Life, Laughter and Everything Else

“Aunty, Kopi Siew Mai”. She stared back at me half bewildered, half stoic. I knew I had uttered something wrong, thought precisely where I got it wrong, I could not pinpoint. I should have just stuck to my usual Kopi and not let my sister’s impassioned speech about a Kopi something that contained no condensed milk disrupt my habit. But I had and now I was facing the consequences in the form of a postmenopausal woman staring at the Indian boy dressed smart and talking stupid, wondering if this was his idea of a joke. “You mean Koi C? Siew Mai is the yellow meat thing you have for breakfast” , my attractive friend tried to help, unable to resist giggling at the humour of the situation. “hmmm.. Not Kopi C. Its Kopi siew something. But nevermind, KopiC also can” , I replied wanting to save face and half not knowing what Kopi C. As long as it saved me from this, anything went. Even tap water. “Oh. Kopi Siew Tai arh?” “Oh yea. That one. Aunty, Kopi Siew Tai!” But the...

Why should I get into a relationship? The answer was presented concisely in terms of a diagram and resembled the above graph. A single life was a stable and an emotionally dispassionate life that always hovered around the equilibrium, a life slightly elevated by the occasional triumph and slightly troubled by the occasional disappointment (usually due to not being in a relationship). In contrast, the life in a relationship was passionate and full of emotional highs and lows. It was perhaps not for the faint-hearted. The experience evaded me for years since I was humored by this response that I came across in Quora. Such highs and lows? Will never be the case with me! My girlfriend will be mature and I will be mature and we will live a life of everlasting maturity that will never be troubled by the passion of love. Or so I thought. Life has a way of humbling even the proudest human beings, especially the ones so self confident of their abilities. For life has the lux...

It starts in the morning. "Hasn't she woke up. Its already 7? She s going to be late again. Why can't she be more responsible?" "Hurry up. You dad is waiting. Drink the juice first".  "But it tastes like crap". "Whats for breakfast?". "Cereal". "Again? Its the weekend!" "Then you come to the kitchen and cook". Complaints. Arguments. Mockery. It was part and puzzle of the package. Put any two people under the same roof and they will find a reason to argue about something. As such, imagine putting five. The modern, globalist single would brand it an outdated institution, one that would limit his freedom and career and replace it with responsibilities and chores. Why bind oneself to one partner? Why have children? Why not just cohabit-ate? Why not just get a pet? Why go through all that trouble? Yes it is chaotic. Yes, it does not always work out the way one wants. Yes I wished he would stop tell...