Mayday. Mayday.

Critical case of carb withdrawal identified.

(Wish I knew what kind of assistance to request in this case)

Grumpy old girl

So many things are going on right now I seriously wish I had a clone.
The number of people I have to deal with (including myself), the number of requests and concerns to address, the number of phone calls to make....
O sh*t, I think I forgot to make one phone call.

Anyway, it's getting almost ridiculous considering the continuous comments within the line of "This shouldn't be a problem for you.You have all the time in the world .... since you're a full time student now."

Multiply this comment by the number of people that you know, and....
VOILA!
You're in trouble.

I'm just a bit worried that I might snap the next time anyone makes the above comment in front of me.
So far, I've managed to do with a sigh or just by rolling my eyes.... but please do excuse me if I somehow snap the next time I hear those words.
Don't say I didn't warn you now.....

The yapping fake Cap

I'm really quite befuddled by what I see from the married couples around me......

Why is it that married couples don't "talk" to each other? And by "talk" of course I am not referring to something within the line of the yapping that I do all the time to my friends. By "talk" I mean serious communication. It doesn't even have to be a serious topic, but why can't they just talk to each other?

I mean, if they could manage to talk to each other on the phone and bog the phone all day, if they could whisper seriously silly things to each other like there's no tomorrow, if they could do all that while they were dating or seeing each other, then why can't they communicate with each other once they're married?
I just don't get it.

Is it because they're so sick of each other that there's nothing they feel like discussing with their spouses anymore? I sure hope not.

I used to naively think that the reason married couples don't need to talk so much to each other was because they know each other so well that there was no need to say the words.
I know now that I either watched too many chick flicks or listened to too many cheesy songs. So, as a penalty, there will be no more Ronan Keating's When you say nothing at all for me.

Well, ... not until the next time I start singing along like a crazy girl when I hear this on the radio

Seriously, ... I hope if -- and that's a big IF--, IF God's finally nice enough to let me be in the same position one day, I pray that I will not do it the same way.

This just reminds me of what an old friend from high school said once. She told me that given my kungfu, I'd have to find a really, seriously quiet person who can bear with all my yapping. I thought it was silly then, but now I'm not so sure especially considering how I've gotten from good to EXCELLENT in my yapping skills. Then, a few years later, someone else told me that his first impression of me was: "Boy, ....is this girl talkative or what!!!?!?

Despite their comments, though, the same two people used to make me talk to them for hours. When I tried to cut down on phone bills, they would call me instead and insisted that I talk to them... about anything at all.
It's quite silly now that I think of it.

Anyway, I found this from an old acquaintance's posting on friendster's bulletin board:

Capricorn, the tenth Sign of the Zodiac, is all abouthard work. Those born under this Sign are morethan happy to put in a full day at the office,realizing that it will likely take a lot of those daysto get to the top. That's no problem, sinceCapricorns are both ambitious and determined:they will get there. Life is one big project for these folks, and they adapt to this by adopting a businesslike approach to most everything they do.Capricorns are practical as well, taking things onestep at a time and being as realistic and pragmaticas possible. The Capricorn-born are extremelydedicated to their goals, almost to the point ofstubbornness. Boy, those victories sure smellsweet, though, and that thought alone will keep Capricorns going.

If this is true, I should seriously try to re-check my date of birth.

Not a very good Saturday

I decided to wake up a bit early today just to make sure that I can get my hands on the Saturday edition of the paper, or to be precise, the Recruit section of the paper.
As HB once said, Saturday is the day of hope.

Anyway, another reason why I decided to do it is that I wanted to get at the uncle who ran the mom-n-pop shop downstairs. Not that he's mean or annoying or anything. He's the cheerful, kinda' goofy, happy-go-lucky type that always makes fun of me when I run downstairs and try to get the newspapers. He used to say "good morning" to me when I do, even when it was already 1 pm. Occassionally, I would get the very last copy that he has, and he would say: " Very lucky today, hor?"

