Loneliness in a crowd and merdeka
Hari Kemerdekaan or Independence Day is almost here and I went around and found few traces of the patriotic spirit in Sibu except for the obligatory banners and flags put up by the Sibu Municipal Council. Unlike previous years, there were few traces of the national flag on cars, motor-cycles, commercial buildings or residential houses. It looks like the mood is not here 
I however saw a nine-year old kid riding this bicycle. He didn’t want his photograph taken but consented to me taking a pic of his most precious possession, his bicycle. To me, this is a sign that not all is lost. The patriotic spirit still reigns in Sibu.
Have you ever turned up at a function that just didn’t seem to fit you? I was invited to a function tonight and I went there with high expectations. Perhaps it didn’t help that I was exhausted after a long day’s work.
To me it reminded me of a wake. Of a night, when all our relatives gathered the night before we said a final farewell to my dad. It was quite hush-hush although everybody smiled politely and were genuinely friendly.
I am ever so grateful to be invited. The hosts were kind and friendly. There was lots of good food and in the beginning it was a casual affair. Then there was a gathering of sorts and group singing. It didn’t help that all were expected to stand when singing. My legs hurt very much tonight and I sat down. I suppose it didn’t augur well for me. After that we were spit into groups for party games.
The crowd was more or less my same age group. I was amazed by the group work and determination and intelligence of all the members in my group. I am determined to be a member of their group one day. But as of today, I am still an outsider looking in 
We were given 30 small sticks, some rubber bands and an egg. Within 15 minutes, we were required to build as high a structure as possible and strong enough to support the weight of an egg.
Wuching should have been here. He would have belonged in the midst of tonight’s crowd. Not so for me.
I believe I am doomed to be forever the one looking in through lighted windows at night The one invited to the banquet only to find he doesn’t belong.
merdeka’s coming but i have to celebrate merdeka by waking up early to go to school…..and the worse part is having to listen to singapore national anthem n pledge on merdeka day…(in fact i hear it everyday la)..
cant even hear negaraku….(or negarakuku) lol
BB: it is different in Singapore?
Have you got your legs checked by a doctor?
Uncle Beng Beng,
I just saw this news. How come nobody celebrate this Hari Merdeka this year ah? 50th anniversary leh…
bb: there will b a procession this evening.but on a personal level, there r few signs of it. now it is 4pm and raining heavily…bound to affect the procession
seems fun to build something…do you do any calculations like us engineers does to build that? ha ha
yes, we paid RM1000000 to an engineer to design this hahahahahahaahhaha
nolah, i’m not good with crowds at all…i’m the shy shy type like the blushing bride!
if wuchingis like a blushing bride, then I am really Jackie Chan in disguise hahahahahahhaha
it’s the eve of a long weekend and i have no plans whatsoever yet! i’ll probably traditionally go gather some friends - whom i am sure are just hanging around doing nothing also - and just pack everyone up in a few cars to go on a road trip around the peninsular.
merdeka is not waiting around for something to happen. merdeka is stirring up the excitement and making something happen. we’re on the last minute boat too, but it’s never too late!
happy merdeka, bengs!
happy merdeka to u too
Will u be very concert about m-day when u have a hungry stomach? Every thing has gone up except salary of cause!Have a nice day & enjoy ur holiday!
to b honest, somewhere along the way since abt 9 yrs ago when the new PM was elected, I have lost some of my enthiusism
Nothing special……….
Don’t worry about not fitting in. Sometimes you just need to find the right ‘group’, because I do find that some ‘groups’ I visit mostly stick to themselves and make no effort to make visitors feel welcome.
There isn’t much patriotic spirit in KL either, except for a few pathetic looking flags at the shop houses.
Anyway, thanks for your message of encouragement yesterday. Things kind of got worse as the day went on, but… oh well, today is a brand new day.
these folks are sterling silver quality folks
it is me 