those black things
June 4, 2017Usually I prefer to answer interview questions via email. It takes less time, I’m more efficient and I can have some time to think about my answers. But sometimes, the interviewer insists on meeting because they want to see my reactions and have a more wholesome picture. Iman filters the emails we get and some of them she declines, but there was this one that was so interesting.
This lady is writing a book on women in Malaysia and wanted to include me in it. Me in a book? OMG Mommy would buy 50 copies. Iman scheduled the meeting for half an hour (I’m usually very fast in interviews!) but this one lasted almost 2 hours! It was such a refreshing interview because it wasn’t the typical questions like “Explain to me how FV started” – basically stuff you can google if you did your homework. But her questions were more personal. One that I want to share is: What is your first memory as a child?
Immediately, strawberries came to mind.
I was in kindergarten. Maybe 4? Or 5? My dad was at an official diplomat dinner thingy where everything was formal. I knew because Mom put me in my fancy black velvet dress that made me feel like I was a little pwwwwincess, and you know it’s a better-behave-yourself kind of dinner when she makes you wear fancy ruffle socks with your shiny patent mary-jane flats. I must be getting married, I thought. So dressed up, I loved it!
Anyway, back to dinner. I was (still am) a very picky eater. I was so stubborn and I had a mind of my own, I will eat only what I wanted to eat and even Dad couldn’t force me. Well he could, but I’d cry and he wouldn’t want that at a fancy dinner, would he? *grins* *bats eyelashes*
They put strawberries on my plate. I looked at Mom. “I don’t want to eat this Mommy,” I tell her.
“Eat. It. Now.” She said in between her gritted teeth.
“I don’t wanttttttttt,” I mumbled softly.
I found the black seeds on the strawberries really scary and was pretty sure that if I ate them, strawberry trees would grow in my tummy. Ewww.
“Fine. Could you take out the black things please Mommy?”
“Sofinas, just eat it,” Ohhhhh the Sofinas came out. Mom is getting angry….
“I will. But I don’t want the black things, Mommy.”
I was such an adamant kid, I tell you. Mom sighed and to save herself from embarrassment in front of people, she surrendered and cut the skin of the strawberry until the black things were gone. By the time I got it back, the strawberry was so small I was basically eating a little tiny grape.
Mom doesn’t remember this story, but I do. Everytime I look at strawberries now, I remember that vivid memory of my childhood… and what an annoying little child I must have been. Sorry, Mom hehe.
But you know, life is a cycle. Karma will come getchu in the bum.
I made black pepper beef one night. Was excited to serve the family and as soon as I put it on Daniel’s plate of rice he went all ughhhh and started saying he didn’t want it.
“But it’s beef! You love beef!” I said.
“But what are those black black things, Mommy?” he asked.
I looked at the beef. What black things? Does he mean the black pepper?
“That’s just the pepper Daniel. It’s yummy! You won’t even taste it!” I said, basically contradicting myself in one sentence but whatever it takes to get him to eat. I was desperate, ok.
“No, take the black thing out, Mommy, please.”
“You want me to separate each black pepper from your beef?”
“Yes, Mommy, please. I don’t want.”
And just like that, flashback to my strawberry memory. I did the exact same thing to my mom, and here my son is doing the same to me!
Oh, even worse, Mariam heard him and also went, “No black thing Mommy, no.” wagging her finger around like a little boss.
-_____-“
Ohhhh how my mom has been waiting for this day….
What. Goes. Around. Comes. Around.
Do you remember your first memory as a child?
Not exactly my first, but I remembered tagging along my mom to pasar pagi and she would just buy me a cup of warm soya and left me drinking by myself at one spot so that she can shop for groceries easily. And when she has finished shopping, I’d be at the exact same place waiting with an empty cup 🙂 God bless that era when kidnapping cases weren’t a norm.