So there I was, grinning happily as I grabbed my copy of the paper and walked to his "counter" to pay for it. He wasn't there though, he was busy arranging some stuff in another corner of the tiny shop. That's when I noticed the shop looked a bit more spacious. Some stuff were missing.
I asked him about it and that's when he told me ," You're gonna see less and less in the next few days."

I thought it was one of his silly jokes again, so I smiled and waited for his punch line.

"Seriously, I'm folding up the business. Someone's gonna take over next month."

This is coming from a guy who told me and my aunt that he doesn't mind losing money every month for the past few years, just so he has something to do to keep his mind occupied.

I thought that business was really bad now, but he told me that he wants to spend time with his wife who has just been told that the breast cancer she had 2 years ago is back.
At this stage, he and his wife were told that any therapy is basically only to try to slow down the cancer from spreading anywhere else.

"Nothing I can do" he said.
"I must take care of her...... must take her to see "the world" now...."

I was speechless.
The thought of my grandpa crossed my mind.
But there's no point in mentioning that story to him now.
He seems to be dealing with it much better than I did in a relatively similar position.

There was a brief silence as we looked at each other.
I was afraid that if I stayed any longer in the shop I would start to cry.
A deep breath and sigh later, I said a weak good-bye and left. I wish I could give him a hug or tell him to hang in there, but I didn't know the chinese word for it.

The other day, when I dropped by his shop to get a top-up card for my phone, I ended up looking at some of the old pictures he had from back in 1968. He was happily telling me how pulau Ubin used to be so much fun back then. Another day, he was proudly "introducing" me to the pictures of his grandchildren that he proudly displays on the shelf behind his counter. And yet another day, I met one of his grandsons in the shop, sitting contentedly on a tiny stool in one corner, happily munching on some snacks that I suppose he raided from his grandpa's shop.

I'm sure gonna miss seeing him around....

Can I have some cartilage, please?

Chocomania,

I think I'm out of cartilage. Could you please help me order some?
Thanks,

Dr.S

To this day, I can't help but smile when I remember this email I got when I was still working in my previous office.

I just remember this as I was complaining to Mr. Bunny about using up almost a whole 500-sheet packet of paper and a fresh set of cartridge just to keep up with printing for school work and the part-time stint I have now.

In local style (i.e. Gin-man and Mr. Bunny's style) : So "fierce" ah?

At this moment, I seriously wish I could curse like Captain Haddock in Tintin.
But I suppose I shouldn't. I can't either.
Seriously, why is it so hard to convince people that I know what I'm doing?

Darn it, what I did just now is gonna cost me so much .....

Weekend log

Yesterday was another "full" day for me.

I had to get up early to settle my tuition fees at school. Some idiot hit my front bumper at the parking lot and I only found out when I got back from the StudentServices.
I was so darn pissed off..... Still am actually....
Can't help but feel like cursing the coward cum idiot.
(On hindsight, I find it interesting how in sharing this story with my friends, I simply assume that it was a male driver. )

Anyway, I didn't have much time to sit around and investigate (as suggested by Bow later on), as I still had to run to my very first kick fit appointment
Yup, smelly gloves and all (The trainer is helping me buy a new pair. YAY!Red gloves and wraps! I bet everyone in my family will have something to say about this...)
The session was really impressive though.... 500 g in 1 hour??!?!?
Especially since I spent most of the time panting and gasping for air.

After a quick nap at home, which I think I fully deserve since I haven't been getting enough sleep and everybody says I look tired, it was off to campus for my class.

After the full 3-hour lecture, HB and I dropped off the guys at various spots and then we went back to Brauhaus for a girl power talk session.
It was really fun though the place was unusually crowded last night.
Apparently, HB and I seem to share a lot in common.

