PDA (no, it's not your handphone)

I wanted to blog a little about PDA - Public Display of Affection (No, even though I am an IT geek, I am not referring to the Personal Digital Assistant)... but I guess I just let the pictures do the talking... :)

Live from Station 1

Hey hey hey... never knew I could do this.... live blogging.... Yours truly and her clubbing gang are at Station 1... a cafe with live band (it's crappy-imagine a guy who had to do both the woman and a man's voice when singing... but hey it's live entertainment so we try not to complain too much) and alcohol (the live beverage) ...

Anyway, here's some pics ... pre-Deepavali celebration... whoo hoo....




Alright... excuse me for now... before the tower of carlsberg finishes .. haha and there's a lot to catch up to do on the hot gossips ... :)

Special note: the most juicy gossip for the night revolves around Kenson and the fishballs and Alex and his origami flowers muahahaha

The stress releasor

I went for a stress management class recently. My boss appreciates me enough to acknowledge that I do have a lot of work and think that I should attend this class. That's positive thinking. The negative sentense to the same thought sounds like this, "My boss thinks that I am not handling my work well enough and thus creating a lot of stress for myself and sends me to this class to learn a thing or two to increase my performance."

Much like the "secret", which I discussed in my previous blog, this class emphasis the importance of positive thinking...Positive thinking is stressed over and over again as one of the main stress reliever. To change your state of mind is the basic step to overcome stress.

One of the exercises was to ask you to write down what your average day look, sounds, feel like. This is what I wrote:

"I wake up rested to the sound of my mother in law fussing over my son's getting ready to go to school. I go to work with the sun in my eyes, the sound of traffic horns and busy policemen in sight. I step into the office to hear the frantic buzzing of ringing phones and constant chattering of some busy colleagues. As I sit down, the dull drone of my slow PC fills my ears and I continue working to churn out solutions after solutions to help ease my customers with their daily manual processes. I return home to the smell of my mother in law's cooking and the hustle and bustle of the TV and my son playing."

The trainer asked me to read out my passage and she in turn change all those into negative forms.

"I wake up barely rested to the sound of my son, fussing and refusing to go to school again. My grumbling mother in law is not helping and my husband is complaining that his shirts are not ironned. I set out to work to find a horrendous traffic jam and the stupid policemen are not doing anything about it. I curse and honked at the cars beside me because there are a lot of donkeys behind the wheels. As I reached the office, the phones have already started ringing, signalling that there are more problems to be reported to me. I see colleagues running late for meetings while swearing loudly. I sit down wondering when my slow PC is ever going to produce the results which my screaming customers are already waiting for. I return home exhausted but I am forced to eat my mother in law's cooking. My couch potato husband will watching TV while my son will be playing instead of working on his homework."

So you see, the scenario is basically the same, but the CHOICE of words that we use are pretty powerful. If we look at the scenario in a positive manner, it does seemed like a good life to live, doesn't it?

While we may question whether this is living in denial, the trainer says it's not self denial but a CHOICE. We CHOOSE to look at the beautiful and positive side of things because the easiest thing to change is within ourselves and we should take that first step to look into ourselves and make that change. What she's preaching is that we try to see the brighter side of things so that it's easier for us thread along this path called life....

Of course, this change in the state of mind doesn't solve the problems that we have, but at least it clears the mind of negative thoughts so that our emotional brain doesn't take over to make irrational decisions. It clears the way for our Rational brain to evaluate the problems and the possible solutions while not being cluttered with negative emotional thoughts. When our emotional brain gets a rest, and our rational mind is able to solve the problems systematically, then our stress level will reduce.

Hope the sharing of this quick tip (positive thinking) helps..

The Secret

The current buzz is all around "The Secret"....

The SECRET is OUT... everyone is talking about it...

What is it actually...?? Well, allow me to enlighten if you haven't already heard "The Secret". Rhonda Byrne, an Austrlian talkshow producer, discovered "the secret to the most powerful law in the universe" through a 100 year old book (The Science of Getting Rich, 1910 by Wallace D. Wattles). She captured all her findings in a book (and a film) to explain the secret to life where you can create unlimited happiness, joy, youth, love, health and prosperity.

While I haven't read the book nor watched the film, I can tell you a gist of the secret (*because everyone is talking about it and its even on Oprah!). It basically teaches you the "Law Of Attraction". What Rhonda wants to tell us is... "if you are thinking about how bad your life is, bad things will continue to happen; if you start thinking about great things, they will inevitably manifest." Rhonda explains that by POSITIVE THINKING will make your gloomy life brighter because once you think positive, it will attract the intergalactic forces of nature to work its way magically to give you whatever you wish for...

