'The First Weekend'

Yesterday my aunt turned 75! So I stayed back in Taiping instead, to celebrate her birthday-dinner and got back to work (very) early this morning. Note to self: never light candles which have already been placed on the cake with a lighter. Matchsticks work better! And never forget the cake knife!

Poor aunt asked for a lesser, inappropriate knife for the cake cutting ceremony because the proper one was misplaced somewhere in the house (she didn't like to keep people waiting). The show went on--we sang the song; observed with bright smiles as she blew out the candles successively; we cheered.

(The celebrating was done in the garden; where rain and frequent movement of guests damaged a good area of turf, enough to consequently muddy anyone crossing. I found it particularly uncomfortable having to squelch my way every now and then.)

I'm partly inspired to sing at people's birthdays now; just give me a list of songs you want performed and a few days for practice (and beer to calm my nerves for a bit, before the real thing). Herewith I state my conditions, should ever such a proposal be made of me: I'd be entitled to a short break in between; to gorge on whatever everyone else is having, on top of being paid. I am after all, a reasonable being.

Seriously though, I'm wondering how much yesterday's keyboardist made from the stint. I think one or two guests asked him for the chords to some songs, but I could be wrong. It could be his number.

I woke up at four something A.M. today simply because I consciously told myself that I could not afford to oversleep, and if I did, I'd miss my 6:30 A.M. bus back to Butterworth, and would be late / absent from work today and that would have not been a great way to kick-start the week. Monday, though considered the most dreaded day of the week; the anything-that-can-go-wrong-goes-wrong day, is a day I can't miss (I've reluctantly come to accept myself as a patron to Murphy's Law).

And strangely, after such a day of work, such dynamics at play, I feel good.

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