I am fatigued. This campaign, this crusade, has been going on too long.
But still, STILL, I'm going to wake up tomorrow and haul my ass to face whatever I need to do. I do not believe that people need to suffer in order to get things done. I do not believe I have to suffer.
And the big wheels keep on turning. Things begin to fall into place. Slowly, but surely, everything will be okay.
Hey, can't rain all the time.
I have decided to postpone Alam's article for next year. That would be a better birthday gift. I owe the man so much.
My novel is taking shape. The movie script I wrote last year is into production. Next year, I will see my very first feature-length movie in theatres. It was a fantastic learning experience, and when it comes out, I will learn even more. And level-up. There are other things. 90% done here. 70% done there.
I am excited to get on to the next batch of stuff. Tired as I am.
I look forward to taking some time off. Bangkok would be great, but I am thinking of going back to Kuantan. Can't forget my roots, yo!
My father's health is not as good as it used to be. I want to see him. And also check up on my mother's business.
If I make some money, I think I'll get them a proper dryer.
And there is the matter of my father's books. I'm half-Malay, but I don't really give a shit about land. I do care about my father's books, though.
He got a collection of Reader's Digest from 1956 till 1983. And also some encyclopedia sets he bought via RD.
I remember reading the encyclopedia when I was small. Three sets.
You don't read the kind of articles they write in the 60s and 70s anymore. About 'Nam. Jeans. Hippies. Land-Rovers. The decay of Western society. The sex revolution. Women's suffrage. Race relations. The Cold War. Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ. The Six-Day War.
Guyana. David Kosher. Son of Sam.
The rise of Speed - ampethamines - which today has manifested into crystal-meth addiction. H. Mary-Jane. Seconals. Barbiturates.
The energy crisis. ALIVE! Maggi soup mix. In a fucking box!
Martina Navratilova and Mikhail Baryshnikov defecting to the West.
The best books in the encyclopedia are ones about great people and about stories.
George Washington Carver. Galileo Galilei. Helen Keller. Dr Florey. Marie Curie. St Francis of Asisi. Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman). Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens). John James Audubon. Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Gandhi. Mahatma means Great Spirit).
Little House on the Prairie. Roots. The Man with the Golden Gun. The Blue Willow Plate. The Locket. Little Women. The Secret Garden.
And some people wonder why I act like an old man. With the mind and temperament of a child.
Man, I miss my books.