Ummm... let me forewarn that there are also writers ("The Secret: Ten Problems I Have with Rhonda Byrne's Best Seller" by Charlie Campbell and "The Secret Promotes 'Name It-Claim It' Theology" by Don Whitney) who ran into problems when they practised Rhonda's Secrets. I have also been warned by people who practices these so call "secret" to BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.... because while your wishes may come true, you do not know how the intergalactic forces of nature works and it may grant your wishes in the most unimaginable way and bring unforeseen and unwanted consequences. An example quoted by "<cant remember the name, will update when I find it> " is; a poor couple practised the secret and wished for some money and the next thing they know, their child is dead and they get to claim a sum of money from his insurance. Sounds grim, doesn't it?

I am an optimistic person and while I agree that positive thinking is good, I am worried that people may take this Secret thing a bit too far. For example, are we saying those who are starving, isn't thinking about food hard enough or those in war-ridden or poverty-plagued countries isn't fantasizing about "blue skies and everything nice" with enough enthusiasm? I worry about the younger generations thinking that now they don't even have to work for their wealth, as they can just have to sit back and dream it into existence.

The point I am getting at is simple. Don't overdo with this secret thingy. We need to question ourselves, "Are we matured enough, both emotionally and mentally, if we are empowered with "THE GREAT POWER OF THE UNIVERSE"? It's one thing to think positive and another thing to RELY ONLY on positive thinking. You have to work towards the goals you set or the dreams you dream. Yes, the good things in live will manifest but you still need to do something about it instead of just sitting down there doing nothing but dream. Heed the wise words of Uncle Ben (Spiderman), "With great powers comes great responsibilities."

While I don't deny the power of "The Secret", I would prefer the teachings to tells us that we have the CHOICE to POSITIVE thinking and whether we WANT TO BE HAPPY depends entirely on us. I mean, it's obvious that threading on with our lifes with a positive outlook is always easier than a negative one. We can choose to dwell in anger and other negative activities but it's OUR CHOICE to snap out of it and channel that negative energy to something POSITIVE. I know it's not easy to just snap out of it so that's why I say it's OUR CHOICE; you can choose to be in any state you want because only you know best when you are ready (emotionally, mentally and physically) to switch from the negative to positive state of mind. This is no secret nor will it guarantee joy, health, wealth or whathever Rhonda Byrne promised in her book, but at least it will help make our lives a little easier to thread on. Don't you think so? (Oh...You better agree with me or Rhonda Byrne will say you're not POSITIVE enough, ha ha.)

Have a great positive week ahead!

Here's the official "The Secret" website for your reference. Sounds interesting but take everything with a pinch of salt. After all, it's your choice.

http://www.thesecret.tv/

Bryan - attached to the computer or to me?

Bryan is sitting on my lap as I type this blog. It's a pretty nice feeling as only yesterday I was complaining to my friend that my son isn't attached to me. Yeah yeah, I know, it's all my fault that I don't spend enough time with him but no, I am not going to dwell on that right now... because I just want to enjoy this moment with him...

"Ok Bryan, it's time for me to play the computer. You go watch your Kung Fu Panda..."

"No Mom, I don't wanna watch that. I want to sit with you Mom. I promise I won't touch anything."

Those goodie two shoes words are bound to melt any mother's heart, even the strictest...

"Alright then. Do you want to play with my facebook? Like feed the werewolves?"

"But Mom, feeding them are SOOO BORINGGG! I rather go read my books..."

With that statement, I can't help but laugh...

Well well well, Bryan has grown up and has a mind of his own... no longer accepting everything I feed him... He knows what he wants online. He goes into Google and search for his own entertainment, be it Disney Channel, YouTube or online games like Scooby Doo, Spiderman or Batman. Yep, he started to surf the net at the tender age of 3, thanks to the online addicted Mom. My intentions isn't to make him technology savvy but to tap onto the advanced US websites such as Fisher Price and HIT Entertainment (Home of Barney and Thomas & Friends) whereby they have modern methods in making learning fun. Ok, ok I confess...I was also lazy. I let the web teach my son the ABCs and the 123. But hey, it works. My son even learnt about shapes and colours all through the web!

Ok, this leads me to another confession... this Mom is also guilty of leaving language teaching all to technology whereby his son learnt all the English phrases from Channel 613 - Playhouse Disney Channel on Astro. No regrets though, as his command of English is pretty good for his age and I liked the way he practises his English with me. I remember there was one night 2 years ago when I came home from work and he said with all seriousness and in perfect English intonation,

"Where have you been, Mom? I am so glad to see you... I missed you."

However, I didn't get a hug or any emotional display of the intense missing feeling, so I assumed it must have been some line he picked up from the Playhouse Disney Channel. Still, he certainly made my day and has touched my heart with that line and you bet I'll remember it for the rest of my life!

