Goodbye, my friend!

At 4pm today, while I was all excited looking forward to tomorrow's holiday (well I am going to Genting), I received yet another surprise but sadly, this time round it was not a good one.

Lin Tai, my ex-housemate (during my university days back in 1993-1997) called me on my mobile to break the news that our housemate, Ye Yoo had succumbed to cancer (though not really confirmed). Anyway, she passed away yesterday morning in Kelantan. Upon hearing the heart-breaking news, I was of course shocked but at the same time still could not fully accept and 'digest' the fact that a person whom I had known and had once lived with under the same roof had gone leaving all of us eternally. Well, I just sat on my son's bed statue still staring blankly at the wall. "She is a little too young to go!" I thought. All kinds of questions came rushing into my mind - how did she die? what exactly happened to her? what was her state of mind when she passed on? how she looked like? was she married? how's her funeral going to be? how did her mom take it? etc. etc.


Ye Yoo and I at her graduation (1997)


Then, I began to reminisce our happy moments back then in a student house in Taman Bukit, Kajang (or we normally called it G34, taken after the house address). Altogether, there were 8 of us staying in that house, 2 guys and 6 girls. We were certainly a happy bunch of undergraduates who came from different states, different background. Nevertheless, we lived like a big happy family. When we came back from lecture at about 4.30pm, everyone would be seen moaning about things happened on that day - about the lectures, the assignments, the tutors, the presentation, the public buses, the food so on and so forth. Apparently, this (the complaining) had made the whole house so noisy but alive. At 5.45pm (after taking our bath), everyone would come out (from our respective rooms), gravitate ourselves to the 'sofa-less' living area, choose a place to sit (of course on the floor), waiting for the highlight of the day - the Chinese serial drama at 6pm. We would then eat our packed food (though we cooked occasionally) while enjoying the show. At 7pm, everyone would disperse, motion back to our rooms and get back to our books before coming out again at 10.30pm for our next tv session. This had been our routine day in and day out, well at least for the weekdays.


Me and my housemates at The Mines Resort (1996)


(front row, L-R : Siok Moi, Yee Yoo, Siew Lan;
middle row, L-R : Li Kee, Siew Lian, Lin Tai;
back row : myself & Teong Keong)

Ye Yoo, a psychology major who hailed from Kelantan had certainly spiced up our days in G34. A jovial and easy-going person who always gave in to any matters, Ye Yoo was just too good that you could not find any reasons to pick up a fight with. Out of the blue, you would hear somebody shouting at the computer corner. When you opened your room door, it would surely be Ye Yoo - there again, she had forgotten to save her work before shutting down the computer.

Indeed, I or rather we (the once G34 dwellers) have lost a great friend. Yee Yo, wherever you may be, may all your good merits you have accrued in this life, shower upon you at this very moment and may you be well and happy, be free from all forms of sufferings and may your soul rest in peace. Goodbye, friend!