We Are Back
By now, we had been back for three weeks. My last blog was somewhat a catalogue of passages of friends and the funerals I couldn’t attend. Since back, Su and I had been going between hospitals where both her parents had been staying, her mother since Christmas Eve and her father since 1 February. It meant that we had not been doing too much of the usual CNY rituals; and to cut the long story short, Su’s father passed away in his sleep peacefully last week and the siblings had decided to organize the last rites privately. He was over 94. The good news was that he had not been in an elderly home. Su said that he had died of old age. Meanwhile, Su’s mother – who was in another hospital – had been briefed and was taking the development calmly. She had been under medication for low fever, and we were hoping that she would be well enough to return home soon. She is close to 94. It meant that we had excused ourselves from a few social gatherings, for practical reasons.
Still, life goes on; and last night we went to a wine and cheese evening at one of our favourite clubs. The cheese and fondue were excellent, as were the bread and pasta, but the wine was not too much to write home about. Then today, we had some heart warming news. A good friend became a grandfather for the first time. His daughter gave birth to a baby girl at 6 am in the morning, in the presence of his mother, implying that four generations were there in the labour ward. What a special, memorable and exciting occasion. He must be over the moon; and Su and I were so happy for them.
While Su and her siblings were having their father’s funeral organized, things in Mei Foo were moving fast. We had been given notice that the Management will renovate the external walls and edifice of our block and that the contractor will remove all structures that are illegal or that should not be there, including some of the piping associated with our air conditioners installed in 2013. Fortuitously, Su had been very friendly with someone who operates a business which specializes in such alterations and additions. Again, to cut the long story short, her contractors would replace all the air conditioners and make all piping and connections legit. The operation will last for about two weeks, during which we might need to move out for some days, to make room for the work involved. More urgently, we would need to move out items immediately next to work areas so that the workers can carry out the replacement and addition items, beginning with installing scaffoldings next week. The process had begun and we had been packing for the entire weekend. As I had always said, this is a crash course in mindfulness.
Meanwhile, Su’s property in Whistler has generated other issues. I had mentioned somewhere before that the property had attracted a tax known as UHT or underoccupied home tax which had resulted in us having to stay in the property for 28 days in a tax year. Apparently, the law may change or may have changed, but her more immediate worry is that the Canadian bank – RBC – which had taken over HSBC had threatened to close her bank account. It implies that she needs to find a bank in Canada that will handle her finance related to the property in Whistler. After some research, she finds out that Bank of China operates in Canada and she has lined up an interview with the local bank in Mei Foo next week. To prepare for the interview, she has made me rob my bank for additional funds to inject to her BoC bank account to qualify her to open a bank account in Canada.
Then there is the Iceland project which Su has signed up between May and June, and on which I have yet to apply my mind. There is also the possibility that I might need to make a trip to UK for some Masonic business. I will think about it when I get to that, for more immediately, Su has already said that we may need to move out of Mei Foo for a few days during renovation if we can’t use our bed. We will see.