While I am proud that he's had a head start, just a word of caution to the parents out there - Just be sure that they don't play or stare at the monitor too much. Too much of a good thing is always bad. And try to get an LCD monitor, if possible. I think my earlier cathode tube monitor and cathode tube TV may have caused some short sightedness in Bryan. Although some may argue that his short sightedness might be hereditary, it never hurts to be safe than sorry....

What makes me happy?

Seeing his squinty eyes,
telling me all kinds of adventure,
in all its silliness.

His small little hands,
holding on to my weathered hands,
asking me for protection.

His inquisitive mind,
bewildered by all new things,
Daring to try and experiment.

His cheeky little smile,
His chuckly bursty laughter,
His mischievous style.

Yes, all these little things
means the world to me,
and simply makes me happy.

Movie Experiences and it's not THX

My movie outings are never short of "extraordinary" incidents. Yesterday I went to watch Painted Skin with my girlfriend, MissS. Since she's single, I decided to play cupid to get her a date. Furthermore, I owe a guyfriend, Mr.G, a treat for helping me out with my dead car batteries. No no, I am not saying I am giving away MissS as a treat, but hey, if she's willing, it's a bonus ha ha. Anyway, he wasn't very keen at first, as he was already getting ready for bed, but who could resist when I said I would bring a beautiful girl along. He even cancelled his earlier supper plans with his friends, just to meet MissS.

While I appreciated their spontaneity, I had only half an hour to pick up the 2 of them, get to 1Utama, get a parking lot, get the tickets and get the popcorns - so much to achieve, huh? Well, we made it there around 9:35 (show scheduled for 9:45pm) so I had to ask MissS and Mr.G to get the tickets first while I park the car. MissS insisted that she can get the tix by herself and had Mr.G accompany me to the carpark.

"Aiyah, you girls are so fickle, I can't be in 2 places at the same time, so I will just stay put." With that, Mr.G remained seated at the back of the car, laughing, teasing and making me look like Driver Ahmad... Darn!

If you thought that was the worse thing that could happen, brace yourself. S came back with the tickets, all separate seats! She rationale that there was only front row seats left and she wanted to have good seats in the centre of the cinema and dont mind seating separated from us! So she got 2 seats for 3rd row from the screen, and 1 for the centre of the cinema. Mr.G couldn't believe it and wanted to take a picture of the tickets as he's never known anyone who would buy such tickets. (but MissS wouldn't allow me access to the tickets in case I force her to sit with him... silly woman!) It was really an embarassing predicament for me, but since we were already late for the movie, we quickly move on to the confectionary counters to get our popcorns and rush to the movie.

Luckily (or unluckily for me?), Mr.G didn't fall asleep during show despite being so tired. He kept himself busy by guessing the script/dialogue and telling me aloud (much to the chagrin of my neighbour). As for me, I just couldn't wait to get out of the cinema due to my full bladder!

So much for the movie outing with Mr.G and MissS but that is not the silliest I have experienced.

My silliest and most embarassing one would be the time when I was way younger and my date didn't tell me our seat numbers. I went into the dark cinema and my eyes couldn't adjust and I just stood there while my date went to his seat. When my eyes finally adjusted, I couldn't find where he was seated and so I had to just stand at the back of the cinema until he came back to guide me. It was so embarassing but somehow darn funny when I look back now!

Another funny experience would be the one when my guyfriend came in late and had to traverse through a whole line of people to get to his seat. First, he was already silly to get in from the side where there were more people. Second, he had to choose to go through these people with him facing the seats rather than facing the screen. So, midway, when he lost his balance and fell on one of the women (stranger), we couldn't help laughing our heads off!

There was another time when one of my movie partners couldn't stop talking the whole movie! I could only laugh as I was concentrating on the movie but I could hear something about Bourne Identity's Matt Damon being greater than Jackie Chan!

Of course there are those who goes to the movies and starts sleeping. It is fine if he goes around the world (*head tossing and turning around as he dozes off) but it can be both embarassing and distracting if he starts snoring! You would never believe that one can sleep and snore through an interesting and explosive action-packed movie (The Red Cliff). I had to poke him a few times to stop him from disturbing other viewers!

There was also one time when MrB went to the movies with me in kitchen slippers (*See pic). Boy, I couldn't stop laughing at him.

I guess I better stop revealing too much of my movie experiences before I scare away all my movie partners. Rest assured, your movie outings with me will never be a boring one!

Relationships - like a pair of ill fitting shoes?

Lately, I bought a lot of shoes... I don't know what contributed to my sudden liking for shoes... Perhaps I was under the influence of Sex and the City... where Carrie Bradshaw owns like every branded shoes in New York city. ahahaha

I have always thought shoes should be:
1) lasting (I hate the hassle of having to always shop for shoes),
2) comfortable to wear (as I used to do a lot of walking) and
3) pleasant to the eyes. (I am not a fashion slave, so anything that's not ugly would be good for me.)

