The Blessings of Blissful Sleep

My best friend, Amudah, loves to tell everyone this story.

Once, I invited her to a Chinese Orchestra at the Esplanade. After all, my eldest brother was given three complimentary tickets, and brother could not attend the concert as he had to fly off to Taiwan. I brought my second sis along as well and told Amu to take leave from work at Rialto.

Amu has never been to the Esplanade Concert Hall. Worried that she might fall asleep as she would not understand all that is happening in a Chinese Orchestral concert, she hesitated. "Oh Amu, come on, try and see. Don't waste a $68/- ticket!" I coaxed.

Amu was spellbound by the grandeur of the concert hall and the interesting display of huge instruments like the gongs, cymbals, harp, doublebass, etc. At one stage, someone began to recite a poem from the Tang Dynasty. Although Amu could not understand a word of the reading, she found the whole atmosphere intriguing. Just then, she heard a faint little snore beside her. Upon closer observation, Amu realised I had fallen into a deep sleep and I slept right through the end of the concert!

After the concert, second sis told Amu she was not surprised. At my niece Christmin's graduation ceremony in Melbourne, just shortly after the speech by the University Chancellor, I fell asleep right through the whole ceremony! This is the reason why I did not attend my own graduation ceremony at the University of Alberta as well as at the Institute of Education. I found it easier for both Institutes to post me my degrees.

Gan Chau