Growing older…

I was at the shopping mall last about ten days ago, waiting for my dad to pick me up so that we could go visit mom, who had some minor surgery. A very little old lady disembarked from the cab that pulled up some 10 metres from the entrance. She took at least five minutes to get out of the cab and she was moving so unsteadily, and so slowly, I feared that she was going to fall over. And then finally she asked me to help her. So we toddled very very slowly towards the entrance. I ask her where she wants to go. She says she is looking for a travel agency; I tell her there is none at this mall. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I didn’t want to miss my dad either. Luckily(?) my two colleagues/friends just happened to pass by, and I quickly explained the situation to them, and they agreed to help out. The following is my gf’s account of what happened:

‘old lady says she wants to go travel agency. old lady says her brother tore her visa up and she needs to renew her visa. old lady holds on to me for dear life and i can feel old lady’s hands tremble like leaf.old man at taxi stand ask us to go customer service counter to ask for directions.

me and [other friend] bring old lady to customer service counter. girl at counter says no travel agency except one at [sic]. girl says go bring her to visitor centre.

old lady ask how. how. how. i say, go visitor centre then. we bring u. [other friend] quickly says it is too far away. i then quickly say take taxi there. old lady agrees.

me and [other friend] bring old lady out. old lady says, ‘have u had lunch? i need to have lunch. Is there curry and rice here?’ Alarm bells teet tot teet tot go off in me and [other friend]’s head. me and [other friend] secretly wonder whether me and [other friend] will ever get out of the situation. will me and [other friend] have to eat lunch dinner and supper with leaf trembling old lady. me and [other friend] guide her down to basement..to macdonalds and persuades her to tapau food. old lady buys food. old lady asks me to eat some. i say no thank u. i lead old lady up stairs back to taxi stand to get cab to go to visitor’s centre. good luck to cab man and people at visitor centre. old lady waves bye bye. [other friend] and me go and eat.’

(I know the above account seems a little ageist, but really, she was so helpless. She really shouldn’t have been out alone. And I don’t know why she was, actually.)

Then yesterday, my grandmother calls. She is usually the melodramatic queen that she is, she is crying as she speaks. She says my granddad had a fall. Brother calls me; says the same thing. So of course, I panicked, I called him. And he had a fall all right – from the sofa. And he says he is alright. So I have to leave him be, right? The problem is that my grandma exaggerates, my granddad underplays things. Sigh. Very hard, like that.

And yesterday, i had the world’s longest taxi-ride ever. Not because of the distance. but because of the cabbie. He was prolly in his 50’s or thereabouts, and as soon as I got in he asked me where I was going, and how he had to rush ‘cos he was changing shift. That went on to how hard it was to earn a living, how he has to do this because of his lousy brother, and how they are dying to get their hands on his money. His rant goes on to include the government, how their policies don’t do anything for him and make it harder to get what is rightfully his. He then uses a Hokkien swear word (knn…) in relation to the government and their policies (which shocks me quite a bit actually – the use of the swear word, but not rants at the gamen per se). And then he breaks off his tirade for a bit and asks me if I was Christian or if I am Buddhist; I say I am neither. Then he goes on to say, so what happens to your body if you jump off a building or if you get run over by a car? Then he says yeah, it’s better if he takes a flying leap, then they can get his hands on his money. (All this while I was either silent, or just agreeing; to do otherwise would be crazy on my part.) Of course, when he sees where I live, he goes off again, about how I don’t have to worry and etc. God. When I told my folks at home about it, they said 1. I should have gotten paid instead of him; 2. he must have thought I was his psychiatrist and/or I must have said something to make him open up like that (which I didn’t!); 3. poor me.

Poor me indeed. I believe in aging gracefullly. But if I am going to end up cranky, weak, or melodramatic, then dammit, I hate to say it, but I’d rather not be – old or otherwise.

TGIF

Munch invited us (me and Ebi) over to her place last night, for a long overdue Raya visit. (Actually, I had wanted to take a raincheck on this, because another gf had invited me out for a night of sustained debauchery at a club [a type of outing that I have not had for a bit]. Anyhow, that gf called off that date because of reasons I shall not get into because it just pisses me off when I think about it. So I asked Munch if the invitation was still open. And it was.) So the 3 musketeers ended up at her place. Dinner was sambal prawns, huge pot of fried spicy noodles, and a huge plate of fried chicken wings i think we did justice cos Munch said her mom was very happy, as all the food was gone. OINK.

So after dinner, we sat in front of the TV, and coincidentally, they were playing all the songs that Munch and I loved. And Munch has been bugging me to teach her how to dance. (and I said there is no real way to teach someone how to dance – they just got to feel comfortable with themselves and the music). So we jogeked a bit. But she was still feel self-conscious. Then her brother came home and Munch felt that we should go upstairs so that he could eat in peace. So we did.

We trooped up to her room. Where Ebi was feeling a little bit sleepy. and we “bullied” Munch a little, tickling her, swatting her with the pillow, etc. Then she surfed the web and we found music and we were dancing again. This time she wasn’t self-conscious anymore; I told her, see…you can dance what! and she said I let her find her rhythm. Mmm right.

It was about time that Ebi and I should be headed back, and Munch realised that her folks were already home. And she woke her mom up and then we presented her with something that Ebi and I got for this visit. Munch said we got the right thing. I think Makcik liked it as well; but it was late and we could see she was tired. Hopefully – it’s the least we can do after invading her house and eating her yum food!

It was a good, clean Friday night… the only sinning was done in terms of the gorging on food lah. And it ended off well, after a bad start. That’s all I can ask for, really.

P.S. And K smsed me when I was in the cab, to tell me that he just arrived back in town. So we’ll see what happens.

when the past catches up with you.

It’s very strange how when u somehow make contact with someone that u have not met in a long while, and they drop you a note online to say ‘hi’ and to do a catch up. i have to admit that technology has allowed a lot of these catch-ups; I’m a lot closer to some friends who were closer to acquaintances in the past; now they have become good friends. Ditto some of the relationships I have had; hell, my first bf (whom I lasted over 6 years with) started way back when, in the days when they had only IRC to contend with (remember that?).

Well, after swearing that I would try not to sign up for any more of those social networking thingies, I caved and got a Facebook account some time ago. I know I shouldn’t have, ‘cos these things can get addictive. Especially now, with Facebook – what with throwing sheep, buying people drinks, etc… Anyhow, back to the point. Someone dropped me a message on Facebook, saying hi. And I was left scratching my head as to who she was. I mentioned this to Kor Kor, and he says he knows someone in his organisation by that name. Lo and behold, it was the very same woman – and this lady used to be my hostel mate way back when I was in my first year of Foundation Studies in Melbourne. Talk about small world.

And then, lately, at work I have been noticing this lady who looked very familiar, I kept thinking that she was my senior at FMSS. And today again, I was in the lift with my lunch kakis when she was in the same lift. and I kept sneaking glances at her and wanting to ask. but didn’t. then I went to the bathroom, and saw her. and SHE asked. And it turns out that she WAS my senior. And she was in the choir (as was I). And this happens to be the second school mate (who works in the same group of companies as I do) that I have met in the last 6 months.  

(Now if only ex-bfs can turn up. And be contrite. And then the moon will be made of green cheese lah. )