Hmm... doesn't the above makes you think of criterias when looking for a partner?
1) lasting relationship
2) comfortable to be with and
3) pleasant to the eyes. (beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, right?)

Come to think of it, shoes are the perfect analogy for a partner...

Some shoes are beautiful to look at, but they are more often than not, very uncomfortable to wear. Yet, people choose to wear them, hoping that their feet will either get used to it or the shoes will get bigger with more wears. Very much like hoping for a partner to change or hoping that we would one day get used to our partner bad habits. Wishful thinking.. You'd probably end up with sore feet and bad blood circulation with ill-fitting shoes, much like in a relationship, where both end up hating each other for their bad behaviours.

Some people buy shoes because they just want to horde. Maybe it was the last pair, or maybe someone else was eyeing for the same pair of shoes or maybe it was a bargain you couldn't resist. This kind of purchase usually ends up in regret, as the size might not fit (last pair with odd size) or we find that we didn't really like the shoes in the first place. Analogous to some people getting a partner due to peer pressure, or simply because the guy/girl was a "hot item" where everyone else seems to be interested in.

And if the shoes doesn't fit, it's pretty simple to just kick them off and buy a new one. Nowadays, we can pretty much say the same about relationships whereby some people take the easy way out to find a new partner when they find that they no longer fit into each other's life.

Having said this, I don't deny that there are plenty of good looking, comfortable and lasting shoes out there.... We just have to find them. And when you do find them, take good care of them, as they can accompany you on a long lasting and comfortable journey.

So much philosophy in just a pair shoes .. ahhaha... Maybe I think too much...

Good luck in finding your perfect fit...

Mooncake festival - Lanterns and mooncakes galore

My family is still practising the Chinese traditions... and I am quite proud of that because I believe, these traditions will fade with the new generations. All of my siblings have no idea how to carry on these traditions, thus... they are going to be lost forever ... and what's left would be these pictures and blogs to remind the next generation of how to celebrate these chinese traditions... :P Ours is a pretty simplified celebrations of the Mid-Autumn festival... but I am sure the kids enjoyed themselves with the pretty lights and the goodies.. :)

(from the pictures below, you can see gluttony runs in our family.. hahahah)

Happy Mooncake Festival

It's mooncake festival today... I haven't had the time to blog recently and there's a lot happening in my life right now... Mostly work related... so I have been busy, busy, busy (which translate to stressful, stressful stressful)

It was fun bringing little b and his cousin Miao to a community mooncake festival organised by the local political party. Despite all the news in the newspapers lately, it is great to see people of various races gather together to celebrate the mooncake festival in peace and harmony.

New Notebook, New Modem

I've got a new baby. Check her out...

Havent had time to do editing as I haven't got my photoshop installed yet... but you can tell I am pretty excited. And the great thing is... TMNet's service changed my perspective on government telecommunication service. I logged a service call yesterday morning regarding my constant disconnection and they told me they would have it fixed in two working days.

Well, 2 working days means the weekend without internet access. That means I would've died last time but now with my XPS, I can bring her to any "hotspots" and get connected. So when they say 2 days, I thought, "I can live with that!". Surprise surprise... I got a call today morning saying that they'll come look into the problem. And came they did. And even told me that my faulty old modem is on waranty (even though it's a 2004 modem but the Streamyx package that I signed up with gives me lifetime warranty on the modem!! I didn't even know that!).

So now I have a brand new modem and brand new machine... isn't that sweet?!!!! Look at that sexy ADSL light on the new modem. It's constantly turned "on".... not the constant blinking which I faced ever so often when the old modem got hot! Now, it gives a different perspective to the meaning: "turned on". hahahah

Lazy Sunday Afternoon... by the Rain Doctor

Hmm.... they say, "Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice... "

"Bullocks!", I say.

There's no other surefire way to make rain than letting me do the following things, (as I found out earlier but confirmed today):

1) Put some freshly washed clothes out in the sun to dry. And then go out for lunch and groceries. (or as a matter of fact, just go out, as you'd be back within the hour or two, thinking, "Hey, it's such a sunny day, it can't possibly rain, can it?")

2) Take your car to the car wash.

These 2 works for me EVERY TIME.

Each time I go out, I think to myself, "I can't have such 'good luck' to have the rain each time I sun-dry my clothes." Besides, I'm just going for brunch and some groceries nearby, I won't be long. And it's such a nice sunny day. I am just short of checking the weather forecast. And yep, each time, whenever I reached home, I am greeted with dripping wet clothes and someone grinning behind my back that I need to re-do my laundry again! I am tempted to shout "Why do bad things happen to good people?" (like how silly Ross did in one of the episodes in the sitcom 'Friends')

And let's not talk about car wash. It even drizzles just as I leave the car wash. And it doesn't matter where or when I do it. It even rained after lunch when I took my car to the carwash on a weekday during lunch!

