I'll be home for Christmas* - Vanessa Williams

It's funny the kind of thoughts of that run thru your mind when you are stuck doing dish-washing for 8 hours - like what the heck am i doing here? Not unlike the prodigal son, i wanted to pack it up and just go home.

Well, truth be told, it wasn't the first time in recent times that i toyed with the idea of going home for Christmas. A couple of not-so-pleasant incidents contributed to that. Coupled with Mastercard's latest tear-inducing commercial (ripped off the opening scene of Love, Actually, no doubt! The scene is the arrival hall at the airport when people come and meet their loved ones. In typical Mastercard fashion, the words "Ticket from Toronto, Canada, so-much pounds; ticket from Sydney Australia, so-much pounds"; etc.; and ends off with "Spending Christmas at home - priceless!").

But no. In all probability, God-willing, i'll be spending Christmas away from home - for the 3rd time in me life!

In any event, going on-line after a long day work yesterday helped make my decision easier. A quick visit to The Star Online and i read about the Muslim religious officers fighting over yet again another body to bury - they seem more concerned with the dead than with the living dun they? After all, where were they when Rayappan converted out of Islam, signed a Statutory Declaration and even got his Identity Card to reflect the fact that he's no longer a believer of the Muslim faith???

Then there's the hoo-hah in the East coast State again about imposing fines on certain kind of dressing by the women-folk.

This is home? If it is, why would i wanna go back there?

I then read this comment in an Aussie newspaper which din sound too far away from the truth - some parts more than others! (I've always griped about the fact that Malaysia spent millions to build an F-1 circuit but some hospitals dun even have enuf incubators for new-born babies so much so that me mate who's a doctor told me of incidents when they had to send pregnant mothers away to other hospitals if they can "hold-on"!!!!!)

This is home?

One thing we realised when we are here in the UK - the British-born Indian will consider himself a Brit first and then an Indian. The Australian-born Chinese considers himself an Aussie first before he may maybe say he's a Chinese. But in Malaysia, we are usually Chinese, Indian, Malay etc. Why is that?

One of the reasons - i believe - is that these Brits, or Aussies, or Americans have the same status as the other citizens in thier country. A Chinese guy who is an American citizen enjoys and shares all the benefits of a white guy who is born an American.

But not in M'sia. After nearly half a century of independence, i as a Malaysian-Chinese still do not enjoy all the benefits as a Malay does. What do the politicians have to say about it? If you dun like it, you can leave the country!!!!

This is home?

What about the church i worshipped in? Well, none of the leaders have even contacted me or kept in touch with me to see if i'm doing fine or not. The last e-mail i received from the YAf was a forwarded mail about taking leave in 2007 (What the...??? Make mental note: tell them to leave me out of their mailing list!).

This is home?

*sigh*

Sorry. Needed to let out some steam...

So what is home? Well, home is where my family is. Home is where me mates are. And because of them, i will miss spending Christmas at home.

So - you may ask - then why dun you go home for Christmas? Well, as the lyrics of above-titled song say, "I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams"! ;-)

p/s - on a much lighter note - and totally unrelated - i came across this post which you car-enthusiasts and people interested in advertisements will appreciate! Be warned - contain elements which some may consider vulgur!

*This song was the reason why i bought (i bought as a joke for a fren - dun ask - but she refused to take it) Ms. Williams' Christmas album, Star-bright - and it's one of the best i've listened to. Her rendition of the Christmas songs with a jazzy feel is absolutely brilliant!