As for today, this evening was my very first encounter with snails as a dish on the dining table....
Yaiks.... Talk about color, texture and taste, it was definitely an interesting experience.
I was quite nervous at first, but since everybody else seemed to enjoy it a lot, I didn't wanna be a party pooper.
Remembering the song from the classic "Three Little Pigs" video that my brother and I used to watch: "Who's afraid of the big bad (snail)?" I thought.
So off I went sucking from the end of the snails that my grandma carefully mutilated earlier in the afternoon. Grandpa was watching me the whole time and gave me a pointer or two about the proper way to suck a snail out of its shell. My uncle was telling me about how people used to order snails in buckets back in his hometown.
Not sure that is something I think I'll be doing any time soon, though....
Not really crazy about it...

Anyway, now it's just chillin' time for me.
Just bought 3 cds for myself on Thursday when I picked up the textbooks for Mr. Bunny and Uncle: Soler's Intuition concert VCD (so I can just stare at the gorgeous twins), Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams (just in case he has other songs as nice as his Better Together) and a compilation album titled Nat King Cole @ the Movies. I know these are kinda old, but who cares, since they're so cheap. Anyay, the first two I kinda "used up" the past two days and now, it's Nat's time....

I must say, he truly deserves to have King as his middle name.

My previous life

I've always believed in reincarnation, ever since I was a little kid.
I guess I can blame it on my parents for introducing me to Buddhism (though not properly and thoroughly) , or I can blame it on myself for watching too many Hong Kong movies and TV series growing up.

There's one thing I couldn't seem to straighten out in my understanding of the concept, though.
The question has been bothering me ever since I learned how humans have multiplied significantly from the days of Adam and Eve.
(I'm so screwed up, I know..... Well, this is what you get from sending a kid to a Catholic school and feeding him/her Buddhism at home. )

But anyway, so if everyone of us has gone through several rounds of reincarnation before, I couldn't explain to myself how the world's population just keeps growing and growing.
"Where did all these newbies come from?", I thought.
Especially when you take out those who have reached nirvana.... aren't they supposed to stop reincarnating then?
(Again, I told you I don't have the whole picture of Buddhism.... I know there must be some serious glitches in my interpretation of it. )

One day I found the answer:
I learned at school about the extinction of tons of species and how there used to be dinosaurs just chillin' and eating up each other. Though there were also nice dinosaurs that were vegetarians.

Then I remembered something they taught us in my Buddhist Sunday class:
If you do good things and create good karma, you'll lead a better life in your next one, one step closer to nirvana. On the contrary, if you do bad things, you make bad karma, and you might end up as an animal in your next life.
(well, this wasn't the teacher's exact words... but it was my interpretation as a 6-year old kid).

I remember asking my mom if that meant I'd turn into a cockroach if I did bad things.
" Uh huh.... ", my mom said without even looking at me.
I remember for quite a while after that, I couldn't help but stare at my brother's dog and goldfish, wondering what they had done in their previous lifes.

Anyway, so the whole puzzle was solved with the help of my science teacher.

Now I know what I was in my previous life(s)!!!

I must have been a really, really NICE dinosaur.

A visit to the Oracle

No, I'm definitely not Neo, or even Trinity for that matters. It was a different type of oracle.
A different type of story, and this one was slightly more straight-forward in his explanation than the Matrix's.

I know to some it sounds like such an "auntie" thing to do, but out of curiosity, I went with my aunt and grandma anyway.
It was a favor that my aunt had promised to do for my other aunt.
(This is what you get for being in a huge and closely-knit extended family)

While we're at it, I thought I might as well see what he sees in the future for me.
Most of the stuff he (or He) said was quite relieving, but I still can't figure out this one particular comment that he made. My aunt and I have different interpretation of this comment.

I think my interpretation made more sense than hers though...

