It’s August already?

August looks like a darn busy month for me. Hungry ghost festival. Ramadhan. Buka puasa. Giving help to the poor. More ker-tai until my ear also almost go deaf. More phor-thor…

Not that I am complaining. Just that I need to get more acquainted to this routine. If I think some of those events are dead boring, I have to remember the one who have to stand up there on the stage, make convincing speeches to a new crowd each time.

The thing is, I can now almost parrot every words that hasn’t even leave the mouth because speeches are almost the same. Because it is told to a new crowd each time, so they see it as new. But for me, I can sometimes, hear the same thing 3 times in a day.

I have the option of not attending all of them, but sometimes, I do go on my own initiative because I need that crowd, or that scene to complete what I intend to do.

As a person, I like to play RPG game. I like to play The Sims long time ago. I like to play Stronghold when it was first released. So, I see what I am doing as an extension of an RPG game. (rpg means role playing game)

I get all sorts of people faces, all sorts of people’s problems, different locations, all types of situation, poor people, rich people, kids, old peoples, fishermen, farmers etc etc. I think if my boss’s boss reads this, he will go, “OMG, Lilian, you are treating me like one of your Sim’s characters?” Hmm…maybe I am. I am one of those OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) freaky people who will organise things into one compact, neat, compartmentalised package.

Then, there is the boring factor. You know? I have so many sons and as Catholic youths, they go through some things when they come to a certain age. So, I usually appear as one of the parents in Martin Jalleh’s sessions. Martin said to me, “Lilian, if you have heard my jokes too many times, it is ok for you not to come.” But I usually laughed at the same jokes. He probably thinks I am faking my laughs as a matter of courtesy. He probably thinks, “Sweat lah, this woman is pretending to look interested when she has probably fallen asleep.”

But..the nightmare is, I only see Martin Jalleh like once every four/two years during my sons’ confirmation camp. This one I am going through right now, it is like almost every day. So, I cannot hide the ‘I am so bored, kill me already!” So, the poor boss’ boss did say, “Aiyor…Lilian….you looked so bored. I know you have heard this a thousand times.” And sometimes, I have that zombie look after watching the same old dance routine, the same old drum, the same old lion dances, eating the same old nasi, I probably looked dead. So, come the question, “Lilian, are you ok?”

Haih…at least it is August already. That means I have survived 3 months of Groundhog Day. Where things keep repeating and repeating and repeating.

I wonder if I parrot the speeches in my sleep? Words like cleaner, greener, berjiwa rakyat, 8th most liveable city….

Good night!