Flu and rice wine

Yo pPLe!

i am sick again.. dunno why, i think i getting weaker,.. cause i every now and then will fall sick and dun heal as fast as i used to..

maybe that's growing old..

then though the running nose keeps me busy, even in class and quizzes(which i dun think will get good grades), I HAVE A PIECE OF GOOD NEWS..

well , at least for myself..

i dun need to re-do my essay #2 cause got a B.. haha.. kinda happy.. so my 4900 words immediately becomes 1900 words.. only left with essay #3 and the two music reviews to do.. but the essay #3 will need to be handed in on Monday.. so i got to crap out a 1500 words essay on social problems in a cause and effect template... but i only got now to sleeping time to do.. cause tmr will need to help my parents at work cause my cousin went into army le..

haiz.. da jun wen (today morning) and Aw (on black Friday) has also become botak like my cousin.. wonder if they will meet.. haha..

i am actually here to share a story ..

well, haven done that for some time le.. hope you enjoy..(helps me to get start my writing engine since i haven decided on which social problems to write on...)

THE VILLAGE'S CELEBRATION

In a very simple village that consist of farming families growing padi, lies a little something we can learn.

one harvest season, when harvest was one of the best in the past recent years, the head of the padi village decided to get the whole village involved in an harvest celebration.. due to the few resources they are able to get, their celebration was simple. the head of the village ordered each family to provide 2 items for the celebrations; rice flour for the rice cake they were going to make for part of the feast and one pail of rice wine brewed in their own homes..

after the announcement, families spent their days not only harvesting but also preparing the rice flour and the rice wine.. the males in the village took turns to go to the village head to grind their rice into flour wile the females worked on the rice wine with occasional help from the neighbours.. everything was going smoothly..

the day of the celebrations arrived, all the females villager took the rice flour to the village head's house and started making rice cakes.. by dusk, they finished making the rice cake and hurried home to change and soon headed for the celebrations ground with their families with the pail of rice wine.. the atmosphere was most happy..

the village head got ready with a big vat in the middle of the grounds near a fire.. the fire was to warm up the wine and the villagers as well as provide light..the sun went down and the stars came out.. by then all families had filled the vat with the rice wine as ordered by the village head.. the village head asked every adult in the village to get a cup of the wine from the vat and they toasted.. after the first sip, the happy expression on the villagers turned into disappointment..

some began to comment on the rice wine they had provided. the wine tasted very bland, as if mere water.. and fingers started pointing and arguments started.. the village head asked all to quiet down as he had words to say..

" everyone, listen.." he said,not surprised abt the wine that all the wine tasted bland, "pls, stop arguing.. the problem with the wine is not the person beside you but the person dressed in your clothes.. ask yourself of you really provided rice wine to this celebrations or water from the well.. i asked everyone to help in the celebration to remind ourselves of what we own today.. isn't it the teamwork and contributions all of us gave in wholeheartedly that we own to our harvest and village?" everyone silents down and only the sound of fire and insects far away could be heard.. the head continued," if you don't give your best contributions to this celebrations,what you get is a outcome that achieves nothing.. then this kind of spirit is not worthy of celebrating.. now , pour away the bland wine in the vat and return to your homes and take the rice wine to fill the vat.."

with those words, all the guilt-filled villagers went home and took not the rice wine they brewed this season but the best rice wine they had been keeping aside for the important occasions..

the vat was filled once again and all the adults have a cup of wine in their hands.. the smell of hot rice cakes and aromatic warm rice wine filled the air.. everyone tasted the wine and smiles was shown.. "with this sip of rice wine, contributed by all the villagers, let's start the celebration!" the village head said.. song and dance carried on the to the dawn, everyone was drunk on the celebrations ground, dreaming of the simple yet happy celebration they went thru.. constantly reminding themselves to give in their best of best to the village..

the harvest got better and better in the years after the simple celebrations..

THE END!

Ong LAi

"when you want to achieve something in life, you gotta give in your best..

or else, the rice wine will be bland.."