I Found Bliss in Ironing

"I found bliss in ironing" 

Mrs. Chech.

Not.

In Seri Puteri, circa 1990s, one had to endure grim tasks to find any bliss in ironing in the ironing room. It could be equalled to the final round in Fear Factor, during which one fights one's loathings to probably find bliss eventually. Probably. Reminiscing my final year in secondary school, here were the challenges:

1. One chirped away the night like what it used to be four years ago, and at bedtime, after a last-minute struggle with the homework, one realised that the uniform needed ironing! As always, one thought to oneself, "why do today the things that one can do tomorrow" and politely asked a form three dormmate with early morning record to wake one up the next day.

2. One woke up, with the help of the form three dormmate with early morning record, with a pursuit for bliss. Yes, bliss would it be if one could wrestle the dorm key away from the dorm leader, who could be a model for mattresses, not for looking like Ziana Zain, but for being able to be exceedingly deep in sleep.

3. Bliss would it be if one did not get any blister from knocking on the doors of certain dorms to get hold of various keys to the grill doors that guard the plights of stairs to each level, in order to get to the ironing room at ground floor afterwards.

4. Being in Raja Udang was fun except for this particular fact: there were plight after plight of stairs, and the rest is history. Imagine endless processes of knocking on doors and begging for keys from sleepy dorm leaders.

5. And bliss would it be if one did not find all the ironing spaces already being occupied by bewildered juniors, who woke up earlier than the seniors, usually.

6. And it was a 100% non-blissful prospect after that discovery as one knew how the 'book after' system worked.

7. As one ascended the stairs, back to Raja Udang to bathe and continue with yesterday's homework while waiting for one's turn for an ironing space, one bumped into the form three dormmate who woke one up, and one noticed that she was carrying her school uniform. One's suspicion was confirmed. She was in fact the second link in the book-after chain! Heh. Bengong juga one ya.

8. One was only exaggerating as one actually, albeit it being illegal, kept an iron in the dorm.

9. And bliss was found.

Of course, bliss in this sense is not accurately defined because real bliss to me is not having to iron at all. Kamal commented, "It is possible. With RM400 each month, you do not even have to wash the clothes etcetera *getting pinches from me between words*"