i was rummaging through the old photos in my laptop today when i stumbled upon this old .jpg of John Chua and his sister, Grace Chua. this picture was taken during a two week Singapore holiday during the working stint in Brunei. i had the great fortune to be able to commemorate the paternal great-grandmother's second death anniversary while back here. do note that it wasn't a solemn event or anything like that because everybody seemed to have gotten over the great-grandmother's death. there was laughter and incessant chatting about the post-commemoration dinner to be heard in the air. i guess this was also why it wasn't that surprising to see that the young ones amongst the paternal family were all running about like hyperactive gremlins tripping on Ritalin.

i was lucky to be able to snap this picture. mainly because John Chua is a camera-shy person, able to evade the camera lens faster than one can even say 'cheese'. i think somehow or other, the spirit of the great-grandmother did some good by calming him and down and getting him to strike a pose (albeit a gay one) behind her tomb. for some reason, Grace Chua (the little sullen-looking wench in the corner) is not looking too happy. prolly something to do with not being the main focus of this picture. what a camera whore.

alas, as sudden as this moment of calm materialized, it disappeared once again with both John and Grace making every effort to resume their irritating game of chasing each other around the cemetery. they jumped over graves. they whined about being hungry. they complained about the mosquitoes. they trod on the flowers on the graves of others. one could dismiss this sort of behavior as the stuff that kids are prone to doing. but i'm much more in the belief that the parents play a very big part in controlling their kids.

the question that begets asking here is this: despite all the death metal-comparative noise that John & Grace were making, why didn't Father & Mother Chua do anything to tone it down by at least a notch to say, a blue-grass standard? the evening ended with the group of us going to a nearby food outlet for some excellent zi char and the kids crying over mosquito repellent that they had stupidly rubbed into their eyes (insert death metal anthem).

admittedly, i hate kids. all kids in general, regardless of how they look. they may be born with the genes of People Magazine's Most Beautiful People on Earth, but kids never fail to have the same issues on hand - tantrums, misbehavior, insensitivity and a general sense of stupidity. of course, it's simply an issue of the times that won't resolve itself. these days, nobody disciplines their kids anymore. what with the 'spare the rod' philosophy being as happening as a pair of bell-bottoms from the 80s.

it's actually quite a vicious cycle when you come to think of it. child abuse rules are set in place to protect the kids. the parents can't discipline the kids without the use of physical deterrents. the kids end up being spawns of Satan without the rod. and they get so bad that the parents end up giving the children a good whacking anyways. which results in Child Services having to enforce more rules on parental guidance. and then it begins all over again. spawn of Satan might perhaps be an exaggeration, but i have everyday evidence of how misguided the kids can get.

take the hospital for example, i have always felt that parents should never bring their kids along. the hospital corridors are normally rather packed with medical equipment and trolleys of case notes. not easy to navigate. fill it with people and relatives and staff, it's almost like a Beijing railway station during the pre-Chinese New Year holidays. now add in kids that are running around like they were possessed by Satan in swine... one is very much tempted to attempt whatever it is the hawt brothers do on Supernatural.

come to think of it, it's not that different on the public trains in Singapore too - what with children swinging around the grab poles and hand rails like very cringe-worthy versions of 'Kids Gone Wild'. it's times like these that one can't help but wonder: what in the world are the parents for then? a nine-month creation and catalyst for the world's worst infection?

which is why i always make it a point to bring out the Supernanny in me while in the hospital. not with naughty stools and neither with 'naughty stools' though believe me, some of these young punks really need some shit thrown at them. when i see kids running up and down the corridor, i cannot resist the urge to give them a good scolding. i will muster up the scoungiest look i can contort my face into, stare at the offensive offspring and shout something like:

'Hoi! You run some more? You run some more? You fall down and die then you know!'

the effect is much more dramatic if i say this with a syringe and needle in hand. all that said, i believe that by chiding each child for their naughty behavior, i am making the world a much better place. call me an anal-retentive or conservative old-timer, but kids are really a bane to this world. thank goodness i grew out of being one.

(editor's note that means nothing to the rest of you: shoutouts to skye)

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