^_^

My aunt and I did agree on one thing: How amateur we were compared to the others who were there. I guess it's perfectly understandable considering this was the first time we've done this.
Seriously, people just seem to have so many questions in their mind. Each one of them needed at least a good 10 minutes.... but it took both of us less than 10 minutes in total, I believe.
Lesson learnt: Need to practice on scenario analysis with hypothetical questions (What if I do this instead of that? What if.... What if....?) along with sensitivity analysis of each alternative.
^_^

Anyway, I just wanted to make note of his comment for future reference. We'll see how things turns out.

And no, I am not looking for an Adam-Sandler's Universal remote control. I'm iust keeping my fingers crossed. Will just hope for the best.

More addictions

Just came back from Mustafa Centre again.
By now, I'm seriously really close to being convinced that for the first time ever in my life, I'm using shopping as an excuse to go out for a drive.
I actually had to try really hard to convince myself that I really, really do need a new mat.

Geez... now not only am I a chocoholic, a shopaholic, ....
in a way I've also turned into a mustafa-holic!

Well, ....that and a steering-wheel-aholic.

Midnite Click

I'm glad I went to see Click with Suzie.

I picked her up at her place and went for a tour around her flat that she shares with her sister (and mom). I'm so envious of her..... I can't wait till the day I have my own place.
It was also really nice to see her mom again after so many years, especially to see how well she's doing after going through so much a few years ago.
It is amazing what love and care can do to a person, the right kind of love, that is.......

We had a little problem finding parking, but we got there just in time for the movie.
Even during the first few minutes of it, I kind of choked up a bit at the sight of Bed Bath and Beyond.
It's silly, I know....

Anyway the movie is just what I expected from Adam Sandler.
His typical heart-warming-end movie with hilarious bits and snide comments here and there.... and I loved it.
Mostly because it has just reminded me of the main reason why I decided to come back.

I was thinking about this on the way home at 1.30 in the morning, noticing how I seem to have slowly somehow forgotten about it as I have to deal with other pressures that crept into the picture.

Anyway, I got home to some noise and light from the kitchen, and later found out that it was my grandpa having his midnite crackers.
His hearing is so poor nowadays he didn't even hear me come in and was a bit surprised to see me walk by. He casually asked if I wanted some and I decided to just grab a stalk of celery and sit there at the table with him.

We just sat there and did not say much to each other except for when I started by asking him whether those were the "good" crackers that he mentioned last week. I've heard and witnessed how Grandpa's memory has been deteriorating a lot. Despite knowing that it's not gonna help, I've been trying to initiate small talks with him as much as possible just to get him to talk and response to questions.

This just reminds me of my roti-prata supper sessions with my late paternal grandpa.
Sure do miss him a lot...

I've just realized I haven't been talking to my parents that much lately. A while ago, Mom complained that I used to call them up more when I was in US. Well, what can I say, Mom... I was earning my living then... I'll try to do better,though.

Note to Adam Sandler: I don't think a universal remote control is the way to go.
Should've talked to the korean cloning expert instead.

(Recap: Multiplicity starring Michael Keaton, ...I think.... Anyway I don't remember much about this movie.)

"Family comes first!" - Click(2006)

After-class outing

After class tonight, I went with the other two musketeers (Gin-man and Mr. Bunny) , the Daimsel-in-(di)stress a.k.a. HB (just kidding, HB..... ) and 2 other guest stars to the second Third Coast again.

The crooning singer was still there tonight, singing his heart out while nobody's listening.
Kinda' reminds me of Phoebe's stints at the Central Perk.
(Smelly Cat... Smelly Cat.......... Little Black Curly Hair... How did you end up there?.....
Hahahaha.... she's hilarious! Anyway, I think Phoebe had way more appreciative people listening than this guy does.)
This time I also saw an auntie sitting at the table right by the door. We smiled at each other as I walked pass by her to the restroom.
Couldn't figure out what she was doing there coz she looked so out of place.
Come to think of it, I hope I wasn't seeing things.... It is the "seventh month" after all.

The two musketeers played pool and Mr. Bunny tried to teach me how to aim (in vain).
We just hung out and chatted.
It was really nice and relaxing. Too bad not everyone could join us tonight.
Mommy1 who's turned into one hot momma misses her baby at home, Uncle wasn't up for it, and Mr. Vain had an "appointment".

