Thursday 30th September 2004

Funny Car I

Oooo... it's the last day of the month. Time for housekeeping of the website again. Will do it tomorrow.

While on the way to lunch today, we (friends & i) saw this little modified white volkswagen with a canvas top. It brought back a memory of a favourite story my sister and I love to repeat over and over again.

An old-colleague (henceforth shortened as Mack) of my sister owns this little orange Morris Minor (MM) which he bought a few decades ago from a lottery win. Now, the MM in question is not a very well-kept car. The orange (which may have previously been red) colour looks faded,and there are signs of rust everywhere. If u were to peer in through its windows, u'd find that the passenger seat has totally been removed leaving a sort of dark hollow space behind. Mack mentioned before that the drivers seat broke a few years back, so the other seat had been uprooted and switched in place. He hardly have any passengers so it is quite alright. Another ex-colleague once sat in his car (I could not remember the details.) and claimed it to be a once in a lifetime experience. Her well-permed hair was the famous Afro style after the short trip, and dust & smoke from the exhaust helped gave her a darker tan. *weeee.... lol... *

haha...ooo... i haven't even begun with the best part... will continue tomorrow...

Tuesday 28th September 2004

Living life to the fullest

Overheard recently, "I have taken up so many lessons that I'm busy from mondays till sundays. My teacher says I've taken up so many things, I'm overworking myself. I have so many things lined up everyday that by the time I have done the first few, I am so dead tired I can't handle the rest."

And her listener replied, "Living life to the fullest"

Overheard at another time, "I'm now involved in four groups, and I have practices on everyday except Tuesdays and Sundays. So, I'll like to attend your group as well since it is on Tuesdays and does not clash with my other practices. I'll be able to attend 80 to 90 percent of the time. I have done the Messiah (Choral by Handel) three times in the past few years, and I like the way you handle you conducting, so include me in..."

Golly, these people sure are busy. Whatever happened to just staying at home and sleeping?

That was one of the impressions I had when I first overheard but on second thought, I wondered, are they actually really lonely folks? Maybe it gets rather depressing at home, or maybe they have some other problems that they are trying to avoid.

Then again, maybe this is what living life to the fullest is all about. haha...

While writing this, I suddenly remembered this story I once read. Condensing it, it goes something like this:

There was this extremely successful businessman who went to this fishing village. He sees this fisherman in this rundown house with a wife, mending his fishing net and generally relaxing under the shade, so he asked him, " Why don't u go further to the sea, get more fish, sell more, get more boats, hire more men, make ur fishing business into an enterprise, list ur company, become the CEO, globalize the business, and make millions?" to which the fisherman answered, " After labouring so hard, what is it worth in the end?"

The businessman promptly replied "Why silly man, then u can sell the company, retire, and get a nice house by the beach to stay with your wife, and u can relax and fish all u want"

Hmm... I guess, the difference is in the material sense. The difference of a rundown shack and a nice little bungalow.

Friday 24th September 2004

Men & Bags

Conducting a social behaviour study lately (sideproject). How often do u spot guys carrying, holding or slinging their girlfriends' bags?

It's a pretty common sight. The core investigation here is not your reaction to such sightings, rather, are u the sort to a) ask your bf to hold ur handbag for you? b) Refuse when ur bf asks to carry ur bag? c) let him hold the bag for u even though u really don't think ur pink purse go very well with his skin tone? d) wonder what's the big deal? a good bf is supposed to be a gentleman at all times, & carrying ur bag is one of the obvious things to do.

*grin* My curiosity on this issue started when one of my flatmates asked me recently what i thought of it. Hmm... I shall KIV it until further investigative results has been obtained.

