did not call or SMS as often as before. She knew I was upset with her. So how did I know about her latest development? Well, she started to call/SMS a male colleague of mine instead. This colleague of mine is the person in charge of our clients’ welfare and so he had been helping Yah with her welfare application earlier.

Recently Yah said she needed some help from this colleague of mine and so she wanted to meet up with him. And guess what? She somehow managed to get Mr. Darling’s new number (hendak seribu daya!) and when she met my colleague she gave him Mr. D’s new number and asked my colleague to call him to ask how he was. Mr. D had met my colleague before during one HIV clinic and so they knew each other.

Mr. D didn’t know that Yah was right beside my colleague when they were talking over the phone. My colleague just pretended like he didn’t know anything. Mr. D did ask if my colleague had met Yah. With Yah right beside him, my colleague just answered with either yes, no or I see…

No, Mr. D did not ask about Yah because he missed her. He actually told my colleague that he didn’t like Yah and asked my colleague if he could arrange to introduce him to other HIV positive women. He really needs a wife but Yah has been blacklisted!!!! Ooh la la… isn’t this the same guy who told his daughters he didn’t remarry because he still loves their mother? Oh boy! Now he wants my colleague to introduce him to other HIV positive women?

My colleague didn’t say anything much then, but when he related the story to me later, he said no way he was going to play match-maker!

Not long after my colleague’s call, Yah herself called Mr. D direct. I guess our romeo simply didn’t know how else to avoid her. Changed his phone number, she somehow managed to find ways and means to get the new number. Don’t ask me how. Maybe she hired a private investigator? Haha!

Initially it was Mr. Darling who proposed to Yah before even attempting to get to know her better. He called her in the middle of the night… calling her darling… bringing her for karaoke sessions… spoiling her rotten! Now that he realized he didn’t like Yah, it is Yah’s turn to stalk him! Should I just say PADAN MUKA? Muahahaha…

Whatever it is, I am still upset about the negative changes in Yah. Now that she’s staying alone in Ipoh, and all her children are being taken care of by other people, she’d probably be enjoying herself more. There’s a reason she specifically looked for a job in Ipoh without even attempting to look for a job at her hometown. I suspect she wants to get nearer to Mr. Da…da…da… daarrliiing!

Aiyo… apa mau jadi?!