Hari raya

yesterday there was a 'class gathering' at ernie's house at 3+, as part of hari raya celebration. but only 5 ppl went. only now did i know hari raya lasts a month, with constant visitors all month round.

She lived all the way at hougang. and so luckily there was a direct bus from there to SP, that would bring us all the way to the neighbourhood. the trip took more than an hour. the bus fare was in the E region (1.48). after alighting we walked through a maze of flats before reaching her house.

it was the first time i ever stepped into a malay or muslim household. on first impression, it looked nice and well decorated, but didnt like it. there was a carpet covering the floor with intricate patterns. the place was stuffy and felt claustrophobic. The walls were full of islamic scripture plaques hanging from them and religoius artifacts on display.

the atmosphere was so bad that i suddenly and randomly broke into a laughing fit while watching MTV and everyone thought i gone mad cos there was nothing funny actually.

hari raya is like our chinese new year... lots of goodies for guests to eat. we had about 15 choices to eat from. most of them were handmade by all the females in the family. and these were supposed to be our food for the day, plus a bowl of tomato macaroni each, eaten at 4+, so far from dinnertime. if i had known i wouldnt have ate before i went.

ernie's younger brother was a super hyperactive kid, running around the place and making real lots of noise and trying to get attention. the girls think hes cute, i find him a nuisance.

during the whole time we were there, we just spent the time watching 'shes the man' and MTV. so it seemed a rather unfruitful time, just sitting on the sofa wacthing tv for hours. the movie was ok, but mtv gets real boring so i kept occupied with the snacks. i thought malays are good at entertaining. what about their guests...

halfway during the show, 1 of my classmate's dad called her, and she had to go outside to have a heated argument with him over the phone, lasting 10 mins. when she came back she told us all that they been saying.
this was when i found out how bad state her family is in, mainly cos of her dad. never expected her to come from such a troubled background. her dad is a big, strong man with mediocre education who is terribly abusive of the family members. in the midst of divorce and was eyewitnessed having an affair. his children all hate him.

i am really amazed at her emotional stength. she told us everything including very sensitive topics without a trace of sadness or tears, but rather anger. ordinary girls wouldt even tell, or if they did, would break down shortly after. she is a SP scholar, with the best o lvl result in the class, so i thought her parents are well cultured and highly educated professionals. i guess ppl from dysfunctional families can either be doing very well in studies, or very badly. it just depends on what they use to get their minds away from the troubles - studies, or other things. as for me i feel so comfortable at home i am constantly distracted from studies.

i was waiting for some other activity, but it never came. at 7.30 we decided to go home. i took along a few of the snacks for my long journey home. as the bus doesnt go straight home anyway, i followed the rest at alighting near AMK mrt. there was a direct bus home at the place i alighted, but i decided to kill time at the place across the road.

first, i went up an escalator, not knowing whats upstairs. i came to a supermarket, and spent about 45 mins browsing through every item sold there. window shopping, a form of education. dried seafood, vegetables, raw meat, animal organs, fruits, wine, ice cream, frozen foods, packet convenience foods, all kinds of snacks, breakfast cereals, beverages, fruit juices, milk & cheese products, rice, canned food, condiments, toiletries, hygiene & bodycare products and packeted delicacies. never been so attentive to the items in a supermart before so i found out interesting stuff about them.
i found that the 'white beans' im growing is comonly known as brown bean.

next i went to a mcdonalds that was dimly lit with a cosy atmosphere and full of people. i went around observing everyone there. students studying together or alone with ipod in their ears, gossipy girls, businessmen discussing, project groups or net surfers, PSP players, casual gatherings, families. people from all walks of life, but mainly teens.

next i went to a large shopping mall with lots of fashion stores and fast food restaurants. fashion doesnt interest me, so i went back to bus stop.

i just missed the bus so i went the other way into a hdb estate. i heard a ruckus coming 3 blocks away and investigated. it was a traditional taoist funeral. kneeling relatives in white burning paper beside the coffin, taoist priests chanting in alien language and crashing symbals, some wind instrument blown to accompany the chants. im glad there hasnt been taoist funerals in my estate cos its really noisy and irritating.

as i returned to the bus stop the bus arrived just in time. another half hour journey home.