Anyway, it just hit me:
Boy, ... I'm sure gonna miss everyone really bad ......
Wonder if I could stay somehow...
But what am I saying here? This coming from someone who said this is a boring and suffocating place with a terrible education system and terrible working culture?
I must be under a lot of stress.... Think I'm seeing, hearing and thinking things.
Hahaha....

Then another hit:
I cried my heart out last year, also for the same reason.

What can I say, I have always been really bad in letting go.
I wish I could just put everyone in my pocket and have them with me everywhere I go, so I don't have to bother missing anyone anymore.

Maybe I should contact the Wicked Witch of the West.

Skipped gym today. Had problem walking after some leg stretches and warrior pose on Wednesday. As he passed by a few times, the instructor kept telling me to push more and get out of my comfort zone. Didn't know I would be completely out of it the next day. Anyway, wonder if 2 x 1.5 hr of practise would be enough as penalty for skipping gym. Anyway, I bet I would be so dead when I start the kick-fit training next week.

By the way, I just realized I live on the West side of the island......
Heck!
Don't tell me.... I AM the Wicked Witch of the West?

Just not my day

This is a really bad day.

First of all, I'm kinda' upset that I haven't lost any weight since my training started.
I know all the talk about building muscles that are heavier than fat... but I can't help but feel disappointed.
Note to self: Must hang in there!

Then on the way home, I think I got caught when I "didn't realize I was going slightly beyond the speed limit" on the expressway.

Then it was home to find out what a scheming, scamming organization a reputable education institution can be.
All the intransparencies. All the so-called behind-the-scenes politics.
I hate it when people try to camouflage the truth.
I think I would've been less upset if they had been more honest in handling the issue.

I know Uncle's right. At the end of the day, it boils down to business.
Make money.
The heck with people.

I was so pissed off earlier I was ready to just pack up and leave.

Wait a minute... is this the sign I was looking for?
Hahaha....

Neah..... I have to learn how to be cool as a cucumber.
Now is there any schoool in this world that offers a graduate degree in this subject?
I suspect they might have something like this in Tibet....

I must have been a gypsi in my previous life. Either that or a Mongolian nomad.
Wait a minute... guess I'd better confirm first whether or not they really have nomads in Mongolia.

At the bookstore yesterday, while waiting in this tremendously long line, I overheard a discussion among some freshmen behind me( or at least I believe they are freshmen.... well, undergrads for sure).
I was really amazed to hear one of the girls said (in their giggly girly voice):
"Huuh?? Work in Japan ah? I don't want leh.... I don't wanna work overseas. I wanna stay here in *blip*. "

"Don't be a 井底蛙"
That's what a cab driver once fiercely said to me.
Note to him: Dearest uncle cabbie, maybe you should talk to that girl .... Straighten her out instead of me.

Signs.
I'm looking for signs.
Any sign at all....

It's silly, I know.
Superstitious? I don't think so.... I believe everything happens for a reason.

I'm waiting to see where the wind will take me next.

It's so weird....
I was really tortured at the gym today by this senior PT, but I found myself actually enjoying the torture, despite almost fainting when I was doing the weight training.

Seriously should've gone for the senior trainer instead.

On shuffle mode, my ipod decided to play me Frank Sinatra's My Kind of Town.

sigh....

I found my second Third Coast

I went with HB and Uncle to see one of the fireworks at the Espalanade on Tuesday.
The fireworks was ok but the crowd wasn't....
I guess I might be getting slightly too old for all the brouhaha.
I had to try very hard not to start scolding these youngsters for cutting line, sneaking in to get a better view in the front.
Well, that plus I think I'm a bit traumatized getting stared at by a traffic police when I decided to join some people who were jaywalking.

