Daddy Cool

Many know my father as James, Uncle James or Jimmy, I know him as Daddy. My daddy met my mom in Johor Baru at the age of 29 and had me at the age of 30. He has been the catalyst that sparked my interest in Indian Classical. Yes, my Chinese father was behind it. How very Malaysian.

 

My daddy is a hotelier and currently runs the Metropolitan in Bangkok. He started off in Hyatt Saujana, moved onto Merlin, then Concorde K.L and Concorde Shah Alam before he moved up north to Thailand.

My father was your typical Asian man, he brought home the bacon while my mom raised us kids at home. My earliest memory of him is sitting in our Proton Saga while he drove us home from dropping my mom off at Subang Jaya aiport. We always listed to Julian Lennon's Salt Water. Classic daddy moment for me.

As we grew older, daddy was always the plan B for my mom when we couldn't get Claudia to wake up. Though we rarely saw it, we feared his anger. We were always reminded not to speak at the dinner table and greet him at the front door when he came back from work. Yes, very, very Asian.

As more years passed, we saw my dad less and less, mostly because he worked further and further away. So every time my dad watched a dance performance I always became nervous because he would be my guest of honour. When I was younger and had stage jitters, my dad will always tell me not to think about the audience and just dance for my Grandfather (my mom's father, from Trivandrum, Kerala). He taught me from a very young age the meaning of humility and constructive criticism.

Nothing ever missed my dad's watchful eye. He'd always watch me like a hawk and would notice every single mistake I'd make. Receiving compliments from him, meant the world to me. 

After he moved to Bangkok, he brought along my mother and brother. I think moving our mother away made him feel a little guilty because after he left, we noticed a shift in him. 

He started being mushy and always ended a phone call by telling us he loved us. (note: I refer to us and we to my little sister Claudia and myself). We'd also started having 2 hour long dinners because we'd hear about each other's stories and catch up with what we'd missed. We started drinking together, which, was wonderful. Besides his extraordinary culinary skills, he also made the best lycheetinis.

He taught me how to appreciate flowers, furniture and simplicity. Maybe I just needed to grow into him and vice versa. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way though. 

I hope I've grown up into the person he wanted me to be and I would definitely raise my children the way he has. He always told me that I could do anything I wanted to do as long as I thought it through and would be there to catch me in case I fell.

And he really was always there, advising me when he needed to. He'd always find the best tone to speak in and chose the words that would make me understand the severity of my actions. He really should have gone into Public Relations.

I think that is the way we should be with our kids. Be firm and strict with them so that they'd know who was boss, and later on melt away that tough exterior and wrap your arms around them as they grow older and embrace them as your best friends.

I love you Daddy. Happy Father's Day!