A day..

Early yesterday morning, I was on my way back from an assignment when I decided to have a stop at my favourite duck mee stall to have my food. Seemed like a typical day for me as I ordered my duck mee and a platter of fish ball & prawn crackers. Even before my food arrived at my table, I could hear a ruckus of laughter and chatter coming from my next table. Seated on my right hand side of the table were 7 ladies cum "aunties" cum "mosquitoes" from the land of unbelievable lungs power and thunderous voice. Every now and then, shrieks of laughter and unbelievable power of hand and leg movements were noted. It was at this time that I realised that the day is not going to be the same anymore. Somehow, I braved the occassional slap sounds, voluminous voices of chatter and mixture of some rather "flowery" words here and there. Then, my food arrived. The duck mee was tasteless while the fish ball and prawn crackers were flat like a gassed-out balloon on a circus stand. I had a tough time swallowing the food and to top off the already miserable day, the barley drink was equally flat and tasteless. Well, I chugged down the meal as I had paid for them while putting up with the 7 "aunties". Hey, I've gotta spruce my day with some positiveness, right? So, I did the next best thing - I sized up the aunties one by one at my adjacent table. They are roughly in their early 40's though they try to look younger in their "tight" fitting, body hugging attires and bling-bling were every where and any where available. Seriously, I don't know if they are real or plated, real rock or glass. I guess, in some parts of their attire, certain body parts such as the blubber and spare tyres cannot be hidden but they flaunt it anyway!  Hooray for women's power-lar! In the midst of the ruckus of laughter and the drama, I heard "The Voice". I dubbed this one as the loudest, graftiest, roughest voice ever. Incidentally , she is the roundest too. I sometimes wonder when the plastic chair is gonna give way! I guess, big ones had tremendous staying lung power and butt power too-lar! Then there is The Expressionist. Always doing something with her hands or her feet when she's talking. So full of expression, exasperation and perspiration too! Next comes, The Hawker. She shocked me to my hide when speaking in her group, she raised one of her feet to the seat and hanker there.  The only items missing are the spit bowl and the toothpick! The worst part, she was wearing short pants and there were lots of the five sen, ten sen decorative marks on her feet but she chatters the world away. Then I saw The Glutton. Every now and then as the rest are talking, this one would just continue to stuff her mouth with something to eat as though there would be no more food tomorrow or the world is comingto an end! The best part is that she is simply the slimmest of them all. They say in Hokkien - "chiak liao bee"! Then comes The Hair. This one keeps flinging her hair back as though she had the Sunsilk hair thingy or some supermodel from third world country. I wonder if she has neck problems or it is just a habitual thing. Then comes The Seller/Introducer who sits nearer to my table is next. She is the one that continues to take things out of her huge handbag and showing everyone what she has and how much is the price of this item or that items. Lipsticks to eye shadow to skin care products were pulled out of the bag like a magician whose tricks had gone horribly wrong. I swear, I didn't see any flawless skin nor smooth face surface here! Of course, the last is The Mortician. If you are guessing that this is the nice looking one, you've got it wrong! Yes, she may have the bread and butter as the men folks may say it but sorry to say that the weight and application of her make-up would make plastering concrete walls such a joy and I would have to recommend Dynamo to remove the face plastering off this woman. No cleanser is gonna do the job, I tell you!
It is horribly wrong to eavesdrop but if you are sitting an earshot from these ladies' conversation, you can't help but hear what had transpired. Topics are always centred on their family, husbands and other people's gossip. It really intrigues me what women folks will talk about when they are so free. The Voice even remarked that though they meet everyday, they stilll have so much to talk about and no need to work some more. That made me choked on my coffee but I was civil enough not to spray my mouthful of black coffee away. I was thinking aloud, " Aunty, so free ah! Please go to work and earn some hard earned money-lar like everyone else! At least , be productive for your own family and  the country rather than non-productive chatters!"  
The Expressionist then said, " Hey, no good-meh! We are already working what! Who is going to spend our husbands money if not us, right? We also work very hard  day and night-mah." ( stressing the night part ! Sheesh! ). Another round of loud laughter was heard. When it came to the topics of "working hard at night" and so on, I felt it was time for me to get back to work after filling my stomach with some food. In many ways , I am envious of these ladies for having so much time in their hands. Well, life has to go on, right? Still, it is a good experience for me. Never knew, sitting around a coffeeshop can bring so much joy! Afterall, every day is a learning day, right? You will never know what will happen or what lies at the next corner. So, live your days to the fullest and learn to laugh at life! Cheers!