Conversations with Grey

Four days! Four days! Fou… uh.. Three days!

“Yeap.. it’s Wednesday at * o’clock.”
“Oh okay. So on wednesday, I can fetch you lah. Your sister also no class. Then, on Thursday we’ll leave to Bangkok lor. And on Thursday we can… eh? That’s not right. We leave on the 7th. You leave on the 5th.”
“Yea. 5th is Wednesday ma.”
“7th is Thursday. How can 5th be Wednesday?”
*slams on the brake*
“Oi oi oi… what la you.”
“Wait. But isn’t… wait. Olympic is on Friday, so… eh ya hor. I’ve been telling everybody that I’m leaving on Wednesday. I even plan my work and buffer last minute time all until Wednesday.”
“Ho ho ho. Luckily I made you realise this now. Or not you’ll be sleeping until Wednesday and go there time to find no flights.”
“Really lor. If you don’t tell me, I won’t even realise this. I even plan to only change money on Tuesday evening.”

And that’s the story of how I almost miss my flight. My biennale trip to down under. Sighs. Such careless mis-sight. These are two stories of how the power of the universe are refusing to let me catch that plane. Haha… lo and behold and be amused.

After falling ill last Wednesday, I’m pumping myself full with vitamins and paracetamols. Now everyone should know that now it’s the Durian season. The whole ‘Malaysia is close to the equator so it has no season‘ is bullshit. We have seasons! We have more than four even! Durian season, Mangoesteen season, we have minuman berpek Seasons, we have the raya season where you’ll see lots of traffic police on the road, we have sale season, then we have the after-season sale season, et cetera. Durian season. Right. So it’s particularly hot and dry during this time of the year. And because of the lack of rain, durians are abundance. For the logic behind this, please talk to your local roadside durian seller.

With the amount of D24s, D48s and R2D2s available along the jalan that branches out from all major highways [and sometimes on the highways themselves], it is a shame if you’re a Malaysian and you do not already have at least five durians kept as stock at home. On faithful Tuesday night, I found that my mother has already stocked my humble home with some rosy caramel fruit delight. With hints of eyebrow mechanics to my cousin sister and my sister, I proceeded to open one fruit.

I remember I had three. Three pieces. I had to admit, though not a hardcore fan of durian (I once abstained from durians for four years because you know, I was going through a phase and durians were so not ‘in’), this batch, is of good quality. Really something. So I had three pieces that night.

The next morning, I couldn’t wake up from my bed without my joints screaming for early retirement. I was hot. Smokin’ hot. Feverish. Face red from the warmth. Thinking that it’s just something-nothing, I went to work anyway, only to come back after lunch to take a nap and a few paracetamols. Then I skipped work on Thursday. I couldn’t even leave bed on Thursday. Friday rolled by really quickly and I still stayed in bed. But the fever broke sometime in the evening of Friday. Then, I knew I could still make it for a meeting I had in KL, but I didn’t wanna risk it. So I called in for a raincheck.

See what durians in hot weather can do to you? Not only the awful torturing fever, it comes together with diarrhea for free! Damn… doesn’t get any worse than this. My head has been throbbing for days and whenever I get up from seating down, or you know, do slightly atheletic movement, the throbbing gets worse. Sometimes, I can’t think straight, and just wanna put my hand into my brain and squeeze it. Luckily, today I feel much better and think I can make it for the meeting on Sunday night.

That leaves me one and a half day to pack. And apply leave. I know right! Haha… I’ll apply on Monday to take two weeks off starting the very next day. The directors, my bosses, won’t even have the time to sign the approval form before not seeing me the next day.

Now I’ll just have to pre-emp my colleagues about my departure so they don’t freak. And charge my iPod. And create a packing list. And buy additional allegery medications. And …