yipee, yipee..ai yeh...

labour day coming up! so looking forward to not having to wake up so early. After so many months since the last holiday, it would feel really nice to wake up late..

Now..I've got to really plan out nicely the program for that day.
1) wake up at about 11am
2) gorge myself silly for lunch at this little nice restaurant in PJ
3) then it's off to Low Yatt Plaza to look at the latest electronic gizmos money can buy
4) maybe spend the rest of the afternoon getting pampered at a spa
5) have dinner at some swanky outlet at The Curve
6) try to prolong the day by doing more extended shopping after dinner there
7) drive as slow as possible to reach home, to prolong the night before the next day comes again.

Sounds like a good program to me. Don't you agree?

we live in interesting times eh..?

or are we living in a time of turmoil? with so many fearful scenarios that could unfold themselves in the near future, what are we to make of all these? or are we actually seeing great opportunities coming our way instead. In the next few months, there's gonna be great dramatics and scenes unfolding before us, decisions and directions that will eventually make or break us...so exciting isn't it?..let's just hope there are no major casualties suffered along the way..

Maybe it's time to consider moving to back to that island in the sun, to partake of this new paradigm shift that we are experiencing, to savor in its fine gastronomic delights again, to feel the sea breeze on my face, and to arise with a new optimism for the future..how exciting..


Hawaii sounds like a good place to retire to..

alamak...free food again ah..

there she goes again walking down the street..
bringing yet another free lunch for me and my staff. Anyone would definitely have appreciated their mom's cooking but for some reason, it brings a little contortion to my facial expressions each time I am informed by my staff..."your mother just dropped off lunch.." as I proceed to then surreptitiously open the styrofoam food container to see what's inside. Some times when I am lucky, it brings a quirky smile to my face but most of the times, it's.."eerrr..fellas, that's ok, why don't you guys go ahead. I'm feeling quite full today".

Well, before any of you guys accuse me of being an ingrate for being unappreciative of such loving gestures from my mother, perhaps I should explain a little bit of my gastronomic history for better understanding. I never really grew up on her cooking. Period. As far as I can remember, I only spent like maybe 5 years of my life being exposed to her cooking. The meals were like alright I guess but I don't remember rushing home from school thinking excitedly about what's being set on the dinner table. I remember mostly eating from a plate, on my own, in front of the TV, and usually having combined a little bit of her dishes with a lot of what I managed to buy off the hawker stall nearby, with whatever pocket money left for that day. The rest of my life so far has been spent eating food prepared by other people, mostly restaurants, hawkers, and the occasional relative etc..

So..I wish I knew how to tell her not to go through the trouble of cooking for me and my staff and that she should really spend time doing things for herself (I thought I have already done that..hmm). It's not that I don't appreciate her efforts, but it's just so much easier to buy take-aways plus I get to choose what I want to eat, and she doesn't have to go grocery shopping, washing, preparing the foods and then cleaning up her kitchen. No need to go through so much trouble kwa..don't you agree?

I tell you ah..damn boh bin leh..

wah liao eh...so very pai-sei when you come across someone who's really kiasu, kiasi and add to that some more very kiam-kanna. Are they really as notoriously famous as what has been said about them or is it just so happens that I was unlucky enough to come across a rare one today? In my line of work, I have always ensured that whoever walks in my door is given the best of services and charges are standardized (quite low as it is, by market standards, I would say) irrespective of the person's nationality, ethnicity, age or gender. So, it came as quite a rude shock to me when someone who drives around in a relatively brand-new Mercedes that bears a foreign plate haggles over a rm10 payment. Wah liao eh..si beh pai-sei..for that person.

Wah seh..so unsettling these days..

If anyone of us has been following the news lately or to be more politically correct nowadays, the blogs, about the state of our current political scenario in the country, it can be a wee bit unsettling. So many write-ups about anything remotely connected to the government or the opposition or is it the other way around now, and so many view points espoused by various people, so many actions or inactions being taken, a lot of tit for tats being witnessed, it's getting quite comically unsettling actually. So many spins to a simple story or event. So many things said in the press and unsaid by the blogs, claiming to be said by someone who is said not to have said anything of that sort but which got said anyway.

Like..is he coming or is he going?..and everybody's talking all at the same time. Oh man, it can be really confusing for any layman who's main concern would be what he can put on the dinner table for his family day after day after day, and not who's gonna be the next "you know who" just because somebody says so based on that fella's "you know what" connection to the recommended "you know who"..but then they still don't know when..you know what I mean?

hmm...maybe it's time to pay attention to where I could find the nicest "you know what" in town..which sounds more exciting to me anyway..

So what did I do ah..?

