The Ghost of Chistmas Future

Past.Present.Future

What do you know? I have a fan club comprising of exactly one member.

* pats my own back*

"Well done mate"

my fellow pirates would say if i were born a few centuries ago and under duress became a pirate.( probably coerced by my friend Chin da) That person with the special honour of being the first and only member in my club is none other than that someone that I'm sure is reading this now. So if you are reading , well done. Join the club. Membership is free. What's more, you are entitled to about one blog of absolutely fresh content per week. Now does that sound good or what? No? How about we throw in another friendster account for you to add to? I'm sure many are already falling over themselves to add me right now. I can almost feel the no. of new friends on my friendster account increase at supersonic speed. Well, I indeed have come a long way haven't I?

From the humble old days of using the old blogspot templates to the new and improved totally cool,black design, which incidentally is designed by designer of the year, yours truly, the problems of yesterday are no more. If you have noticed( Which I 'm sure you did) that my blog has been tweaked to be more user-friendly. With larger fonts and bigger , centralised frames allow for viewing of my blog that is easier on the eyes, my blog is almost ready to tackle the massive volumes of traffic expected to occur somewhere between now and around the year 3000. Not convinced? I even added a little copyright to ensure someone does not steal my IP( Intellectual Property) for their own selfish personal gain.

Now many of you may be wondering what I did for christmas. So this blog is like a little time travel back then to christmas night.

*Flashback*

Christmas Night


" Don't worry, this restuarant the Turkish food very nice one. Although I haven't tried it before."

"..." *Stares blankly*

And so we landed ourselves with a table for eight at an Ulu part of Shaw Towers. Surprisingly, despite the obvious need for publicity, the place was rather crowded - for a turkish restaurant.

" I wonder what the turkish eat?" one of the group members wondered aloud.

" So easy. Turkey lor." Now it was me who was met with blank stares.

I ordered some Kehab with some turkish-style burger. When my dish came I almost did not recognise it. The Kehabs were badly brunt and I don't even want to mention the burger- which I had problems finding. If that wasn't bad enough, I ordered dessert .(because I was still hungry)

" what's Blanca? (or some weird looking name I had problem reading much less remembering)" I posed the question to the waitress attending to our table.

"Orgh," she said in an all-knowing manner ( which i found rather offensive)," the crust is like apple strudel, flaky flaky one and the inside is Kai Xin Guo."

Firstly I have no idea what Kai Xin Guo is.( My friend told me it was Pistacho Nuts though I 'm sure the real thing tastes bettter.) Secondly, the picture on the menu shown it like some regular pizza-sized "Pistacho Nut strudel" which would suit a royalty and his 6 guests. What came were two pieces of gravy-dripping Kai Xin Guo filled sacs. I wanted to gobble the thing up to rid myself the frustration of seeing the evidence of getting conned- which I promptly did.

What can we learn from this interesting episode?

If the main course is bad, don't order dessert.

That will be my publicity motto from now on.

What saved the night was the company. Seven there were. Cedric, Limin, Zhang Zi Yi,Alan , Jia Hui, Shi Yuan and of course, Wendy, who came really late and ( fortunately) missed the main course. And of course, the gifts they bought for each other. Interestingly, I got one snoopy, one box of chocolate and a box of famous Amos Cookies.( Which I have already finished)

I had wanted to go to my class gathering in Pasir Ris after that but had the common sense to decide against it due to the *Tuition( see previous blog) I had the next day.

The fragility of life

My grandfather had problems breathing on the night of 24th Dec 2004. He was rushed into NUH hours later. Doctors later say he suffered a mild heart attack and requested to do a series of scans to accertain that his heart that was under stress on that night was OK. All truth be told, weeks before the attack occured, the signs of trouble were already appearing. This story is dedicated to the thousands in Singapore with liver problems.

