Fishes of Men

A disastrous thing happened today, an event of unprecedented proportions. For the first time in my life, I had to pay extra for wastages at a sushi buffet. Yes, I ended up paying double of the actual buffet price, because the amount of food we had left on the table was equivalent, no, more in fact, than the normal buffet price. It is a sad tale to tell...

Quek and I went to Cineleisure to eat at that smelly place, as no other sushi restaurant serves teatime buffet over the weekend. We reached it after 4, but the buffet ends at 5.30, with the last order being at 5. We only got a table at 4.35, and so we had to rush to order all the extra ala-carte buffet items that are not found on the revolving belt. In our haste we made the foolish mistake of overestimating our appetites and ordered double, triple even, of everything. And having done so, we proceeded to stuff our faces with more food from the belt. A foolish, foolish mistake. By the time the extra food ordered came, we were already full. What a disaster that was.

We were like drunks after that, laughing bitterly, senses gorged, faculties functioning at 10% in Quek's case. It is truly an unprecedented disaster. In our shock I suppose our minds tried to force some meaning into the event. He said this felt important. It is important, but beyond the immediate blow to our wallets the ramifications are harder to explain. One thing's certain; this is a confirmation of our shrinking appetites and ageing bodies. We are growing old, my friend, oh yes. No more feasts for us, I think, but gluttony of delicacy can be a pleasant alternative.

And one more thing. We were lamenting our precarious position in life at the moment, how it seems that, at age 20, we are adrift, directionless, bereft of the joy, meaning and purpose that we, as the redeemed people, should rightfully possess. A quarter-life crisis is upon us. On my part I feel spiritually lazy, and lost as well. I enjoy C.S. Lewis, but I think there's a problem when I read his books just for the intellectual stimulation. Religion cannot be a mere mental exercise, something to muse and ponder about over a cup of coffee or heaps of unfinished sushi plates. And yet I feel increasingly like an armchair Christian. I'd like to say that the idea of the perpetually joyful, faithful Christian who moves through life with purpose and meaning is a stereotypical fantasy that non-believers or the naive think, but truth be told, are we merely using that as an excuse to cover up the fact that our faith is woefully inadequate when in actual fact, the true Christian life is one of power, joy, peace, purpose?

I think I'll end with that rhetorical question for today. Time to think a bit, and hopefully, act.

10 more months to go. Much has happened since I last posted. I went to Port Blair and came back and a few days ago I finally passed out officially from training. Now I'm a posted crew member onboard ship, which means that my life onboard should get better. For those wondering, I did not go to mainland India. I went to the Andaman Nicobar Islands which belong to India. Port Blair is the capital of the islands, which happen to be located in the Andaman Sea, north of Sumatra. For those who don't know where Sumatra is, get a map.

Since coming back I've been sailing practically everyday. It's quite tiring, and waking up freezing each morning is not exactly pleasant. But now that I'm a posted crew member I'll get to go home much more often, and that will hopefully make things better.

I need a new game.. I'm quite bored with the ones I have now, which are fairly old. Sins of a Solar Empire seems quite interesting..