Thursday 23th September 2004

The Chinese Dynasty

Having been watching the TVB series Twin of Brothers, I'm currently fascinated with the Chinese Dynasty, well, among other intriguing stuff. The series is really quite enjoyable. At first glance, it seemed to be helmed by relatively new stars, but given a chance to shine, they really gave some pretty good performances. The fact that it's 42 episodes long is one of the reasons it can spend so much time show-casting so many different people I guess. The producer/director is the same person that brought the hit "A Step Into The Past" a fews years back starring hearthrob Louise Ku Tin Lok. That show concentrated on the beginning of the Qin Chinese Dynasty, how Shih Huang Ti (Shih = first) came to be the first emperor that united the whole China, and even a side theory on why all the books back then were burned.

Monday 20th September 2004

Hypnotism, voodoos, spells & charms

Have u ever wondered how long does it take to hypnotize someone?

How bout some self hypnotism? This one I'm interested in. Look into own eyes in bathroom mirror and say out loud "Stop being an idiot, u idiot! "

Are voodoos and charms a more highly evolved kind of hypnotism? I mean, afterall, spells and stuff like that has been around earth for centuries. So, the practitioners would have had that long to cultivate it into a form of magic that is beyond comprehension of mere mortals. Then again, I really don't fancy allevating the status of all those evil doers to anything above savages.

There are always reports of men and women that were "charmed" simply by a tap on their shoulders to hand out all the money in their possesion. Some of the charms are so effective, it'll last long enough for the said victim to go home, sleep and wake-up the next day to fill up a form and withdraw all their life savings and hand it over to the bad bad thief.

It's scary realizing that such stuff happen everyday and most people have no idea how to avoid it.

I once read somewhere that in hypnotism, the person being hypnotized need to be a willing participant. Too bad the same thing cannot be assured for voodoos.

Besides nails and hair, personal belongings can also be cast spells. Even the knowledge of a persons true name is said to a very potent knowledge. Should we start going around telling people false names instead?

Here are a few incidents that someone told me happened to him/her:

1. Money dissappeared from under the pillow consecutively for a few days until "help" was obtained.

2. All the clocks & watches in the house stopped at the exact same time.

3. Dead birds or insects found in or around house.

4. Sleepless nights where some heavy object always seemed to be pressed on top of the chest causing difficulty in breathing.

As I am clueless whether these things are caused by mere coincidences and over active imaginations or the tampering by some spiteful beings, I dare not pass judgement on them. I guess ultimately, the reason I wrote this entry today is to wonder, do you believe?

currently reading: Wicked Beauty by Susan Lewis                              Recently finished reading:                                                                             The Policy by Bentley Little                                                    Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb                                           &              Fame Fatale by Wendy Holden                          looking forward to read: ???

P.S. : Sorry ViiNeoN, I don't know how to write the code to enable the posting of comment for each entry. So, for the time being here's the alternative. hehe...

Wednesday 15th September 2004

Taking a break...

Phew... busy days are here again. so many things so little time. Books to read, papers to swallow, tvs to watch, slides to prepare, reports to write, things to buy, friends to date, songs to sing, guitar to strum, cds to listen to, and not forgetting this little baby website to fill up with.

Before going on, i would like to heartily thank foongfoong for dropping a note in the guestbook. Here's a big hug for all your time and patience in exploring my pet project.

Having recently finished The Tawny Man Series by Robin Hobb, i'm still in a bit of post Fitz depression. One of the memorable lines there was Fitz saying to Web "I promise to make time out for it" and Web answering "Time cannot be made. It has to be spent...."

Darn, i forgot the rest of it. I think I got some of the lines wrong. Sigh! Wouldn't it be great if one can always remember everything?

Here's a way for me to remember the proud feeling I had of owning a new pair of walking gear...

Friday 10th September 2004

The Bug

That's it. It's official. I have stepped on an extremely vicious type of shopping bug. It clings on to my sneakers and just won't let go.

