in the swim : Moving

Hi again

Somebody is moving.

Moving house is no small matter. Everyone is busy. Or offer to be busy.

It can involve moving the house. Like this - once upon a time.

Moving the house in the fifty's - a picture as painted in my mind

It is about shifting. You are going to relocate. A stressful time certainly. Agree?

You have to cope with all kinds of feelings. Your emotion goes up and down. Anxiety regrets fear sadness. You are sentimental about things.

You are leaving. The building, the trees, the birds. And the neighbours though some you are quite happy to leave them behind."Love thy neighbours" cannot work with some. It is either you or they who is the problem. Hmm.

When you are moving to a new place a lot of things are to be discarded. Some so endear to you. You feel heart broken when giving them away or taken away by the vagabond.

Some of the things you can't take it along to the new place. They just do not fit.

Sometimes you take your old things to the new place but they won't look the same in the new surrounding . You would prefer them to be where they are now but you have to move on. Its kind of sad. You keep thinking about how it was just right on your old coffee table where once happy conversations took place.

Of course some are really garbage. A long time ago should be discarded.

Some of the things may not be yours well if you have been living say in the house provided by your generous management. You don't own it. Its not yours and you realised joyous moments are just temporary.

You move. Life has to move on.

Knowing someone is moving made me look back on my life. What a long journey. Stopped at so many stations. At some places I should have stayed longer. For good or bad it is destined to you. You don't fix things. The One up there is doing the planning.

On the real I have moved house more than seven times. Seven is the cut off point. It is often said you move house seven times ( and more) you become a pauper. I hope not.

I lived first in our own kampung house then in rented rooms, rented houses, here, there, quarters and thankfully in own house again. If I move house again then it is moving to . . .

I have experienced sharimg room with friends then sharing a house. Have experienced moving into brand new house and still encountered with many headaches. Have gone to live in a house home to a previous tenant you got more headaches.

The most memorable was living in an old living quarters which was built in the colonial time - 1932 as engraved there at the entrance. It was spacious for our small family. But the quietness was almost haunting. It hadn't been lived for many years I was told. There was a kind of a strange feeling when I first entered. Not something nagative though. I kept wondering how was it in its hay day. How many and who were the people who had lived in there throughout the years and how many happy children had romped the compound. Who were they, where are they now . . .

The house was situated on a slope and over looking the sea. It was kind of romantic. Surrounding it were huge and tall old trees which swayed threatheningly when the wind was strong. At night the sound of the waves and the wind wailing could be heard plus the sound of the loose hanging door drumming against the door frame. Eerie. Especially when alone at home.

In the morning you would find that the crochet table cloth was being pulled. Yes it was yanked away from the original place. I was puzzled in the beginning. But when the links in thread were broken and frayed my guess was right. No hantu.

The quietness of the place somehow made me very sad to leave. Never mind the broken windows the cracked wall and the mouldy paint. And there were rat holes. Ants. Lots of fierce ants. And a lot more other pests and insects. But I liked living there.

Well sometimes it is not really the house that matters but the surrounding. The neighbourhood peaceful the landscape inspirational. But sometimes you don't really know what to expect though roughly you have it on your mind. Moving house certainly is not small matter.

For most of us we moved on to something better but for those who like to cling on to the present but forced to part with whatever that you love is kind of sad.