You might as well call me the Rain Doctor.

Yep, I just reconfirmed my powers today. All I wanted was to enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon today but guess that's not going to happen. Was forced out of bed by Big B as he was hungry and wanted breakfast. Well, to be fair, it was already 10:30 and little b must have been hungry too. I dragged my lazy self up. After what seems to be forever to Big B and little b, we got ready to go, and I thought, "What a beautiful sunny day. I should let the clothes get a bit of sun. Besides, we won't be long." I carefully took the clothes out to meet the sun even though they are already 80% dry due to the wind from yesterday. And then, I literally jumped into the moving car, because the 2 hungry lions were glaring at me as though they were ready to pounce and devour me if I were to keep them away from their food for 1 more minute. (umm, actually it was around 12 already)

Brunch went on fine, and so did our grocery-shopping. When we stepped out of the hypermarket, the sun was STILL bright and sunny. And just as we load our stuffs into the car, it started to drizzle. And mind you, the day was still BRIGHT and SUNNY! As we drive back, which only about 5 minutes, it rained cats and dogs! And big B had to rub salt into the wound by saying, "Yeah, this things happens to lazy people!" I was just thin line away from giving him a shiner, when the phone rang. Talk about being saved by the bell!

Another ironic thing was, as I stepped into the house, the "cats and dogs" rain has fizzled out. The sun was still out. Well, to look on the "bright" side, I still get to sun my clothes after re-washing them.

Yawn... Think I'll just go for a short afternoon nap to salvage whatever that's left of my Lazy Sunday Afternoon....

Lethargic on a Saturday morning

Dont seem to wanna do anything this morning. Big B has gone for golf, and little b has gone to his cousin's. I am suppose to do some chore but due to the slight hangover, I am procrastinating. sigh... just wanna sleep but I can't ... the headache is bothersome. Furthermore, the maids are still downstairs and I am still waiting for little b's return... should be any minute now.

It was one hell of a week ... but I am too lethargic to write about it... coz it's mostly stuffs at work... and drama about my car...

Oh, guess I'd just go back to watching Friends, and laze around for abit.... Don't even feel like going out, as lunch is already "provided" at home.. :P (Big B had cooked before he left...)

What are the odds?

Just what are the odds of this happening... me cutting my left toe on a glass door. I can't understand how I managed to get my foot caught under the door but it did... and I ended up getting 3 stitches for my carelessness.. bummer...

As I look back now, it's a pretty amusing (aka comical) event. After cutting my foot (around 6pm), I rushed back to my seat, clammering for tissues. There weren't much blood then, just an open gap. Just at that very crucial moment, GJ needed me for an important discussion. I told him I hurt my foot; half laughing as it sounded like a cheesy excuse to dodge the meeting, but still went on to sit in SC's cubicle, waiting for the rest to come back from their toilet/cigarette break. GJ and Phil saw the blood, and cringed. As my toe bathe in blood, I decided I couldn't proceed with the meeting and excused myself in a hurry. As I fled, they holler to remind me to come tomorrow and I reassured them on my way out, "Don't worry, you can always conference call me." (I overheard GJ assuring Phil, "Don't think she'll go on MC with just a cut on the toe.")

My second piece of tissue paper were soaking up in a hurry as I waited for the lift... I couldn't bear to look as I rushed to the car park as I fear I might leave a messy bloody trail. All I know was my shoes was soaking wet with my blood. In the car, I realised that I had run out of tissues!! OMG! So I did the only logical thing I could think of at that time...., I tore my pantihose to stop the profusely flowing blood and began to drive off to the nearest doctor which I knew... and I only new doctors in PJ!!! Yep, I guess you would faint if you saw the blood bath. And guess what, I didn't faint because all I could think of at that time was how messed up the carpet of my car and my shoes was hahahah... I can't help it, the cleanliness freak in me kicks in when I least expected her!!!

Luckily, there were minimal traffic and I reached the clinic after about 45 minutes. (Yep, I didn't bleed to death although I felt numbness). The doctor just came back from somewhere and there was only 1 lady before me. This is good news, or so I thought... That lady went into the consultation room for what felt like hours! Even after I went to the washroom, washed the bloodstains from my hands and fingernails, also cleaned up my other toes which was all caked with dried blood, even cleaned my other foot from blood (due to the soiled carpet), and made a couple of phonecalls, she was still in the room! She finally came out of the room and the doctor still didn't call upon me. What's going on? Later the doctor told me that the ADT alarm system in his home had triggered and he was busy complaining to the alarm system company of the blunder which has caused him to go home to check earlier.