I don’t remember mine! but i do remember I enjoying spining round and round until muntah. I never learned my lesson and would always do it again and again. I can’t believe my dad (who was a stay at home dad, while my mum was working) was just so patient with me. and clean up all the mess. He has since passed away. 🙁
Syaf, sorry to hear that. InshaAllah he’s at a better place now.
oh gosh, what is my first memory? oh ok
I was 1 and a half. My dad had me in his arms,and we went to see my uncle house get burned down.it was rumah kayu in the middle of KL. I remember my late uncle face, he was so devastated and then my dad gave him an office pants so that he can go to work. My mom and aunt was so suprised that I remember about the pants.
I used to open my eyes on purpose when my mum shampooed my hair as a kid. The shampoo bottle said “no tears” so I wanted to try if it really won’t sting my eyes. But no, my eyes felt like it was burning to the point that I remember crying the whole day because I felt cheated.
Only a few years ago did I come across a FB post that said the shampoo causes no tears…as in no tears in my hair…..oh my.
I was in Toys r us subang parade. Probably about 5 or 6 yo. That was the only mall in PJ, btw. Our parents took us there to browse some toys and lo and behold, I found myself alone at one of the aisle. Cries my little heart out and vaguely remember being taken away by a man with walkie talkie. He brought me to the information counter i tho. Next thing I know I was back with my parents. Yup, my parents lost me for a few minutes. Luckily kidnapping cases wasn’t rampant 30 years ago 😉
I believe in karma so much more now hahaha. and maryam why sho cuteeeeeee.
I have plenty, but the most prominent one would be playing army with guns with my friend. I don’t know why that always comes to my mind when most of the kids I played with have moved.
// afifahaddnan
My first day in kindergarten and I was so scared and even scared to even go to the toilet that I pooped in my class! (no pampers hello) WORST. DAY. EVER. Definitely gonna wear my kids pampers on their first day of kindergarten later 😛
when i was 3 or 4 y/0, i always got fever. and my grandma told my mom to put asam jawa on my forehead to reduce the temperature. i will run and cry out of my lungs because i thought my mom put my poops on my forehead.
hihi. picky eater. same here. i x eat any fruits with seed! and i could not even look at it. hmm. wish my grandma still here, she always removes it for me. 🙁
Vivy, you should write a book, I say!
When I was probably 3 years old I would always pretend to be sleeping on the sofa or in the TV room, because I loved how it felt when my dad carried me and tuck me into bed. Made me feel like a princess XD
hahaha..kelakarlah sha
I know myself to be the most un-morning person ever on earth ’cause since I was a kid, I hated mornings. I remember when I was 5, my mum had to literally dragged me out of bed, put me to shower and then into the car to go school. I did all these with my eyes closed. Only when we reached school did my mum wake me up to dress me up properly with uniforms, socks and shoes. God bless my mum. She did this every single morning. >_<
I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old I would always pretend to be sleeping in the car until we arrive home, because I was too lazy to climb up the stairs to my house since my house was in a 4 level flat, there was no lift! So usually my dad would carry me all the way up to our house at level 3
I remember when I was around 2-3 y/o, my sister was a year older while my brother was a year younger. It was gaji day, so my parents took us to McDonald by motorcycle. Yes 5 person on a motorcycle because we don’t have car back then. I still remember that…
My parents locked 5yo me and my 8yo brother out cuz we didnt come back before maghrib. Well turned out we just hang out at our nanny’s house, selang 2 rumah from ours, but who cares. Rule is rule. So, us being kids, bang the door from the outside and my parents still dont want to open the door, So we thought, they just left. And we cried. and we went to surau, crying, looking for my parents and went back home, crying outside. Then only baru my mom opened the door and we both kena marah. Segar dalam ingatan.
astaghfirullahal’azim. karma tu tak prnh wujud dlm kepercayaan Islam la adoiii biby usop ni. itu adalah kepercayaan hindu instead. agama bkn utk dipersendakan atau jadi bahan lawak sewenangnya…
We.. I am food picker either. I find that kind of black black things funny.. ????
not exactly my first memory, but i remember during primary school, sometimes i would spin round and round to make myself feel dizzy and sick so i won’t have to go to sekolah agama ! hahaha
ira irdina : hey reading the Quran helps to sooth our heart 🙂
assalamualaikum kpd semua peminat tegar pencinta taksub aka defender to biby ucop. slmt berpuasa slmt hari raya n sudah2 la tu dgn kecaman kat sy. jikalau iye pun telalu tinggi nilai jilat atau macai tak perlu kot nak tegakkan benang yg basah k i’m done chill bye
Ira Irdina, could you not make it a religious issue? Vivy, and all of us here are reliving our earliest memories. Take your negativity elsewhere, please.
