Friday, December 24, 2004
Coming back to my blog after a hiatus of 2 weeks - which have no doubt been well spent (unfortunately, financially AND emotionally - I would have to draw the line at "physically"), I feel the weight of the worlds' events on me and realise I have probably changed the course of history by a mere footnote.
I have also realised that history is exclusively comprised of footnotes.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, a weary cliche iterates. Sometimes you feel that your efforts are in vain and you're not appreciated for however little you attempt to help others. Rest assure, the smaller your contribution may apparently be, the greater your sacrifice. In forsaking the role of glamorous jetsetting philantropist to silently slave on in your mundane job, you are changing a part of the world no one else would bother to. Never imagine no one is noticing. The beauty lies in unearthing things no one is noticing and doing them well and taking pride in the fact you are doing something no one else is capable of.
These are a smattering of things I have learned in my sabbatical from blogging - things that you may snigger at, but things I do not snigger at, and that unwavering belief in one's principles has taken many men further than their contemporaries dared to dream.
What have I done in my sojourn from blogging? (Notice my annoying habit of never repeating the same term twice. Psychologists label it an attention-seeking ploy; I believe it is force of habit.) Last time I blogged I was sick like hell and dead as a doorknob. (Linguists have yet to explain that curious juxtaposition of words for this particular metaphor. I am inclined to believe it is mere alliteration, to soothe the collective eardrums of society) That was two Sundays ago.
MONDAY (13/12)>: National Service, 2nd year since inception, first to sleep in barracks. In case it slips your mind (and, coincidentally, mine), I was a graduate, 1st EVER batch National Service, Kg Ovai Papar and on to Kampung D Universiti Malaysia Sabah, and suffice to say it would have been a negative experience if it were not for the people I met there. To Jeremy, Yap, my bestest male friends there, The Bravo Gang of Gals - Caryn, Salina, Jacinta, and All You Cook Chicks - and Ben (where ARE you? Finally on your own in Taylors?), Ramon, my experiments in psychology, Jeremy's Tent/Room, the original Gerakan Sepuluh of Bugis boys - you have certainly made NS a walk to remember.
Which, of course, does not in the very least help tell the story...I had an NS reunion at Kg Ovai planned, complete with authentic NS Canteen Food by Mak Mi and kitchen chain gang, but wonderful busy schedules intervened and I was left friendless that morning..So predictably, I picked up the BB Gang - Cheryl, Daniel (both my neighbours and the funnest family I have ever known), Ah Wong, and Wilson of Cheryl fame (no points for guessing why), and my brother, and my half drained petrol tank.
FIRST time I drove to Kg Ovai. As in, on my own, in the drivers' seat, coz back then I didn't have my license. This time it was the flood of memories that impaired my driving - all the way God prompted and I remembered. I remembered the crucial junction in the road where I sent my last SMS to my friends before I lost all handphone contact for 2 weeks. I remembered Action Supermarket, where we used to shirk on the pretext of "Kenegaraan Activities", choosing hairbands for Beverly, and watching the shock on the Semenanjung trainees' faces as we bought halal chicken pau. I remembered the first time I rode the bus in, with a bunch of ashen-faced trainees, knowing my ass was at that moment interchanged with my brain when it came to clever pick-up lines for my first day in camp.
I remembered me. Before, after, and a blur grey void that has the taste and texture of a sour orange. Nutritional, but the price has been high.
We were there 2 hours - and WOW! The Awe Factor outstrips everything. We vs Them - We stayed in Tents. They stayed in Barracks with - get this. Beds. We were lucky if we SAW a bed, let alone bedded in one. We had a rock-strewn ground for a "drill parade square". They HAVE a drill parade square, complete with swanky new admin buildings and toilets, presumably for the photo opportunities. They were building a huge lecture hall in the hitherto vacant land next to the river - I tried to stifle a snigger. WE get to stay in UMS for 2 months. THEY get to stay there all 3 months beyond the reach of all telecommunications devices.
Well, as a conciliatory gesture to Celcom - maybe not all. 019 and 013 users, rest assured, all camps in Malaysia have coverage. Still remember the frantic nights when me and Yeap hung out for hours near the huge storage container on the hill, the ONE place Maxis occasionally had spotty coverage.
JUST when we were all set and ready to snap our obligatory pictures of the new barracks, here came the camp contractor. Out, sternly, out you all go and stop being so shutter-happy. (Trigger-happy? Shutter-happy? Doesn't quite compute.) So after barely half an hour there we left in the same state we came. Astounded.
TUES (14/12): Boringest ever day of school holidays. Holed in at home, studied History, not that History's boring, but when you consider the pulsating regime of the past week, you wonder when the bubble will burst, and this is one of those days. Tried to wangle my hospital attachment pass, secretary was unresponsive as usual. Took the cake. Hurled a few complaints at my dad, who personally knew the Deputy Director General - hey presto. One stern phone call and 2 emails later, I was requested to report for work next morning, pronto. Muahaha. My hospital attachment. Fiiiinally.
WED (15/12): HOSPITAL ATTACHMENT BEGINS. Attention to all medical personnel: Member of general public with paltry SPM qualifications on the loose in Accident and Emergency Wards. If encountered, please handle with care. Volatile if not attended to. Prone to sudden bouts of yawning especially in the midst of important procedures, e.g. insertion of IV drips and tubing. Do not hesistate to boggle with jargon if confronted.