The Indian doctor took a look at my toe and said it needed sticthes and asked the nurse to clean the wound first. She told me to lie on the PVC bed and switched on an old, dim, orange-light lamp to shine my toe. The lamp was so old that it couldn't stand up straight and slowly fell lower and lower as if it, too, wanted to examine my toe closely.

Then the doctor came with a white plastic bag package and reprimanded the nurse, "Don't use those, those are used 50 years ago. This is sanitised, use once and throw." The funny thing was, he didn't wash his hands when handling those "sanitised" equipments. And the gloves he tried to put on, tore twice and the second time, he chose to ignore and use the torn gloves. I began to look around and wonder if I had gone to the correct clinic. The dim lights and old equipment really reminded me of those gory illegal "abortion" operation rooms that often appear in B-grade horror movies. Shivers sneaked up my spines, and I gulped when I asked the doctor, "Doctor, can you check again to see if it really need stitches?"

He was annoyed and said, "If it didn't, I wouldn't recommend so." He proceeded to fix the drooping rusty lamp with the gloved hands (which was still torn... yeah, ewe!... septic!... yucks!...) And then he jabbed my toe with what I think was local anesthetic (Ironically, it was SOOOO PAINFUL!!! OUCH!) and began to stitch. All these happened without a word from the doctor, nothing to allow me to brace myself for what's coming up next.

Next, the needle wasn't curvy enough for the procedure on the skin on my toe, and thus he used the same fingers which had just fixed the rusty lamp to bend the needle. I just cringe and try to ignore the mental flashes of those abortion/Frankenstien horror movies. As he adjusted the needle, I was worried that his forceps might accidentally scrap my leg and blurted, "Your scalpel may poke my leg!" Doctor wasn't too pleased with me speaking my mind and said, "These are forceps dear, and they are blunt and can't hurt you." Gez, doctor, you think I am a medical student or something...???

After 3 sticthes and pints of blood later (and a lot of grumbling and grousing of the ADT alarm services to his nurse), everything was done. I sat up, trying to slip on my Scholl slippers when suddenly the doctor waved a needle in front of me. Before I could ask him what it was for, he already poked the needle into my left arm. As he administered the jab, the nurse assured me with a worried face that, "Itu mesti punya..." Hello, I need to know what you are injecting into me no matter how necessary the jab was. I later found out that it was a Tetanus jab, so you won't see me rolling on the floor with lockjaw and muscle spasm.

Doctor didn't say a word and went on to write some stuffs in my record and I went on to sit down on the patient chair beside him. I was waiting for him to say something, and was taken aback with his emotionless question, "Yes?"

It was like he was telling me, "The procedure is over, why are you still here?" I was stunned, but still proceeded to ask, "Ummm, is there any food I should avoid? Do I need any medication?"

Doctor suddenly changed his hostile behaviour (doctors are so erratic!) and looked up, "Oh, I am sorry. Was disrupted by the stupid ADT." In between his humdrums I got the following prescriptions:

1) avoid getting the bandage wet and come back to dress the wound every 2 days
2) there's no dietary restrictions, so I can eat anything
3) finish the antibiotics and vitamin C
4) Don't go to work for a few days and don't walk around too much to avoid infection.

MC? Great! But not such a good news for my boss, I suppose... hahaha

And when I reached home, I found that B couldn't walk. His right foot was swollen and bruised from an accident during Futsal.

Now what are the odds of these things happening!


Image source from http://www.inmagine.com/

Post-Euro '08

The dust of the wee-hour excitement and the adrenaline-pumping Euro 2008 football matches have almost settled, after the final whistle blew 2 weeks ago (29 June 2008) where Spain triumphantly brought home the EuroCup with just a 1-0 score against Germany.

I have never been a great fan of football, until Ping (my mentor since I first stepped into this dog-eat-dog corporate world) taught me to gamble against our boss. He says, "Nobody has worse gambling luck and worse gambling habits than he, so it's always safe to either bet against him or in any team that he's not taking." And the best part is, Ping led my boss to think that I know "nuts" about football and thus I am easy money. And that was how it started... World Cup 1998. At first, it was just Ping and I against Boss. Then more and more people cashed in on the easy money against him. I really had no conscience then when I received the cheque of RM1500++ from him. I am really sorry WCC... but thanks for the memories!

(special note: my share and Ping's combined was possibly less than RM100. I guess the others must be laughing all the way to the bank with Boss's money!!!)

And then, later Cousin Mun came up with his online-pool which brought about heartbreaks after heartbreaks; whereby people I least expected to win, ends up taking all the money...(such as Kenson, who thinks Trinidad and Tobago deserves to qualify, went on to win the WorldCup 2006 pool.... Got Logic meh??? hahahaha). This year, Simon took home the pool. He's another example of "Got Logic meh?" Syndrome as he's one of those guys I like to bet against (Oh, you know what I mean...). Actually, it's not really the money that matters (we're all "small time" players) but you have to see their faces when they GLOAT! OMG....

