Friday, November 04, 2005
Ramblings of the Captain
It is a slow day, a quiet lazy afternoon when it is too hot to do anything, and too early to laze about. In the cool relief of the bar, the jukebox plays an old tune of the yesteryears. A single fan rotates slowly, throwing a slow moving shadow across the floor.
A lone man sits at the corner of the bar, half hidden in the shadows, nursing a glass of vodka rum, puffing on a cigarette. The bartender stands behind the bar, wiping down the glasses and goblets, paying no heed the man. A good bartender knows when to ignore his customer and when to befriend them, and this bartender is a good man if he will say so himself.
Outside, the summer afternoon sun beats down terribly on the land. Nothing moves, safe for an occasional person walking down the street, hurrying on their business, never stopping to enjoy the lull of the afternoon. Zeus, a mongrel lies under the shadow of the bar, its hind leg sometimes twitching as it dreamt its little doggy dreams. A crow squawked at a distance, bearing a strange premonition to the land.
Another figure approached the quiet bar, pushing open the door to throw a long winged shadow across the empty bar. She gazes around and takes a seat by the bar. The bartender replaces the glass he is wiping and smiles enigmatically. She is his usual customer, and he is always happy to serve her, though he will never show it.
"I will like a Johnnie Walker Red Label on the rocks."
And she knows what to order best, he has to give her that. He serves her the drink and returns to the lone man to refill his glass.
It is a slow day indeed.
But day will give way to night and as the day slowly comes to an end, people start appearing from the shadows, gathering around to celebrate the night to come. The band kicks up a song, the dead place comes to life as the people arrive, pockets jiggling with gold of the day and ready to spend.
And the bartender starts his work for the night.
Very soon, the quiet bar transforms like magic into a place of wonder. Delicious smell permeates the bar as dinners are prepared, dinners of steak, burgers, pork, fish… Men and women gather round, drinking and talking, making noise in general. On the other side of the bar, families sit together having dinner, children screaming, parents scolding. Friends come together, teasing and joking, making lots of noise and having fun.
There is an ambience of fun and friendliness.
As the night drifts on, the land begins its rest for the day. Families return to their warm cozy homes, with a nice fireplace and their family pet. But the night is still young for many. As the rest of the world begins its preparation for the sleep to come, the bar remains rowdy and raucous. A different crowd begins drifting in, the unruly crowd of guys and gals. The band plays on, heartened and cheered on by the crowd, demanding more fun. Boisterous males show off their masculinity, sultry females strut their stuff on the tables. Young males chase after voluptuous young females who tempt them.
"Hey Walter, another round of drinks for the whole house!"
And the crowd demands for more, pounding on the tables for drinks. The bartender works efficiently, the drinks flow non-stop for the night. Challenges are thrown around, insults and cat-calling make up for most of the din. Occasionally an unfortunate soul incites the wrath of a drunkard who rises in a daze, seeking for a fight. And still the crowd demands for further amusements.
But as the night deepens, rowdiness gives way to weariness and loneliness. Youngsters stagger out of the bar with their friends, drunk and eager for more fun out there, under the stars. The band packs up to go home, but still some customers linger on, nursing their drinks solemnly, enjoying the quiet that was left behind.
As the day finally closes the curtain of dusk, and the stars appear on the dark cloak of Night, in a little corner of the empire, the little bar sighs in contentment of the day. Its warm lights beckon lonely wanderers to seek comfort within its homely halls, inviting the sick and weary to leave their burdens at its doorsteps and enjoy the remains of the night.
Couples wander in, hand in hand, to have a quiet time together. The usual customers walk in, heavy smiles on their face as if the burden of the world weighted down on their shoulders.
"Walter, be a good man and keep my glass full for the night. It's been hell today."
The bartender nods as he sets a glass of Bourbon in front of the man. The second half of his night has begun and he goes about serving his customers with the same enigmatic smile he serves other customers.
Drunken men mumbled in the deep of their sleep, stretched across tables. Lonely women whisper empty promises into the ears of lonely men who seek for comfort in a woman’s arms tonight. Sitting by the fireplace, couples share their dreams together, radiating their love for one another. There is nostalgia in the air, people sitting and watching light shimmering in their drink, thinking back to the days gone by.
A solo saxophone serenades the night, and the good bartender continues his work until the stars return to the Heavens and the night goes to sleep.
This is a bar that I've been visiting and more frequently during the 1 week Raya break. What can I say, I got bored of studying. And this place has cool people that I can interact with without talking about my studies (which is really bad).
To quote myself: Who gives a fuck about EoS?
I've decided to hang around the net for a little while and rant abit on what have been doing.
Taking a book out of Agong's post, I'm going to type whatever went through my mind today.
Designs for Convo Mag... damn so dead la.
