Amusement from 2 polarities.

Amusement #1 from the positive polarity:

I burrowed a book written by Czechoslovakian author called Milan Kundera, called Immortality, since I saw my sister had read stuff of his and I trust her taste in expanding my circle of reading. I did not regret it and the very first chapter of it got me hooked already. It reminded me acutely of Chuck Palahniuk's postmodernist style. Without me rambling, here's a paragraph that made me laughed.

"As a little girl, Agnes used to go for walks with her father and once she asked him whether he believed in God. Father answered: "I believe in the Creator's computer." This answer was so peculiar that the child remembered it. The word computer was peculiar, and so was the word Creator, for Father would never say God but always Creator as if he wanted to limit God's significance to his engineering activity. The Creator's computer: but how could a person communicate with a computer? So she asked her father whether he ever prayed. He said: "That would be like praying to Edison when a lightbulb burns out."

HAHAHA! Brilliant writing. I have found a new favorite writer. ^_^

Amusement # 2 from the negative polarity:

Now I have to use a complete different mindset to approach this second section of the entry. *gets serious*

Okay, so I was on my usual Saturday night stroll with a good friend along Esplanade Park/Merlion region/Esplanade Bays, with a light conversation going on about (my poor) musical ability. I was craving for my weekly fix of Starbucks frapp, so we were walking down towards the outlet underneath the bridge near the Merlion structure. Intrigued why is there such a huge crowd at that area there (it's usually empty there), we walked on, then saw a group of policemen there with some equipments on the floor. I initially thought it might be some silly metalhead/punk fight or something juvenile, since it was the common meeting ground for them. Then I saw a gang of civil defense officers pulling something out of the river via a thick cord. I know what happened.

Someone drowned.

I got my frapp (it was a Grande! ^_^) despite the commotion and found myself trapped by the (efficiently-placed) "Police" boundary tape, sat down and watched on to the corpse-fishing commotion. Knowing inside me that that poor fellow had little chance of coming out alive, I recited some mantras (Om Mani Padme Hum, if you are wondering) for him/her and hoped it will help the situation for the soul somehow.

After a few minutes, the body is out and placed on the orange canvas stretcher thingy and the paramedics did something to the body which I am unsure of. I could clearly see the midsection of the corpse. He wasn't wearing a shirt and only donned a sports shorts. Pale in complexion and clearly not breathing, the whole atmosphere of the place dimmed down, with typical Singaporeans looking on with intrigue yet a sense of fear on their equally typical faces. LOL. My friend, being the curious one, went to the other side of the area condoned off, he later reported that the corpse was foaming at the mouth. I am to fully confirm that that body is a corpse now.

I finished my frapp and the commotion was cleared, with a puddle of river water on the pavement - a dark reminiscent of the watery grave that the victim ended his last minutes writhing in a plea for a quicker end to his life or questioning why his life had to end so abruptly, at such a dodgy location? I have no answers for that question.

It created a very macabre afterthought in me that reminded me after I left the area. Prior to reaching to the Starbucks outlet, I heard the sirens of an ambulance and I told my friend, "Oh! Someone's dying!", in a joking manner. It was a thing/one-liner I ganked from Kevin, anyway. Now I think back and say, "Damn, that's eerie." *shivers*

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