My grandfather, Ah Tan, his pals used to call him ,was in all aspects, a healthy man. He was old but there is no denying the fact that he led a healthy lifestyle. He woke up early for morning walks and loved to walk with us, the grand children. When an opportunity arose he would always accompany us whether it was to buy Chui Quay from the local hawker centre or to buy a CD player from Bugis Junction. He was happy only to be with us.

He reared birds and recorded their singing only to play it to them again. The birds not knowing that it was actually their recorded voice replied in ernest. Once one of his birds flew away. Confident that he bird would come back, he set a piece of papaya in his cage and true enough, the bird flew back. He also kept plants by the corridor. Pandan leaves which my grandmother used to make curry were planted. Once when I was little I had the mumps and my grandmother used some Aloe Vera my grandfather planted to help sooth the pain. He was a man of little words but of great wisdom and of an greater love for us. He believed in peace, in freedom and in faith.

I stayed with my grandparents during my formative years, from the time i was in kindergarden all the way to primary three I had the privillege of learning and of bringing joy to them. My grandfather taught me to cycle.I remember him bringing me to Clementi to bring me a bicycle, a shiny yellow BMX. He would bring me down to the void deck where he would slowly guide me. From four wheels I graduated to three then to two. He coached me ,as he would his son, and for a time I really thought he was. He fell down one day when I cycled to fast. I did not know the significance then. I was far too young.

I moved back with my parents after Primary three and I changed to Fengshan Primary School, where my aunt taught at. I knew then that my happy days were over. I was not wrong .Those years were spend with me visiting my grandparents every Sunday, when I went to church. For a while everything was ok. I did my "O" levels in Hai Sing Secondary School and went to Tampines Junior College where i last graduated from in 2003.

It was in the year of 2003 that problems started surfacing. My grandfather's health was failing due to a weaken liver. Weeks were spent in uncertainty. My grandfather went for check after check for blood test after blood test but stayed strong throughout. It was this indominable spirit that saw his through the greater part of 2003 and into 2004. He went for an operation in late 2003. After he recovered, his illness posed almost no problems. He really slimmed down alot in those months but he stayed positive to the end. He continued his walking days, taking time to go out with my sister and I. For that period of time, the whole family thought the rain clouds were finally starting to lift. For the first time in half a year, a ray of hope peirced through the clouds. Things were going to get better.

Then it happened. His legs started swelling with water and after a few weeks, on the night of 24 Dec 2004, my grandfather was trying to breath properly but could only wheeze. It was then that my uncle rushed him to the hospital.

I saw my grandfather today. He looked very much better but in the week that I did not see him
he seemed to have aged. His hand were old and wrinkled with the hardships of life. His hair was not combed back in his usual Chow Yun Fatt way- it was unkempt and sticking out in all directions. He was still sleeping.

" Kongkong." I touched his hands, trying to rouse him from sleep.

He slowly opened his eyes and took a few seconds to focus.

" Ah boy," he smiled," Merry Christmas" he said, his voice slightly hoarse.

I knew then that everything would be alright.

Till this day, a picture of my grandfather and I shot from a staircase beside my grandparents' house hang in his Bedroom. It is a photo worth remembering. A photo where I knew was the reflection of the love and care of a wise old man I knew; A person I respect and revere. That person was my grandfather.

Sometimes life is so uncertain, so unpredictable, you will never know where the next wave it will
take you. It might throw you overboard, it might take you nearer the shore. Whatever the case, somethings are not for us to decide. What we must decide is to do with the time that is left, living each day as if it were our last. If one day we were to lose something or someone precious to us, we can at least say that we did our best to care for the person and in our power, make a difference in his life.

Are you neglecting someone in your life? If so, why? Why must that someone be taken away for one to fully appreciate the person's beauty. Do something for someone close to you today because you never know. You never know.

Make a difference

Wouldn't you Lord take a look at our hands, everything we have use it for your plans
Wouldn't you Lord take a look at our hearts, mould be refine it as you set us apart

We want to run to the alter can catch the fire
To stand in the gap between the living and the dead
Give us a heart of compassion for a world without reason
We will make a difference bringing hope to our land.