February 25, 2007
24/02/2007
In my life,I've always thought that IMH was a place for the mentally unsound and that people who lived there were bound with those weird jackets that I see lots in Channel 8 Dramas. And the liability to attack just about anyone who came their way.
Hougang Chalet,as poked fun of.
Well,I was wrong.
A few of us at BBG -Shawn,Apo,Ashhao,Xanz,Lumbo,Nel and me- went for a gathering so different from the usual Part 1 - 13 Stoning,Part 4 being checking whether Fadey was going to be done at PCBunk.
Quoted from Grace : (like pressing arrow keys in the case of fadey)
It was a visit to the IMH to give them a CNY party. I totally arrived late and got lost at least 3 times. The patients came down from their wards,with smiling faces and as we said our 'Gong X Fa Chai' to them,they came up to us and started to greet us back warmly and shake our hands. I was amazed at this. The day started off with the emcees giving out prizes to everyone in a lottery manner. It was nice how when they called out a number someone had,they would stand up,jump for joy(some) and rush to the stage to collect it. One of them opened up the prize,which was a new T-Shirt and quickly put it on. When he couldn't put it on properly,another friend of his helped him out,like a friendly society where everyone would help one another. And of course,who would forget how funny it was to watch US following the weird dance steps. However,on the other side of us finding the dance steps stupid,the patients seemed to be enjoying it. They were totally enthusiastic about it and wanted to do it more.
The games went smoothly,as said by Shawn. I could see how they enjoyed playing and when they completed,they would show that satisfied look on their faces with a warm smile.
The 'Lo Hei'(did I spell it right.) was amusing. Normally,you'd have to say random stuff while messing up the whole dish,but instead,they just grabbed the food and gobbled it down. The whole thing was uncalled for,but we let them go ahead since they were enjoying it. Alot.
The lion dance troupe came along.Nothing much here.
The last part of the day was more of what they wanted to do. Many wanted to sing,and their singing was way better than any My Chemical Romance or Milk. They sang every tune from their heart,and for the sole purpose of entertaining their fellow friends,not money. I would probably pay 19.90 for an album if they ever produced one. Because they do it with effort and not like those people who produce music for money.
Overall,the day ended with Mr Lim,or rather the person in-charge of Ward 65 telling us how the whole place worked. It was enlightening,and to me,the having a mind to think and do things properly was probably the best thing I ever had.
Many people in the world have the thinking of : Mentally Dislocated,not worth my time. These patients in the wards were those who were shunned by their families. Why were they shunned? I don't care how you see it,I see it as the families do not bother anymore. Like No Hope lah. The way I see things,is that they do have hope. They don't deserve to stay there all their life on medication. They may do things 2x .. or even 3x slower,but they still can get it done. What most people care about of time time time. Give your time to those who need it.
Hey,treasure what you can do. Who knows,today you might be making fun of them,tomorrow you'll be the one being made fun of.