Anyhow, this year we're still glad that Simon won, as it went to someone close.... so Cousin Mun, Carmen and I still have hope for a treat. (*hint* *hint*)

Before you all misunderstand me for a big time gambler, I am not. I am just a participant; happy to have friends who get together to watch a healthy sport while having a side bet to make the game more "interesting". (Ummm, occasionally the side bet might blow out of proportion due to greed or perhaps desperation for a quick windfall, but we're still "small time" gamblers... err, relatively....Well, some people think betting their "condo" is just a small time side bet. As I said, everything is relative... hahaha)

Oh, I have to warn the "small time" gamblers to watch their gambling habits, and keep the bets small and healthy so as not to be sucked into the vortex of greed, desperation and debts. Cousin Mun and I got a little lesson in greed, debts and desperation this year. When Spain sealed the victory over Germany, Cousin Mun and I blew a heavy sigh of relieve... Mainly because we get to gloat back and well, let's just say we're just glad that Cousin Mun didn't end up having to drink paraquat (weed killer).... Hahaha...

Till the next football (aka gambling) season, Happy Punting!!!

Faking it

Recently, I have been down and out.
But I needed to move on.
I have to.
You wanted me to.
There's nothing I can do about it,
even though I can't (or dont want to) let go.

I seek solace in gays.
I drown myself in liquor.
I almost tried smoking.
I even tried poppy...
Nothing works...

So I tell myself that I have to be brave.
If you can do it, so must I.
And I put on a brave front.
I thread on.
There's so much that the eyes can see.
But I choose to close it.
I just turn a blind eye.
I pretend I don't see.
But I do.
I do know what's going on.

I know, but I keep quiet.
I know, but I stay strong.
I know, but I don't ask.
And it hurts to know.

You see me happy.
I try to be.
It's the only thing I can be.
It's the only thing I know how to be.
In fact, I know, I am happy just to see you.

==========================================================

The author is facing slight depression after finding a strand of white hair when looking into the mirror this morning! So she's asking the lady in the mirror to age gracefully. We all know that it's never easy to let go of youth... Wish her luck.... :)

Note: I am not a girl, but still not yet an auntie.... (sung to the tune of Britney Spears' I am not a girl, not yet a woman.)

(Pictures courtesy of Inmagine http://www.inmagine.com/)

Night Out at Poppy

Ahhhh... It hurts so good... my body and legs are still aching now after 3 and a half hours (maybe 4 - time flies when you're having fun?) of non-stop amatuer dancing. My neck still suffers a slight muscle strain due to bad sleeping posture (so tired and drunk that I could hardly move) and hangover. But still it feels good. Now I understand why people like to go to the gym for a great workout. At least for people with clear and focused purpose of what they want to achieve at the gym. You'll never regret having done exercise, but you'll always regret not exercising. And my idea of a great workout is clubbing-dance to sweat it out, and some alcohol to get the heart going... (I am sure Alex agrees with me when it comes to alcohol .. :P)

I had a clear and focused target when I went to Poppy yesterday. I wanted to dance. It's been a long time since I could do that and I wasted no time. I started dancing even though the rest claimed that they weren't drunk enough to dance yet. And when I was drunk enough, I was already doing "pole dancing", much to the chagrin of my 2 cousins. They threatened to disown me until they found the fun and wonders of "podium dancing".

There were some Hong Kong guys who tried to be friendly, and I was soooo worried....Yeah, they have intentions on hitting on us, it was so obvious, but that was the least of my worries (as cousin brother was there to provide protection).... I was more worried that they would drink up our liquor hahahahah... One of the girls, who tried to be friendly towards them, ended up being lashed by Kenson during our tea session. She mentioned that she hated Hongkies (due to Edison Chen) but Kenson retorted, "But your behaviour just now doesn't seem to project that! You seemed as if you wanted to marry and emigrate to Hong Kong!" The poor girl was so embarassed but then again we were all drunk and should not be held liable for whatever we say. Furthermore, Simon was there to cushion all our sacarsm... *wink* *wink*...Anyhow, everything we said or do was done in good humour, not meant to ridicule or embarass anyone...

It was a fun night. However, it would have been more complete if Switzerland hadn't lost to Czech Republic and if Turkey didn't lose so much to Portugal. Must be all Simon's fault for betting on the same team that we did. ha ha...

*Euro 08 results:
Switzerland vs Czech Republic 0-1
Turkey vs Portugal 0-2

The beginning of the end...?