Anyway, Mr Playboy Bunny joined us with his gf after the fireworks, and we all headed to Novena Square to meet up with Mr Gin and his lady.
We went to this place that supposed to be a German food / beer place.
But interestingly, they had Fried pork knuckle bee hoon in their menu!
My gosh... Didn't know Germans are also into te-kar-bee-hoon....
Hahaha....

The place is really NICE though. Very relaxed, cozy ambience. Food was good. Beer was better. They had some fruity beer which tastes so much better than the regular beer.
I'll definitely go back there one of these days. The ambience of the place kinda' reminds me a bit of Third Coast in Chicago. Well, minus the singer that nobody listens to despite his effort to sing his heart out.

Sometime after midnite, we left the place. I had to follow the Gin man's lead to PIE coz I had no idea where I was.
5 minutes away from home, I changed direction and headed to Mustafa Centre instead.
What a waste of gas,.... I know.
Novena - PIE - Clementi - AYE - ECP - Mustafa?
Geez....

But I LOVED it though....
Well, night time is my favorite time of the day in the first place.
So midnite walks, midnite grocery shopping, midnite drives.... you name it and I love it. Well, except for midnite gotta-have-this-done-by-tomorrow kinda' thing.
Everything seems so much more peaceful in the wee hours of the night.

I slowed down a bit on the Esplanade bridge (whatever its real name is).... and managed to stole a glance, or rather a few of them, of the downtown skyline.
It was really nice.

By the way, I really think every city should have their own Mustafa Centere. Seriously.....

I think the place is amazing.

Branded watches. MP3 player. NIKE. CF card. Luggages. Yoga bricks. Clothings.Stationery. Toiletries. Cellphones. Groceries. Souvenirs. Home applicances. Toys. Digital cameras.
Open for 24-hours everyday (Best part).

My buddy, Mr. Playboy Bunny said that I'm just a LOST girl.
Not to be mistaken for the TV series, he meant that I'm literally lost.
He said I have a lot of mixed feelings.

He couldn't have been more right on, I suppose.

Gosh,..... I hope it's not that obvious to others.
(Hahaha... who are you kidding here?)

Start counting down to my (hopefully) final 16 weeks of torture.
Keeping my eyes focused on December.

In so much pain now... It even hurts just to reach out to turn on the lights.
Have no idea what to do tomorrow. Will go to the gym anyway.... Must stick with it (keep repeating to self).

I've never realized how hard it can be to edit someone else's writing when you're afraid you might start turning the thing upside-down and inside-out. I've edited quite a few project reports for some of my classes before but I've never had such a hard time.

A repenting couch potato ???

Today couldn't have been more extreme.
I went for my very first personal training ever this morning. Spent a good 2hrs at the gym (mostly in the ladies changing room, though... hahaha). I keep on reminding my PT that I don't want to end up like Arnold. Especially since he mentioned that my test showed no liquid retention and aside from the obvious sinful fat, I have quite a significant muscle mass.

Geez..... I seriously feel like the Terminator (in progress) now....
(Practising my hasta la visa, baby now....)

Anyway, after doing my laundry this afternoon, I had to go to my Yoga class earlier this evening where the instructor seemed to have his mind set on trying to reach the 30% drop-out rate he was bragging about in the first week. So, another 1.5 hr of sweating and gasping for Oxygen....
(Inhaaaaale....... Exhaaaaale..... Inhale.... Ex...Inhale.... Ex..Inhale.. INHALE. Darn it! Where did all the Oxygen go?)

My bro was nice enough to call up and check on me (i.e. nag about watching my diet and putting in extra effort on the exercise part). Anyway, it's not very often I get a phone call from him with some signs of concern on my well-being, though.
Makes me wonder what new PC games he wants me to get for him next.....

All in all... It was quite a day for a couch potato, I suppose....

Now I'm gonna take a good rest to welcome the awful pain that's gonna hit me later.
On second thought.... I think it's here :(

Listening to Jack Johnson's Better Together and loving it....