I have shopped 3 days in less than a week. Everything strikes my fancy. The usual cds and vcds, the unusual inner beauties, the clothes, the cleansing stuff, the mundane fruits and food... I've covered them all. On the higher tech. side, I got myself a thumb drive & a nice little dimp gel cushion (used on mouse-pad) for my oh so delicate wrist. I also got myself a universal A/C remote. The old one broke down. On the cuddly side, I bought yet another snow bean filled marshmallow feeling, dog liked hugging cushion. (I have recently bought another 4 cushions).

Argh! I've got to rid myself of this bug. It's impossible to dig it out of my pair my shoes. Whenever I put 'em on, the bug attacks. I'm thinking a new pair of new shoes. Something not too fancy, not too plain, Skechers maybe...hmm, another trip to the mall is in sight...

Monday 6th September 2004

With Age comes wisdom, & the eventual extraction of it...

Going dental... (dental mental ... get it? haha *cold*)

Aw wow wa... just had an operation on my wisdom tooth. I declined the offer of keeping it. I'd rather not keep something that caused me so much discomfort. Why do people like to keep their fallen teeth? I guess it's like a fascination with everything that comes out of ourselves. Weren't there people who kept locks of hair in lockets or something? Finger nails, toe nails, extracted appendix... *wrinkle nose*

Anyway, back to me & my tooth. My gum didn't stop bleeding until some time in the evening. By then, I think I had swallowed and spat about a mug of blood. I had even begun burping foul gas with blood smell in it. Gross! The big bang came in the form of a huge jelly like blood clod that I digged out with my index finger and thumb. Ah... I think i'm lightheaded from loss of blood.

I want my Mommy!!!

Dental = denial ???

Saturday 4th September 2004

Shopping Frenzy

Shopping with sis is always the best. Most probably because her taste is so different from mine. We would happily disagree or be swayed by one anothers opinion while we stalk our usual hunting ground, T1

After a 10 storey search for a parking space, we excitedly clambered out of her junkyard car. We initially wanted to watch a movie but alas, there were no more seats left.

First stop was for bags. We both purchased two bags each.

Then, I bought her a purse and she bought me a couple of VCDs.

Got myself a pair of nice jeans. Saw a famous local singer from afar. Then got a nice blouse and a few more VCDs.

Bought half a dozen mangas at the train station and went back home contented.

Voices of Hands 2

Attended a concert tonight. It was great. Entertaining and beautifully arranged.

Seeing 5 teenagers playing and complimenting each other so well on 3 pianos in front of hundred of audience is a humbling experience. Solos, duets, trios, quartet, quintet, no matter how many people were on the stage playing, they all shined. The two singers who sang occasionally in between was also a nice variation. Kudos to Miss Tan, beloved piano teacher and the quiet planner behind the whole concert. All profit from the concert was donated to SPCA.

Met NS, HL & G who also attended VOH2. Chatting with them was great. I love reunions.

Friday 3rd September 2004

A Trip Home

The train station was extremely crowded. Throngs of people waiting to pass through the custom. Even the train was longer than usual. It was a relief when I could finally climb up to my bunk. Should it be called a bunk? Not sure.

The rhythm of the train quickly lulled me to sleep. Did not realize I had reached my destination around 7 hours later, until the train officer woke me up.

Energetic and bouyant, I stepped out of the train at 5.20 in the morning to see my sister awaiting. It's great to be home!

After a nice shower, a breakfast of good nasi lemak with mom is the best treat ever. A nap later, and it was lunch with mom and sis at a popular restaurant near home.

Wednesday 1st September 2004

Puffy Eyes

Having done some housekeeping today on the website - transferring August jottings into another page (notice the right hand side link), touching up stuff here and there, I can now settle down comfortably to write today's topic, which is none other than about my puffy eyes.

Crying through 3 episodes of a Korean drama last night had left me barely able to open my eyes any larger than slits. Half the wastepaper basket was filled with loo papers streak with my tears and slim. Hehe... grossed out?

A good night sleep has only aided slightly in my attempts to enlarge my radius of perspection, but I'm rather worried that if I try any harder, I'll look like a perpetually shock lunatic rooming about the place.