Ummm... I am having those weird feelings again... Maybe it's due to the time of the month. I am leaving the country for a few days soon but I don't have a good feeling about it. I am going on a holiday and usually I would've packed days or weeks earlier but it's 2 days till departure day and I haven't packed. Hmmm... the word departure here sounds so gloomy, doesn't it? I don't know. Must be mid-life crisis again. There's some weird intuition that I might not make it back...No, not because I have any clairvoyance or precognition powers but I don't know why I have these negative thoughts. I am usually happy-go-lucky, but there's a weird feeling that my charms won't work this time.

Actually, I can't possibly go yet... There are still so many things I have yet to do... I haven't bought enough insurance, and... I haven't used up all my money yet... and worse, my beneficiary is going with me on this trip... Oh gosh, I need to send my will to my lawyer again.... just in case.

Hmmm....Need to slap myself a bit... or perhaps go for a cold shower...(editor's note: Eh, I thought cold shower is to reduce horniness?) and wake up a little from this silly self-inflicted depression of mine...

Oh, oh....I suddenly remember to answer one of the questions that many have asked me but I never got around answering,... The question: Why do I blog?... This question came from both young and old, especially those digital immigrants, or non-technology savvy people.

Well, the answer is simple... I am a verbose person. I like to talk... I like to write... I like to share... I like to be detail... I like to express myself or explain things explicitly... . And most importantly, if I ever leave this world in a sudden, people won't be lost for words for my obituary. People can't say they never got to know me... because by reading my blog, you would've gotten to know who I am... well, at least 50%...

This is such a gloomy entry. Think I will end it here... The End... (pun intended) hahahhah

Roller Blades? At this age?

I can't believe I did it... Am I having a mid-life crisis?? Ha ha, I don't know but I sure had hell of a fun time when I did it. Umm... can't say the same for S though... She's good at it... and definitely enjoyed it... until somehow she decided she wanted to try something new... the brakes... and she ended up landing on her knees and then later her bum... Oppsy Daisy... but she's fine or so I hope... coz she keeps blaming me for her predicament... and wanted me to carry her to the car or piggy back her home etc etc... But I am sure she'll be fine... Age is on her side... (She's 3 years younger, so should have better recovery rate, eh?)

Earlier during a tea session with the guys, unsure whether it was out of care or jeer, they discouraged me 100% saying that I shouldn't be doing this at my age... Mr.MyHump reminded me that I would feel out of place with all the school kids (since it's the school holidays). LV taunted that I shouldn't scare the kids and Key warned that it's dangerous to do this as it takes a longer time to heal at our age. MC even gave me examples of his lady friend who had a cut on her face while roller blading! MissD24 was so afraid that I would force her to go with me that she quickly went home. I almost chickened out but then I thought, "Hey, if I don't do this, I don't think I'd ever do this again. Who'd be spontaneous (or courageous) enough to go with me when I am much older?"

Boy, am I glad that I went ahead with my plans...as it turns out that we had the whole rink to ourselves! The other 2 skaters were internal workers trying to either practise or show off their stunts. As S and I skate around the rink, with the wind blowing on our faces and hair, the non-stop flashes from the disco globe, the loud but not irritating hit songs blaring from the speakers, I can't help but giggle to myself, and think of yesteryears when I had to sneak out to go roller skating... even though the roller disco, as they were called in those days, was just opposite my house! Memories of winter ice skating in Oxford comes to mind too (I can't even remember the name of the Vietnamese guy (Hung?) who took us to the rink).

I can never forget all those falls and injuries that was part and parcel of the skating outings... the worse one resulted in a slipped-disc on my backbone where my mom thought I was going to be paralysed! (Actually, I was almost paralysed by her nagging and grounding). And the most embarassing was falling down in a mini skirt at Sunway skating rink. It was embarassing because I screamed and the DJ commented that "Oh, another one bite the dust!" and spins that song just to spite me... (Just for the record, I fell on my knees so there wasn't any show to see... And who'd dare to see anyway when I had a menacing guy friend with me threatening to dig the eyeballs out from any roving eyes. ha ha)

Anyway, I am glad I survived all those falls and picked up after myself quite well. And I am also glad that I didn't fall today (so as not to give Key the pleasure of saying "I told you so.") . The best thing about that brief 35 minutes of non-stop skating, (besides burning 300 calories), is the laughters and the tingling cheery feeling that I get inside; just knowing that I can still skate, reminiscing the old times and of course, jokes about the pathetic bump on S's behind... (hahaha pun intended).

Ok ok... enough of high. My adrenaline must be working overtime tonight, disrupting my metabolic rate and sleep pattern. It's already 3 am (and Big B is starting to protest). Goodnite... need to conserve my energy for the Indiana Jones movie tonight and Karaoke tomorrow night... Ahhhh... the days are just packed....