The Next Chapter: III - Almost Smooth Sailing (2001 - 2002)

I remember the day when I got a brand new Playstation One from possibly the most caring relative I’ve ever had. I was over the moon. The first game I had played was “Spyro The Dragon”, and I played it for weeks on end. To the point where I was banned from playing during the school week.

“The Next Chapter” is a series of eight blog posts which will be posted during a period of eight days, reflecting on the first 18 years of my life. Also, building up to the big 18th birthday (which is just around the corner) on the 12th of January. 

The memory started to kick in from 2001, and from what I remember, both years were fairly routine. Monday right through to Friday pretty much consisted of school, homework, and sleep. I had Vietnamese lessons on Saturday mornings. And Saturday nights were “free nights” through an agreement with my Dad. As long as I did my homework, I could do whatever I liked on Saturday nights without having to listen to my parents scream at me. Sundays were of course, ‘homework day’, where I had to complete all my homework which was due the next day.

Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have a problem with this ‘routine’ when I was younger. I mean, if I had the exact same timetable now, I would crack. It was probably because I was forced to live with the routine when I was younger. As soon as I stepped out of line, I would cop a slap on the ass from my parents. And it wasn’t with the hands either, it was with a wooden stick. Now I remember that very clearly.

Also, every night (except Saturday nights, of course) at 8pm sharp, I would’ve had to read a story to my parents for an hour, done my homework, learnt the times-tables, and written a page-long diary entry to my parents about my day, for my parents to read. This went on for years. I think my parents finally got sick of me falling asleep in the middle of that hour of reading, or complained about writing a page-long essay every night, so they let me go at the end of 2006. Clearly, it was torture.

I think it was pretty obvious my parents were strict on me back then. I have a list of possibilities on why my parents were so strict on me. One of them include, of course, the need for me to perform well at school. Another possibility may be because they were under the influence of my uncle, who apparently “knew everything”, so my parents listened to him and basically followed every order. I’ve lost count of how many times I copped a slap on the ass, or the litres upon litres of tears that I’ve shed, but looking back, I think they were doing it for my own good.

There was a photo of me - that my sister sneakily took - crying my eyes out after copping a slap on the ass by my parents, but I can’t seem to find it for some reason. I might have ripped it up to shreds in frustration.

Next in “The Next Chapter”: IV - Old Habits Live On (2003 -2004)

Previous “The Next Chapter” posts:
II - A Whole New Beginning (1999 - 2000) 
I - A Gift from God (1995 - 1998)