Who to choose for Romancing Saga? Is Gray good enough? Stupid dinosaurs.
Hmm... iBook G4 sounds so tempting. Will get Dad to choose that just to spite Microsoft.
When is Rand going to grow up?!!
Shit, 4 more weeks to Eos. Fuck la.
I'm bored, let's think up constitutions for the Debate Club.
Movies to watch: Hmm... Harry Potter looks good. Narnia is next.
Damn, Desperate Housewives S206 still no trackers.
Yay! Episode 6 of Commander-in-Chief. President Mackenzie reminds me of Sheena.
Endon and that Ting lady has died so long ago, but I still see condolences printed in papers. Why?
Harry Potter's out on 17th, I wonder who wants to go watch BEFORE Eos.
Nicol David is ranked 3rd, I haven't seen her play before on TV at all.
I studied CVS, Endo and Renal and Respi and cannot remember anything from a few hours ago. I'm dead.
Some dumbass does not know that Harry Potter is from Hogwarts.
I need a faster USB port. Wonder should I just buy a new computer.
I have a crazy family who goes out mamak at 2 in the morning.
Radiata Stories damn tough la... should I choose Human Side or Non-human?
The soundtrack for HP and GOF seems interesting. Different from the previous movies.
I'm hungry. Let's eat fish and chips tonight.
Must study!! Promised God to study dee... ... later la...
US troops should just stay put in US and stay there.
Let me roll in bed for a while more.
When is my PSP coming??!!
Convo mag, should it be done in Illustrator or Photoshop? Haven't get colour coordination from TJ.
Google Earth is super cool. I can see Adeline's house! And Richard's! And Jody's! Where's my house?
I sound very stiff on radio, must be the morning time.
Where should we go for holiday while waiting for our results?
I feel like having Haagen Daaz Belgian chocolate ice-cream.
My cow in Harvest Moon is dying in calf-birth. Where to find fodder in Winter???
Imagine a very handsome young man with long platinum blond hair tied neatly at the base of his neck, wearing a tuxedo and holding a single blood red rose. His silvery blue eyes gleamed and he gives you a cynical smirk, his long canine protruding slightly from the corner of his mouth. Hmmm... sounds interesting.
Should I blog about this? See first la.
My Bull in Harvest Moon likes it when I milk it. *grin*
My PS2 is my best friend. Only he understands my obsessive need to play everyday.
What is haemopoiesis? It is the process of formation and developement of blood cells. (YES!!! I finally memorised it.)
New theory I came up with: If Bill Gates stole ideas to create the XBox and some other crap he created, it is possible that Window's software is not originally his too.
Hands itchy to write a sin. Who is next?
Another 10 minutes of sleep, ZZZZZZZzzzzz....
Let's go to Genting right after our EoS.
Should Yean Koon be Shi Ching's first love? Hmmm... strange, but plausible. If Sien Hui marry Shi Ching, what would happen Elena? No, cannot let them marry...
My visual association cortex for colour is not functioning well.
Naruto and Bleach new chapter. Set, download again.
My dad is a fan of Harry Potter. *shivers*
Stupid Abarat2. Wasted half and hour trying to find it. Going to reserve it.
I have 1 more ticket to HP premier. Be the fifth commentor thru if you want it.
What is 3 phases of CML, or is that CLL? Hmm... later la.
Being an assassin is an interesting job. I won't mind, if I get to kill the examiners for Osce.
I just finished replaying FFVII (still the best FF).
I want to go diving!!!
I'm too lazy to study. Ok, let's blog.
So that's basically what's been going on through my mind lately. And not surprising, not many thoughts of EOS. If I am to word Richard's thoughts, it would be like:
Damn stress!!!
ARGH!!! Two more hours left to finish this stack of lectures.
Tomorrow must finish GI.
No time to eat, must study.
EOS in 41,760 minutes time!! (countdowning)
AiYA!!! I forgot to study something. Where's my notes!! Where's my notes!!!
Die la!!! I forgot definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Mustn't think of watching TV. Must study.
EOS in 32 days!!!
etc. etc. etc.
Don't laugh. I bet almost everyone of you would be thinking the same thing every minute every day.
Ok, enough of rambling. I'm off to study.
Hai Liang: This is not like you, Elena. Don't study. Have faith.
Sure, I have faith, so I am just going to study and let God deal with the things I have studied but forgotten. Argh!!! Don't forget, funeral's at 10.00am 24th Dec.
I'm off! At least I have Harry Potter to look forward to. 5 more weeks to EoS, 6 more systems to go. Ganbate!!! And readers, please pray for your captain. She goes down, the plane goes down too.
Something big's going on outside,
and we're all too smashed to do anything about it...
- Drunken Junon Resident
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