Saturday, May 27, 2006

I Went To The Zoo... (a recollection of a dream)

I had trouble sleeping last night so I decided that I'll go to the zoo today. What does my amnesiac state have to do with me going to the zoo? Well, it really has nothing to do with each other... but i reckon that I'll need to be in such a state of disillusionment (one that is induced by my state of sleeplessness) to want to go to the zoo. Truth be told, I really like animals; but to see them trapped in a cage breaks my heart into a million pieces which inevitably results in my having to put them all back together again. Very often I'll lose a few pieces and whatever I have left I'll usually end up putting them all back in the wrong places. Guess I'm in the mood today for jigsaw puzzles then.

I paid the price for my ticket, 10 ringgit. For a zoo it seems like alot of money, but i paid the sum anyway; secretly hoping that I can pass off as a child under 12 years of age. That way I can pay a mere 5 ringgit (which i believe is also still a lot of money for a zoo). But then again, trying to pass myself off as a 12 year old seems far fetched, I probably stand a better chance passing off as a 55 year old and try to obtain a senior citizen's discount.

Being my own pedantic self, upon entering the entrance to the zoo (this sentence may seem nonsensical, but on more than a few occasions I have actually entered at an exit, and exited at an entrance. Therefore 'entering the entrance' in my book is fine for me and says alot about the content within its context), I merely let the attendant see my ticket. I then carefully tore the ticket along the perforated line with much care and perfection. One part I kept for myself, the other I gave to the attendant whom then allowed me to pass through the creaking turnstiles...
creaaaaaaakkkkkkkkk! BANG!.
the errie silence was smashed by the turnstile... one that was greatly in need of some serious lubrication work.

Going to the zoo has always been a quandry for me. While I detest animals being confined, I really enjoy looking at them. Everytime I see an animal, I'll look at it for a really long time, inspecting its every move and nuances. The nimble moves of the civet cat, the strong muscular limbs of a tiger, the gaping mouth of a hippopotamus, the bright gazing eyes of the lemur, and how can i forget, the babbon who flaunts his pink ass so gallantly... so unashamed (but then again, I reckon it would be the right thing to do... if thou hast an ass so fine, thou shalt flaunt it). Did I also mention that I once saw a babbon with an ass whose painted by a phletora of colours in the Taiping Zoo. It was supposed to be some rare species found in some strange corner of the world (How the Taiping Zoo obtained it, I don't know).

Please excuse me... I'm not here to talk about baboon and their asses, neither am I here to talk about asses (though there were a few on display at the zoo too... by that I mean donkeys, ironically their asses weren't too flattering); I'm here to tell you about a dream... a dream about me going to the zoo.

And so I gazed... I gazed at one, and moved to another, gazed at one... and moved to another....

A Ziraffe,
who'll pass out if it bends its neck lower than its heart.

A Kangaroo,
who was walking... Which I thought are jumpers, and was wearing a cardigan instead of jumpers.

A Gazelle,
which I first thought was a deer... which jumped much more than the kangaroo did.

A Porcupine,
Whom as opposed to popular belief does not shoot thorny spines from it's ass... it merely switches into reverse gear and ass-butts its predators and then dislodges the spines on them. Still, I reckon that would be quite nasty.

A Panda,
Who have always wondered how he'll look like in a colour photo.

A Tortoise,
Whose legend deeply embedded in Vietnamese folklore... this one has a face that almost looks like Ho Chi Minh.

I gazed... and moved to another... I gazed.. and moved to another...

I become tired, but yet I am still not sleepy... In fact, my eyes become brighter.

I gazed... and I gazed.

Cockatoo, Crocodile, Giant Sloth...

Rabbit, Mousedeer, Mountain Goat...

Reticulated Python, Green Iguana, Reticulated Python...

Reticulated Python, Reticulated Python, Reticulated Python, Reticulated Python.

I'm fixed on the sight of this beautiful python... all 30 feet of it. I want to take a closer look at it, but the enclosure was sealed. I banged on the glass despite warnings of 'Do Not Knock Glass'... I want to take a closer look.

In my attempt to look closer, I fixed my faced onto the glass enclosure and knocked the glass even harder in hopes that the python will come to me. It doesn't, but I can see that its eyes are staring deep into mine.

I wasn't too happy... I still want to take a closer look.

I went looking for the zookeeper...

I gave him a 50 Ringgit bribe and he unlocked the enclosure for me.

I entered and came close to the python.

It's beautiful, the motifs on the body a work of art, the shape and form a massive mass.

I still want to look closer...much much closer...

I went up to its face and looked into its eyes... It shines like diamonds in the rough.

I tapped its mouth...it opened up gloriously for me to view.

I still wanted to look closer.

I took a closer look and put my head into its gaping mouth into darkness...

I can't see anything, but a sense of peace overwhelms...

I still want to look closer... I crawled deeper and deeper into the python.

The python's belly streches to accomodate me... The acidic digestive juices covers me like a thin layer of film.

It is dark... very dark.

I can't hear anything.

I can't see anything.

I can't feel anything.

My mind ceases to think...

In that compact void, I found peace... I yawned.

I fell asleep.

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