Death Is All Around

Location : Cherating, Malaysia.

Quite a morbid title, eh? =) Everything's cool, no worries! Thanks for the condolences received. My grandma was cremated on Sunday morning and her ashes will be scattered into the ocean. She was 87. When I was young, I remember I had to regularly provide her with a back massage. She would constantly remind me to wash my hands and legs before I ate anything. Funny how I used to think what a bitch it was having her harping on me all the time when I was young but now that she's gone, ain't no one there to tell me that anymore. In her last days, I would see her only about once a year and provide her a bit of happiness by giving her some pocket money now and then(quite an Asian thing to do). She was the most prominent grandparent of my life because most of my grandparents died before I was old enough to realise how important they were. Something tells me I'll probably end up like that, a distant memory in my grandchild's mind, because I don't see myself going into mass baby production anytime in the near future. I still feel like I've got too much to live for to do anything cumbersome and 'ordinary' like starting a family. No offence to those who are in that stage of life now! But I do hope one day my train of thought will change. And if ever that day comes, I can assure you my little Ripcords will rock the world! ;)

Wanna know something sad? I've been to quite a few funerals in my lifetime. An average young person shouldn't have had to attend that many funerals. Ironically, some people are even starting to think I have a talent at writing eulogies. Sometimes I feel like there are too many people dying around me or that I may have too many friends. Last weekend I was informed that another old hangout friend of mine by the name of Kenneth Ong has died due to a heart attack. We've lost touch due to the instability of my whereabouts in the last couple of years. Rest in peace, Kenneth...and thanks for always trying to be the "older" brother during the hard times.

On the night I left back to Cherating, some mates who are now living in Australia and I made an effort to hook up in KL. Although it was nice to see them again, it was sad that we might not hook up again for the next couple of years because they will return to Australia and I will probably head on to UK for an unknown period of time. We were together for only 45 minutes and it was so short! Too short. Although we hardly meet up nowadays, everytime we do it feels like we've never gone our own ways. They are the sorta mates that make you feel like you've never lost a single year being apart. The last time we were all together was at the funeral of a common friend.

Grandma's funeral wasn't as sad as the last funerals I've attended because her death was more or less expected anytime soon since she was already in that "age group". I was there and I witnessed grown men cry. I have always thought grandma had a few more years in her because she had good vision, good hearing, no serious terminal illness and she was always up for action. She has had quite a hard life because things were never really rosy for her. I hope that in the afterlife, she will find peace.