return of the monkey
MAF was today, and I did want to go. But because the skies were too grey, the afternoon too sleepy, the evening too hot and also my monkey-induced state of trauma, I didn't make it to Hwa Chong in the end. ):I never was an animal lover, but situations involving animals in places they're not meant to be seriously scare me. Some examples: birds crashing into sliding doors, bats in the pipe cupboards, lizard in my hair or file or shoe, chicken in the toilet at my grandma's house and... monkey in the living room. This afternoon wasn't really the first time the monkeys have visited our house.
I remember how before I left for London last year, a few monkeys invaded our balcony and killed my father's beloved orchids, and messed the other potted plants up. Then there was the time I entered my parents' room only to see a HUGE monkey squatting on the outer (fortunately, so there's still the grille between monkey and me) window sill. But those all don't beat today.
So this afternoon I settled down into the sofa in the living room to enjoy voyage of the dawn treader (yes I know Narnia is kids stuff- but it's the best it should be made compulsory!). The sliding doors to the balcony were wide open as they usually are, and so when when I sensed some movement, eyes still glued to the book, I assumed it to be the flitting shadows cast by the tree outside. And then, I caught sight of furry paws. My first thought: cat! Which was bad enough, but at least I can pick a cat up and shoo it back out. AND then I looked again and realised it was a BIG monkey sitting on the living room floor less than a metre away from me!
I screamed and screamed at it to go away, but it just sat there and bared its teeth and made faces at me, would you believe it! And refused, just plain refused to leave. I can still see it, the stubborn monkey sitting there and mocking me for not being able to get him back out among the trees!
So in the end it took my mother to come down (after many many minutes) and chase it out. For some reason the monkey obeyed her, maybe she looked more respectable. Still, the trauma was sizeable and my throat very hoarse at the end of it. But I must say that if we met under different circumstances, like maybe on a safari trip, or at the zoo, I might have thought it were quite cute, and if I were friendlier it probably would not have mocked me as well. (Thought it might then have jumped onto the sofa, horrors.)
Well, what with that and just how I've been feeling- out of sorts, I didn't leave the house. So I stayed home to bake oatmeal cookies instead. Which turned out well, despite my forgetting and tipping the bicarbonate of soda in while the pan to mix butter and sugar was still over the fire. It bubbled and frothed furiously, giving me a moment of minor panic. I can see why baking is soothing, it gives enough to occupy your mind and take it off other things- just take one thing at a time, measure, mix, stir, run back to recipe check etc. And if you end up with something edible, all the better.
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