I went to town yesterday lor..ate at a nice cafe in Cheras near the UCSI campus, watching the world go by as I sipped on my iced lemon tea and finished off a plate of rice with nonya curry chicken. There were quite a number of students out looking for dinner too, so it was kind of interesting to reminisce about the old days when I was a student myself. I remember the top most in my mind when I was a student was..hey, where are we going for lunch or dinner? That's what most of us would just think about then. Nothing but food, mostly..and inadvertently all dinner talks would turn to what special notes someone has, or what's the easiest, simplest book to get as compared to the huge voluminous recommended texts given out by the school. Of course, there were the usual, boyfriend-girlfriend issues, gossips or rumors that without which those meals would have been so much less enlightening or enriching, just like the must-have appetizer or dessert.

Hmm..if I had known that there was an organized "freeze" at the pavilion yesterday, I would have gone there instead. Would have been interesting and fun to be part of this global phenomenon..People, total strangers being still, as in not moving or stopped right in their tracks, all at the same time, in a public environment..watch the youtube below:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=-e4o4F0DvaI

Just says so much about our shared humanity as opposed to the constant disunity in our diversity that we are always led to believe.

Another sunday..

oh dear..so what's the program today? another round of shopping? another trip to nowhere? another day at the gym? hmmm..can't decide what I want to do today..
we'll see what I'm up to later...

Separation definitely not a good idea..

My opinion to the editor of NST with regards to 2 articles published on the 8th April 2008.


I refer to the two articles published yesterday with regards to this continuing saga over the dispensing rights of doctors and pharmacists, and I would like to say my piece.

It is quite obvious that all the writers so far have a vested interest either directly or indirectly in who should get the final dispensing rights. One just have to read between the lines of these purported support for or against any such decisions to be made in the future to understand the author's intention. Perhaps, we all should really go out there and see for ourselves what is actually occurring in the field before drawing any conclusion or making any decision that will have a serious impact and repercussions on our current health-care system. Let us not blindly follow another country's practice just because we felt it suited us at that particular moment in time and make a sweeping statement to make it sound as though it would be just as suitable here in our kind of environment. As a true consumer, I have yet to be convinced or been brought to understand why a pharmacist can do a better job in the area of dispensing medications. Likewise, I also feel that there are also doctors out there who leaves a lot to be desired in terms of patient welfare and care provided. And yet again, I have come across both pharmacists and doctors who really do take their time to explain the finer details of any illness that I might have, in the kind of layman's language that I can understand and in a way that I cannot help but be convincingly involved also in my own health-care.

And my reasons for stating the above is that if one were to just walk into a lot of pharmacy outlets at this moment in time, there is really no stopping one from getting any medications, with or without any prescription, and I seriously doubt any further pertinent advice that can be given on my medications as against what my doctor can tell me. Again here, I would definitely not make a sweeping statement as I know there are also those out there who are very professional and ethical in their pharmaceutical practice and do ask for proper prescriptions for any controlled medications and take the trouble to explain in great detail about any medications given. The only reason the pharmacists are asking for a legal right to this practice is because most people would really still prefer to get their medications filled at one place, hence the clinic and therefore, the pharmacists are not getting their so called "rightful" share of the business and if the authorities were to make a law out of this, the public would have no choice but to buy their medicines from the pharmacists. Simple really.

And simplicity here would also mean that if I have to send my car for servicing and changing of the tyres and if the particular shop can do both extremely well, to my liking and charges reasonably, then common-sense would dictate that I do all those at that shop. But if for some reason, that workshop is only good for servicing and is so good that I would still prefer them servicing my car but because their skills at balancing or aligning the tyres are not that great, perhaps then I would go through the trouble of getting that done elsewhere. Simple isn't it?

So, let us all just call a spade, a spade, and not try to "convince" people otherwise. We are a lot smarter nowadays. Let me, as a consumer, decide for myself who I want to get my medicines from. I believe we are all smart enough to go where the best service is provided and to know who we should seek advice from, whether I need a total holistic understanding of my medical condition or is it just pertaining to more information on a regular medication that I am on. If a clinic or a pharmacy outlet is not getting the kind of visits they are expecting, then I believe they would have to really reassess their current patient-care skills, improve their services, and not just force the public to go to them. After all, I am the one paying the money and I should decide who I want to give my money to. Thank you very much.

This issue is getting so stale. I shall not revisit this topic anymore..unless you force me to.. haha

where is everybody ah..?

Just these past 2 months, a few of the shops operating in the same row as mine as somehow closed down. Why leh? Now, out of the row of 15 shops, only 8 are still left open for business. Is this a reflection of the current state of our economy or has everyone moved to a nicer, posher area to operate their businesses? Maybe it's time for me to pack up my things and run too, some where far far away..Mom has sold off her house and planning to move back to the island soon. I think it's a good move for her as she's not used to life in the city anyway.

But I am not doing too bad wor? Actually, coming along quite well, I must say. Maybe it's just the industry that I am involved in. Something that people cannot do without at times..and I am not talking about $#@..haha

But it would be nice if work was a daily holiday trip. Like maybe on a cruise ship. Hmm..interesting. That would be so nice. To be able to laze on the deck with nothing but the sounds of the sea-breeze and sea gulls lulling the days away, and nights spent in the on-board casino or stuffing myself silly on all the seafood. And at every port-of-call, a new set of adventures would await me. Wah...that would be the perfect life..

