Passing by

Accompanied my dad on his delivery to Perai today... this was my 2nd time..

This time round, other than just going to Perai, we made a detour to Bukit Mertajam along the way, to my uncle's house.. and we also went into the town center for a quick spin, just to show me how much things have changed..

It has really been a very long time since I last went to BM (Bukit Mertajam).. at least 12 years.. couldn't really remember the last time I went there.. but it was definitely the first time in about 15 years that I saw my secondary school, Sekolah Menengah Convent BM, again.. I could see the classrooms, the hallways, the field and the little chapel in front of the school from the main road.. Somehow the school looked smaller than I remembered..

The road systems and the buildings in BM have changed so much that I couldn't really tell where I was at times..

Yet, some things still remain unchanged over the years.... passed the Taman (a Malay word that is often used in naming housing estates in Malaysia) and the house that I had stayed before leaving for Singapore.. passed the first church that I had ever entered and prayed, The Church of St. Anne Bukit Mertajam.. passed the hawker center that I always went to to get dinner for my brother and sister when my parents were working... passed the "family clinic".. passed the best Hokkien Mee stall that everyone in my family misses...

I came to BM barely 15 years old and this was where I had the most fun in school before leaving it 4 years later for my tertiary education.. BM was where I was a prefect, librarian, club/society president, school team captain, "security chief"... It was also where I did my first stage play, performed my first dikir barat, joined my first camping trip, participated my first "night adventure", rode my first motorcycle to school, suffered my first "heartache" and many other "firsts"... Coming back 15 years later, I am happy that at least some buildings from my memory can still be seen, yet I am surprised that the sense of nostalgia that I felt is being overwhelmed by sadness.. Sad that after all these years some things never improved but deteriorated (like the traffic jam, public facilities and workmanship, etc).. Sad that the strong identity of Convent has been diluted by "national school systems".. Sad that such a nice city has turned into a chaotic, messy city planning disaster..

Ahh... Time really has flown..