It...WAS wesak eve when i helped out int he temple at brickfields. I only arrived at 9 due to bowling at sunway pyramid...ahahaaa...so there...when I got there....went to register myself as a helper...and to do this i must write in a weird booklet thingy...then...ironically...the person who signed in before me was Lim Ter Xiao, Natasha...Ugh...how could that be??><....then i wrote Lim Ter-Yi below it...lolx...the people at the counter also...'Waaa'...lolx...nice Wesak indeed...lolx...wanted to sell candles...budden...since i've been selling candles for almost...5 years...decided against it...xD....
So...went round looking for things to do...then spotted some people clearing incense...(joss sticks, for those who dunnoe...--___--, hear that Ariel?)...so...i brought myself and my friend to a counter to get our equipment...lolx...yea...we still have equipment for that kinda trivial job...^^...so...got myself a glove and a weird scrapping thingy...so...stationed myself at one of the most busy incense urns...xD....wanna do smtg mer....hehe....later i found out that it was a bad idea...lolx...just because i wasn't experienced enough and kept getting scolded by the ashes on the joss sticks...><....haiz...luckily they left no mark on my hands now...xD...
At the begining i kept removing the joss sticks and stuffed them into the water in a bucket and enjoy hearing them sizzle...wahahhaaa....it was fun at first...but after doing it several times...ugh...i had no feeling for it already...hehe....so...changed plan and decided to just arrange the incense nicely....and then there are many mangan people who are afraid to be burnt by the ashes....then they stick their incense at really weird angles...leaving no space for others to put...so...thats where i come in...hehe...barge into the crowd...group the incense together...then stick it somewhere vacant...its was fun also...xD....
The exciting part was when the joss sticks were close to each other...the heat would be intense...thus starting a fire...a fire that would incinerate the whole lot of incense fast....thats...again where i come in....to avoid a bigger fire...i will have to risk burning my hand by grabbing the whole bunch of burning incense and rush to the nearest bucket of water....hehe....this was the ultimate thrill of the night...xD...and it happened many times...as people flogged into the temple non stop....^^....i hate to admit that...i actually sometimes...deliberately put incense together so that the percentage of this phenomenon happening will be higher...lol....
My other job was to clear the half burnt candles and the wax on the tilled table which on top of it rested the urns...it was fun to be able to extinguish them with two fingers...xD...just press on the wig and poof....the fire will go...xD....thats of course with my gloved hand....xD....was kinda cool too....
Soon...my glove had a burnt hole in it...lol....i showed that to my partner..xD...one of the three who were working at the same place as me...lolx...he then showed me a hole in his shirt...lolx...a lot worse than mine...xD...i first talked to him in english...but then...found out that his tone was not that fluent in english...so...change to cantonese...lolx...only then we were able to communicate well....hah...things went on well after that....i also replaced my glove with another new one and of a higher quality...plus another glove for my left hand...things were made easier now with both my hands gloved...hehe
Then there was this mangan guy who kept thinking that i was a newbie and kept telling me what to do...ugh...so irritating man....he kept saying 'keep the incense upright!!!'...'don't burn other people'...'careful laaa'...MANGAN!!!....felt like telling him to try this job himself...budden...Wesak day....keep cool....hehe....so...kept cool loo....
Then the wax was really...ugh...also because i was clumsy...some of it spilt on my white school shoes and school pants...yea....i was still wearing them due to no time to bath...xD....so...yep...splattered all over my pants...wax...><...then there was this moment when the super big candle put there for people to light their joss sticks came tumbling down...i was there....yea....^^....took the candle and stuffed it beside the bin...lol...
One time there was a mini fire going on in one of the pots( a rectangular metal thingy stuffed with soil to put candles)...caught fire...this was because the wax of the melted candles was spread evenly on the surface of the pot and the whole thing was burning....the devotees were so happy as it lighted their incense fast...lolx...budden...i had to end their joy as the fire might or will get bigger...so...i tried putting water on it....bad idea....it went spluttering...just like adding water to boiling oil...yikes...then...a partner of mine came to clear the wax with a metal tray(he was supposed to scrap the wax off the altar)...then it stuck me...i got the tray from him and covered the whole mangan pot to starve it of oxygen...^^...and it worked....aha!!!....Terry Lim...saviour of the day....^^....indeed....lol...
I forgot to mention that the mangan incense let out smoke!!! yes it does!!! and its stings ur eyes like acid...ugh...(although i've not tried acid..xD)...i was partly crying due to the incence smoke...or maybe i was touched by the Buddha's kindness i dunnoe...lolx...neways...i went home at 1.40 smtg...yea...was late...xD...then got a nice bath...and went to sleep nearly as soon as i came in contact with the bed...due to triedness...xD...
Overall i would say i've done a good deed....and played my part in helping the temple...so..i deserved a good sleep till 1.30 p.m. the next day....WAHAHAHAHAAA!!! =P
