'Year Of The Dog'

I spent the whole night the other day (two nights ago) in the company of friends, in a house on a small hill. The majority of them were gambling, and as such, all form of ensuing communication encapsulated by the activity was by default hilarious. Well, it's rather an aquired taking-to that grows on you, from watching old friends interacting (friends who can recall enough embarassing incidences to blackmail you for the rest of your life, but don't and settle for a short 'Do you remember that one?' session, wrenching their guts and faces laughing et al) who knows each other almost through and through with Connectivity that defies Chronology. For me, it's worth paying an admission fee just to see some of these guys in the same room. We don't see each other much anymore.

Those who were at the sidelines of the fray (me and one or two more passive buds): We'd talk about how goes the job, what's cool now that's worth spending time / money for, our loves and matters that ocassionally slip out from having a tin or two too many (cartons and cartons of beer were awaiting their individual turn to be deposited into the fridge; it was a short while..), stepping out once in a while to try our luck with the phone line (I was luckier than the others =P) to contact our loved ones; some for their nicotine fix.

That night their session took till three am plus. Afterwhich we had a short supper (?) till four something in the morning. The waiter told us that the ice was finished and we had to order hot / canned drinks instead. "We're old farts now, and hot drinks will do us good", someone said. Most of us are going to be twenty six this year. Conversations concerning 'dropping the bomb' (our commonly understood metaphor for the wedding invitation) were made. Heated debates ensued on the order of who.

I went home to some Godspeed and woke up to mum's call (mission: chauffeur duty) after only being in bed for about three hours plus (I spent the whole of yesterday feeling utterly drained). The afternoon saw me at my relative's. In the late noon heat I had consumed two beers [my uncle wanted me to pop me a third - a supposed New Year's enthusiasm to 'serve the guests' which I politely declined as I had already taken copious amounts of groundnuts, Murukku (Rice Chakli) and Papaya], something which I shouldn't have done in the first place, in retrospect. My lips feel like prunes now.

The evening was spent in another home, a short walk away. I sat alone, in the living room, in front of the tele, hoping to fall sleep on the couch unmolested (I did last year, I think), while dozens of relatives were at the back, in the kitchen, bonding over Blackjack. Though the programs proved to be nothing of interest (I channel-surfed and came across a telecast of a concert held recently in Gurney, Penang; a talk show concerning 'Internal Affairs III'; Robin William's Jumanji..), I did not sleep. And so, with eyes wide and raw I kept watching, with the ocassional (unsupervised) kid or two, (or three) to cause distress from walking into the furniture, or from their playing / yelling beside me on the couch (read: havoc in my presence, which I regarded to be a test from God). Later: mum asked me to pick one of the babies up, for 'practice' next time. I smirked and did nothing. Much later: a loud-taking uncle sat beside me and said in high decibels that I am not doing my duty as a son: my mum needs grandchildren to spoil, to which, me and mum smiled sheepishly.

We had dinner together (a few families: mostly kids, a few aunts, one uncle and me) and left after about seven something. I left mum at the other house and came back here last night, almost dead.

I slept for about eleven hours I think, which isn't bad at all.

Happy Chinese New Year!

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