JUST MEI PHING

Mei Phing’s friends, cousins and relatives want pictures of her. Not just the recent ones but the ones of her growing up so I started to sort out all the pictures we had taken. It never occurred to me that I would have to sieve through more than 2000 pictures. I set out to chronicle these pictures and as it turned out, it was easier to tell the photos apart when she was younger but once she turned 17, she basically stayed the same. People always think she’s 18. There is a refreshing innocence in the way she enjoys everything she experiences. Memories of all the happy and fun times we had, captured on film. Wish we could find a video with her voice though.

She was a small baby of 6 lbs, so delicate and beautiful. Such a bundle of joy and smiled a lot. Yep, she was a happy child and this sunny disposition stayed with her throughout her growing up years and right up to the time of her death. She is always cracking a joke and making people around her laugh. Even on the day she was admitted into Carle, she was joking with the attending physician. The account was related to me by her friend Todd who was with her at the time. After the initial examination, the doctor told MP that she would have to remove her pants, she retorted with "that will cost you”.... Her 'tongue in cheek' retorts were witty and she spins them out without much effort. Like her cousin sister SweePea says, no holds bared, mom included. Wish I could recall more of the jokes she used to entertain us with but those of you who know how forgetful MP is now knows where she got it from.

I sent MP to a Chinese medium school for 12 years from primary through completion of her secondary education. She was president of the Jr Jaycees Club during her secondary years and core member of the English language debating team. Her team competed at the state level and went on to the finals beating teams from English medium schools. Of course this surprised a lot of people for it was incomprehensible that a team from a Chinese school could out perform hot favorites that were from English schools. MP loves a good debate and Ross had first hand experience of how passionate she can be if she wanted to pick a ‘fight’.

Throughout her student days, from primary to college, she competed and won many medals on the track and field. Running was her forte. And now she's outrun all of us. With so many things on her plate, it’s a wonder where she gets her energy. Well I guess her teachers would have this answer for she takes her naps in class. You can’t begin to count how many times I had to listen to her teachers complain about her sleeping in class, yes stretched out across her desk. Her teachers were of course dumbfounded when she scored 6As and a B for a major grade exam.

She enrolled in the Malaysian Army Reserve Unit, completed all of the qualifying tests and was inaugurated by the King and Queen of Malaysia to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Not bad for a petite girl. I like to tease her about this as she’s the smallest in our family of 4 and she would always tell me that ‘good things come in small packages’. Not only did she complete the obstacle races in training, in one instance she went back on the monkey bars and helped a team mate cross. This is just one example of how she never thought twice about helping others.

I was not quite an adult myself when I was pregnant with MP so her dad and I had actually considered giving her up for adoption. Of course this idea very quickly flew out the window the minute we held her in our arms. She won her way into our hearts with her smile. What horrors!!! Life would simply have been so boring and dull without her. It never fails to fascinate me how expressive her eyes were. She was beautiful in and out and smart too… Beauty with brains and a great personality to boot…what a combination. Like Cheng said we are all so proud of her. I could not have asked for more in a daughter and as I go through the pictures nothing of what happened makes any sense.