Random Solitary Thoughts

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Re-capping the bottle

"When the bottle is full, you empty it so that it may fill up again."

It was a typical Tuesday evening and the work day was ending, and mild-mannered Kalamari was writing in his usual Kalamari-ish sort of way. Suddenly, as suddenly as Kalamari changes his writing styles, and third-person views into first-person narrative, I deduced that I would like to watch a movie.

So I nochalantly browsed the movie listings to find a suitable movie to watch. I narrowed it down to Eragon. Knowing that my cousin would like to watch it as well, I somehow managed to arrive at the conclusion that I should invite her along. And so I did.

The movie part of this blog shall henceforth be ignored and dutifuly skipped, to prevent lengthy reviews on the specifics of this movie which is not the point of this blog.

And now our story suddenly reverts back to the issue of the bottle, which was suddenly forgotten amidst the pivotal event of suddeness that keeps throwing the reader and the writer off guard.

After the movie, we went to a nearby mamak where we sit and catch up on old times. That was when everything came pouring out. Every single thing that I've been bottling up for the past few months came spilling out like the torrential flood waters of Johor (and I'm not saying this to spite Johorians. I know the crap you peeps are going through). All my frustrations, my agonies, things I've always wanted to say but couldn't because I didn't want toes to be stepped on.

Somehow, she was the right person to talk to. Someone who shared the same opinions and thoughts and a neutral stand. Someone old enough to understand these issues. With her, I could talk about family.

I opened the bottle and released it's contents.

And when I was done, I put the cap back on. That will do for now.

It was drizzling lightly when I got back to my house. Or had it stopped? I hadn't noticed. I took a nice warm shower, then sat on my bed, strumming my guitar. Nothing had changed around the house. It was still the same. The problems are still there. They have not been solved.

But someone very wise once said, "You can worry all you want, but worrying won't change anything. So why worry?". And it was true.

As I lay down on my bed, with the salt lamp (which requires a bulb change ever so often) in the corner, casting a soft glow upon my room, I refused to think about the things that I cannot change with thoughts. And instead, chose to think about the things that I can do to change.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Where are you now?

So where have I been of late? Busy. Mostly. The other half is procastination; our national past-time. Anyways work and other miscellaneous stuff have been clogging my evenings for the better half of a month.

I'll probably be blogging about events that happened during my apparent hiatus. But for now, just a quick entry before I forget all about it.

I was down at the local taman for a short workout session thanks to the impending complacency of having a twisted ankle. So I was there minding my own business when I noticed a foreign maid (whose nationality will be kept hidden to avoid impending racial and political issues arising from overly paranoid politicians and fanatics roaming the bloggersphere) walking her charge.

Then the maid stopped next to a phone booth and proceeded to make a call to someone (presumebly her other half, be it male or female), leaving the little girl to her own devices. Kids being kids, she started wandering around and eventually came towards the play area I was in (I was there because I prefer to workout on a rubberized surface and not because I like little kids. Not in that way anyways).

Miss little girl then started to climb the steps. The maid turned and shouted at her, then returned to her conversation as if nothing had happened, leaving the girl to continue her fatal climb of doom. Of course, the more dramatic readers would imagine that the girl fell down, broke her neck and had to be carted off (covered from head to toe) in an ambulance without sirens.

And of course, in our mundane reality, nothing like that happened.

Being a good samaritan I volunteered myself to watch over her safety while the maid continued with her own business. The little girl managed to slide down unharmed, but staggered a little so I caught her. Then she ran off again to climb another set of stairs. Rinse and repeat, nuff said.

Fortunately the maid returned before she could ascend a third flight of stairs. Maid then proceeded to 'discipline' the kid. I watched and felt disgusted.

First she ignores her, then she disciplines the kid for negligence on her own part. And where were the parents all this while? The whole situation was the result of their negligence. They didn't take their kid out for a walk. They sent someone instead. Someone who obviously didn't carry out her responsibilities responsibly.

And I wonder, what happened to the days when families used to hang out together, instead of leaving their kids with their maids. Then I met a little smiley japanese girl who took a detour from her family walk.

And all was well again.