* daddy's girl *

Did you watch Oprah Prime Time?? I had no idea Kate Hudson was Kurt Russel's daughter. And I had no idea Kurt Russel used to sing and dance! hahaha...anyway, what Billy Crystal did for his granddaughter was so darm sweeeeet. He wrote this book for his daughter's daughter, Ella, titled "I Already Know I Love You". Oh in 1 hour too. It's this children's book. It had, i think, a poem sort of story, and illustrations of him and a baby. And that part about bringing Ella's mother to the movies? Sigh...I think I'd like to be Karen Crystal. As in his daughter, not his wife. hehe...=)

Being an only daughter in my family of 2 brothers, inevitably turned me into Daddy's Girl. I grew up as the closest to my dad among the 3 of us and still is...i think. My mum told me secretly that my dad prefers daughters. She even said that there was a slight hint of disappointment when Keith was...well Keith and not Kathleen or Kate or Krystal. Of course, to avoid any sort of conflict or misunderstandings, she told nobody else. Not even my father because he won't admit it. Obviously. =)

So anyway, when I was a child, between the ages 5 to 9 probably, my daddy used to cut my hair. Unbelievable? Believe it. He'd take one page of the NST, snip a hole in the centre and put it through my head to rest on my shoulders. Then he'd take the wooden stool outside, (which is still very much sit-able and can be found in my kitchen used by my maid now) carried me and placed me on top. Then he'd start snipping the back of my hair, my fringe, the sides near the ears and all lah. I had short hair then. Pretty much like what I have now. When he was done, he'd take this rag and gently sweep the little bits of hair around my neck. Sometimes he'd start sweeping my nose and face which usually sends me giggling. (I was told by my parents and relatives that I was a very laughative child). And when my mum came to see my new hairstyle, she'd always say she loved it and start showering both my daddy and I with praises and compliments.

I think the main reason why I was so close to my dad was because of my adventurous nature. My elder brother was quite a kayu person when young. My parents used to call him kim chui which directly means golden mouth because he was so quiet, it was as though he was hiding gold in his mouth. And my little brother came very much later. I was the loud, cheery one who was always ready for a good time when my daddy called me. Wherever we'd go, whatever we'd do, he'd always show me stuff. Especially when we went back to my paternal grandparents' house in Raub, (it's a bit kampung-ish then) he'd bring me into the dusun behind the house where my Ah Kong had durian and rambutan trees. Then he'd show me wild chickens, jungle lizards, monkeys, rambutan trees, durian trees and anything you can find there. It was really fascinating. He'd bring me on my Ah Kong's motorbike and go riding around the neighbourhood, showing me #th cousin's house, #th aunty's house and so on. There were even fireflies there at night. Whatever it was, bias as it may seem, I was always the first to know/see.

Behind my house is a pretty wide pedestrian are where my elder brother and I used to play with the neighbourhood friends. My parents bought the house because of that. They had already evnvisioned the 2 of us playing behind. Anyway, my daddy always encouraged me to play. He'd sometimes make me go out even when I don't feel like it. Not like that happened very often anyway.*grin* It was everyday, 5-7 pm. And did I play! I think the reason why I'm easily restless and love playing so much was because of that. My parents brought me up to be a playing machine. I played hide and seek (which if I were to hide, no one would be able to find me) and catching and climbing trees and masak-masak. My neighbours, my brother and I even created this Bird Force thing with identity cards, and code words and signals and training fields for all of us. My brother lead the guys, yours truly was the leader of the girls. Maybe because we were the founder? hehe...so, yea...i played hard! So, naturally I get cut and bruised almost everyday. My mum used to say my legs were worth a lot due to the 10 cents, 20 cents scars i collected all over. And for a girl my age, I have to say I handled cuts, bruises and blood pretty well. Why? My dad. He taught me No Pain No Gain and he drummed those words into my little head. He'd never let me soften down or whimper when I obtained a scratch. There was once I felt a little manja and peeled off a scab from my wound. Blood started flowing, but as you know, it doesn't hurt anymore once the scab forms. But I started whimpering a little to my dad, making a scene out of it and he scolded me. He ignored my pleas to put a plaster and said "small small thing no pain wan la!". And after that I think I never went to him again whenever I hurt myself. Not like I cuold if i wanted to. I got them way too often. =)

When we went out, say to Subang Parade (which at that time was equivalent to Megamall now) you'd see me walking hand in hand with my dad. Even when I was 10 years plus. Sometimes, I'd put my hands around his waist and he'd put his on my shoulders. My aunt once commented to my mum that it was quite a misleading sight and people might think my dad was some chi ko pek (gigolo) with a teenage girlfriend. When I heard that, I think my first instinct was to back away from my dad. Although it didn't take long before I was next to him again, hands on waist and all. That was how close I was to my father.

My dad taught me a lot of things. He taught me electronics. At age 11, I took my dad's screwdriver from his toolbox, tore open my little brother's toy thing and fixed it. It was some game where the buttons were pushed and a sound would come out accordingly. Somehow my little brother's aggressive nature made that thing go haywire and the sounds didn't match the buttons anymore. So, I, feeling a need for a little adventure, went ahead and fixed it. My dad taught me nature. He used to whistle this tune and this little bird would answer! I'm serious. He even taught me how to play the lalang game, where you take the lalang leaf, peel the centre streak and "shoot" it off. My dad taught me to make friends. He was always pushing me to talk to other kids that were my age when we were at a play ground or the mall or something. My dad taught me to appreciate varieties of food. He used to make half boiled eggs for me every morning. He ordered escargots for me from Victoria Station during my big brother's birthday celebration and made me eat them. He introduced me to si ham, lala, balitong and many more. My dad taught me science. That kemek ping pong ball in hot water trick was long learnt before I studied it in school. My dad taught me leadership. He would drill me with criterias of a good leader, such as approachable, understanding, and a good listenner. He told me that every person likes to be listenned to. And to be a good leader I must know my followers not just superficially, but personally. They must feel appreciated by me. That their ideas are worth my time. Most of all, my dad taught me to work for myself. Both my parents are very lenient. They never once forced me into doing revision, or compared me with classmates. My dad always said "Study for yourself not for mummy and I". He'd emphasize on taking personal responsibility even before I knew how to spell responsibility. He'd also stressed on my mind set. He'd say that anything is possible, all I had to do was change the way I thought of it. For example, he used to make me love History but honestly, that didn't work because i still hated it and still flunked it. =)

Now, at age 18, my dad is determined to teach me money making. And with all that I've said, I have to admit that at a time like this, I don't really wanna be Daddy's Girl. Money making?! He'd go on and on about property trading, investment, starting your own business and what nots. He's also determined to teach me healthy living. This he has pretty much achieved. *wink*

In a nutshell, I love my daddy. He turned me into who I am today, and I honestly think I wouldn't want me any other way. Bow legs, dark skin and all. =)