As a kid, I spent most of my time w my grandparents (Opah and Embah). They’re just like my parents. There are too many great memories. The last thing that I can recall about Embah was our last breakfast on the second day of raya and Opah covered me w blanket a week before she left. I miss them. Ramadhan al-Mubarak everyone.
I was 5 and I poop in my kain during kindergarten haha.
We were celebrating my 4th birthday at kampung. Seeing my wan sick (he was in recovery phase after an accident), I suddenly thought about death, and out of curiosity i asked my tokwan “bila wan nak mati?”. It’s not like i wanted him to die soon. I was just asking. Everybody (the adults) laughed. And my wan asked me back “cek nak wan mati bila?” And i remember cringing to that question, just realised that’s the question nobody will have the answer. My wan died just the morning after. Al fatihah, Ahmad bin Saleh
I can’t imagine how struggle your mom trying to cut the skin. hhahahha
haha, this is actually a very cute story.
i remember when i was small, every time i was sick my parents will brought me to the clinic, and after seeing the doctors, my dad will give me Vitagens or packet drinks.
wow very cute… hehehhee
I second whoever whose most fondest memory as a child was to “pretend to sleep” so that our daddies will carry us instead of having to walk ourselves hehe. I do that all the time whenever we’re on our way home because I refuse to walk from the car all the way to our home. Anyway, Vivy good luck lah entertaining your kids, if they’re going to take after your behaviour as a child! LOL! Love this post!
Ira Irdina, i hope you find peace and barakah especially during this Ramadan. Haters gonna hate. You can tegur nicely instead of shaming people. May Allah forgive you and all of us.
Selamat berpuasa & Selamat Hari Raya VY!
Vivy, I like your writing style! you should write a book …
Tugeda iDeal
Whoaa i didn’t notice that strawberries got the black thingy. lol
My mom was a teacher for as long as i remember and she made little money to support our family. I remember when i was 3 i asked my mom for a piece of paper because i wanted to draw, she said ‘go find some in my bag’. So i went to get her bag, got myself three pieces of paper and started to draw. Then i showed my mom hoping for her compliment but she was screaming in horror because i drew on three pieces of a hundred notes. Back then 300 ringgit cost like a million for us. Since then whenever i asked for paper she would get them by herself ???????????? Now that we live a better life, sometimes we look back and talk about that ‘drawing’ incident it makes us realize how lucky we all are because we got through the toughest of time.
Thank you for sharing with us your childhood story Vivy.
hahahah, so funny!
Hahah so funny!
It was at the hospital after my mum gave birth to my brother!
The first time I ate burger. Abah bought it at Pasar Malam nearby. He bought 1 sort of Ramly burger. Mak cut it into 4 bahagian. 1 burger potong 4. Kongsi 4 orang. It was so delicious :’). We couldn’t afford much back then. Today, whenever I told that story to my mak, she’d tear up and said she doesn’t want to remember (because she felt so sad that we had to share 1 burger) . Alhamdulillah,berkat keringat Abah dan Mak, we get to eat loooots and loooots of burgers now.
I remembered, when I was in standard 1,inside the classroom. I want to pee, but I got scared to ask for permission then, I peed inside my classroom and luckily, the urine was not flowing cause it got caught by the kain sarong that I’m wearing. after that, I acted normal and when I went home with my father inside the car, he asked “Apa yang bau hancing ni?”
HAHAHAHA so bodoh that time