went for CDS' annual drama camp last week and stayed for two nights. i did not watch the competition but from what i gathered, there were some very controversial decisions made. oh well, who am i to judge. it was fun being able to have night talking sessions with my fellow batch-mates, catching up with each other and playing bridge and goldfish (yes i am actively spreading a Rafflesian game to the rest of Singapore) nothing much to talk about drama camp except that i really did enjoy reliving old times with 85 and simpang bedok breakfast and late night 'gossiping sessions'.
today i went to my grandparents' house for the better part of the day. the situation is like this: grandma had a cataract op not too long ago and is still recovering, and can't really cook. grandpa, unfortunately sprained his back while lifting some heavy objects on saturday and he can't really walk. so there they were, two old folks needing some help. Dad felt like the kids should help, so he basically ordered us (albeit nicely) to go over for a day to help out around the house, much to my and my siblings' dismay.
now, before i continue my story, i must set the pretext that while my grandparents may be septuagenarians, they are no frail, sickly dinosaurs. they are healthy and very fit, thank God. they go for morning exercises every day (something i found out when i met them at around 7 walking from Pasir Ris to AHS, that story shall be left for another day however). also, last time i went with them to KL, they walked practically the whole city centre, for more than 1 hr, in the blazing Malaysian sun. so, basically, they were never going to let a sprained back and a recovering eye get in the way.
When my brothers and i got there today, amazingly, grandpa was walking as per normal, a miracle considering he was hobbling at snail's pace just the day before, and grandma was preparing some offering feast, to our surprise.
anw, the most important part of the story was that the only thing that i really helped them out with was with the gardening. my grandparents are kampung people who love nature and they have quite an impressive collection of healthy greenery outside their humble HDB flat. Grandpa got himself hurt while hauling bricks and soil around in a clean-up of their garden. so today, we were summoned to help out. i did treasure the time helping them transfer soil, transplant plants and move pots. it led me into a whole new world that i never saw. now, that hour or so of gardening was tough work. (cue the pre-65s to sigh and tsk tsk at the 'youngsters nowadays'). it was a glimpse, just a small glimpse of the tough work of a farmer and people in the kampung. im so glad people nowadays make money in front of a computer screen instead of a bull.
it was just something so simple as giving the gramps a hand at gardening, yet, i think i did learn alot today. i got a glimpse into their lives: simple, frugal people, who never waste nor covet. hardworking people who believe in hard labour and an honest living. skillful, dexterous people armed with an amazing array of abilities that have been lost today (grandma cooks a mean meal for 20 over people and grandpa can create marvels out of wood and metal). they are a typical chinese couple where the wife cooks and the husbands goes out to work and is good with tools. where the wife nags at the husband and the husband silently goes about his work.
my grandparents, and indeed their entire generation, hail from a fascinating era that saw the second world war, racial riots, Merger and Separation, rise and fall of communism, wars in Vietnam, Korea, to the Gulf, the miraculous transformation of Singapore from Third World to the First, Elvis Presley, Teresa Teng, Deng Xiao Ping, Lee Kwan Yew, Ronald Reagan, JFK, Richard Nixon, the Konfrantasi and Sukarno, Marcos and Mahathir, Goh Chok Tong and Nehru-Gandhi. they've seen the better part of the most amazing century in human history and it would serve us well to collect all the stories before they are gone forever.
God bless you both, Grandparents.
On another note, i had the weirdest dream last night. i dreamt that i was married! to whom, i shall not say, to prevent any misunderstandings. but it was a weird weird dream, the only thing that i remember was that i had forgotten to call my wife for four days. haha. hope that doesnt happen when i really do get married, or i shall join the growing statistics of the divorced. haha.
