Tuesday, August 02, 2005

"What a dramatic turn of events" is probably the thought in your mind when you're through with this post.

Don't be expecting pictures. There wasn't any good cameras phones around. Man I need a k750i! ^^

For reasons similar to that of the dog chasing its own tail, we found ourselves cruising on the MRT towards Changi Airport after our prematurely ended class.

Luckily the company was more than pleasant, rendering the supposed painfully long trip, to one which is still long but under anesthesia.

We reached Popeye at the airport around 4.45pm and thought the moment we arrived would be when our hunger would be satisfied. *Insert buzzer* We're way wrong!

The wretched slave drivers (You call them "manager" in your world.) were sitting there, discreetly coercing the employees to constantly work faster and better with their presence. Boo!

We waited, and waited, and hungrily waited some more. It seems we weren't destined to die of starvation as the manager apparently slipped into a trance of some sort, perhaps amidst a fantasy involving elderly men and hotdogs. LMAO!

I hate executives. =p

Naim was already in the kitchen hard at work. With the last of the hindrance out of the way and everything in place, it was time to feed the hungry. Time was 5.30pm then.

Nervously Jamadil, Jeremy and me approached the counter with Naim manning it. A little diversionary ordering here and there, and Naim began to flood our tray with assortment of their specialties which obviously exceeds that of what was punched into cashier.

Several trips back and forth, each time with significantly more food filling the anxious space of our tables. For the price of? $1.30 for each starving bugger!

We fought hard and courageously, against the unending waves of food. Eventually, the forces of gluttony triumphed, but at a puke-ish price. Time then was 8.45pm.

On a seperate note, the star of the meal was the multi purpose bread. You can choke someone with it, play a game of baseball perhaps, and when dropped from a suitable height, kill small animals and kids.

Thank god you don't have to sit with 5 ready-to-blow puke bombs at a same table. The terror would have driven the lion-hearted insane. LOL!

After further digestion, we wandered about the airport, laughing hysterically at things we found or talked about which many would find to be absurdly unhumourous. That didn't stop till we parted for home.

Here's the kicker.

Mum called and abruptly broke the news to me. Grandpa was admitted to SGH and things weren't going well for him. He might be going anytime soon.

I said my goodbyes to Tim and alighted the very next stop. As the occasional silence were broken by the repetitive commercials, I found myself treading rather impatiently along a deserted portion of the platform.

Perhaps I had grown a shred of conscience, and the pacing about was maybe the symptom of angst? I'm usually quite nonchalant whenever incidents regarding the impending demised of a relative arise.

Time seemed to stretch on whenever you're in a hurry, or perhaps the digesting massive quantity of food causes a brain hang up. Whichever it was, the trip was taking forever.

One heavy-hearted step after the other, I eventually reached the ward. Dad and his elder brother were already on the scene.

Dad mentioned my arrival to him and after some considerable effort on my grandpa's part, he mumbled softly but incoherently. Evidently his mind was as unwell as the body.

Taking a step back, I gazed upon the shriveled body undernerth the pale blanket. Grandpa used to be a big guy, and his eyes would light up whenever I came for a visit. But all he could do now was lay still and flicker his eyelids.

His health had deteriorated drasticaly ever since the he suffered from stroke a few years ago. Now he was hanging on to life on so thin a thread, that if his existence was to be mention above that of a whisper, he will simply evanesce.

Mum joined us soon after. The faint music in the background constantly reminded us that time was moving on and he was slipping out of our grasp. And all we could do was look with tearful eyes.

I can't help but wonder if I were in his shoes, would I choose to lived on as a incapacitated goldfish, or join the ranks of ancestors and lived on in the memories of the living. Not much of a choice there, is it?

My advice to you, either cherish your love ones around you now or have your emotions surgically removed. Either way, you will never have to relate to what I'm feeling.

Don't have to look all surprised. I having feelings too.

A melancholic end to an ostensibly joyful day.


FUNKED IT ALL UP ON 11:48:00 PM