Then why can't I have it??..

Why do I get this feeling..

that someone is always watching over me?..at every turn of my life at every significant moment when critical decisions need to be made. Even when I am up to no good, like looking for a heavy lard-laden supper in the middle of the night, there's always this nagging nudge that tells me I shouldn't head towards certain places or walk down a certain road at certain times. Or sometimes, it's that sudden urge to turn around and do something else or even an unexpected meeting of an old friend who would take up the necessary delay to allow for a more favorable cosmic outcome.

I remember at one time in my life when I had a to make a really major major decision and I was at wits ends on what I needed to do, only to have the answers appear before me in my dream and woke up without a doubt. There had been countless times too when I felt that it would be in my best interest to just follow the road already "opened" up ahead than to be some smart ass to try otherwise. The kind of "I just knew it" feeling that gave me that innate confidence to proceed.

Which sort of brings me to what I have always thought strange about this world that we live in and the belief that there has to be a lot more than what is physically obvious to all of us. I mean, there must be more than just eating and defecating and then dying in life right? and then there must be another life right after this one? and maybe endless lives even..and perhaps all these lives are connected, past, present and future, at every minute second of the day through some unknown inter-dimensional means. Perhaps my long gone grandma and grandpa are actually right here next to me, just that I am not able to see them. Maybe they are also reading my blog and laughing cynically away at my feeble attempts to entertain myself. Maybe they are the ones who are telling me what to write and dad is still busy signing away my report card at his end. And in all honesty, I do actually feel them some times, in the still of that moment when my thoughts are empty and my heart is open, I feel their presence..and I feel blessed.

13/04/08
Oooo..just last night I had this weird feeling my "dad" was sitting in my room watching me sleep. Watching and smiling, and perhaps protecting me..which is strange as this is the very first time that I have dreamt of him focusing an activity on me. Previously, I would usually "see" him busy with some thing or some one..

16/04/08
aiyooo..another one last night. I was "cycling" some where and lo and behold, granny was walking under the sun with an umbrella on a bright beautiful day wearing her very nice blue floral outfit..and I went.."eh...Ah Mahhhhh !!"..and she said.."aiyah, that way no through road lah, take the other way..", as I spun my bike around. I woke-up with her instructions still ringing in my ears..

19/04/08
oh dear...yet another dream last night. Hope this is not turning habitual again..a cousin of mine had fainted all of a sudden and grandpa was there very quickly with a blood glucometer suggesting that we should measure her blood sugar. So clever grandpa..




30/04/08
goodness, these dreams are getting more and more frequent, with more and more dramas and dialogues in each play. just over the past one week, i have had 3 such episodes. should i be worried what such occurences might potentially portend? or maybe i should just be glad that i have that special capability..."i see dead people..in my dreams anyway"..

today got no inspiration..

Really really got no inspiration to write anything today after that event that occurred last saturday..still very sad when I look at my Savvy looking miserable in the workshop..crying out to me, "please please take me home. don't want to be beaten up by all these grubby looking people with greasy hands"..

Very very Sui ah yesterday...

Yesterday I was just nicely driving back from the gym and thinking what a wonderful day it was when suddenly..."Kaboom..BANG !!...&^%$#" a car just came right at me and knocked my front bumper off and broke the left headlight. I was about to turn into the car park and out of the blue there was this loud rubber screeching noise before the hit. In slo-mo fashion, the driver of that other car and I could just stare at each other and waited for the inevitable. That, oh no..we are both gonna die look on our faces only to sit there in our seats respectively for a good minute, before we got out to assess the damage. I am mighty proud of my Proton Savvy though, just got a little hurt on the left side of the bumper and the glass of the left headlight broken but otherwise, my engine was still running smoothly. The other fella had a horrified look on his face when he came out...the front bit of his car, a Proton Wira, had receded by a good one foot into the engine, and the engine into the inner compartment. And of course, his engine spluttered and died on the spot.

But what really got to me was the way that fella was speeding on a small lane never meant as a race track and although it was unfortunate that it was my car that he knocked into, I gave thanks that there were no kids running across that small lane, and the kids very often do that, who might have gotten flattened in the process..And he had the nerve to come out and tell me it was my fault for not showing my indicator light before turning !! I could have smacked him right across the face and told him off.."Eh..hullo !! I stopped, when I saw you speeding, right in the middle of the road. You lost control of your car and you banged into me on my side of the road and you dare to tell me it's my fault!!!" but the look on my face obviated the need for that exchange. Plus I think he probably had a lot of answering to do to his friend who owned the car that he so callously drove without me needing to add salt to his wound.

If only there was a close-circuit camera nearby to record the event..
Luckily hor...I still got another car to drive...hehe

Aiyoh..very geram nya..

Why ah...must people do the exact opposite things despite telling them not to, again and again and again? Why do people always without fail still want irritate the %$#@ out of you, knowing very well that you are already not in the best of moods. At times like these...I just want to pull all my hair out or put them through a happy slapping exercise for eight full hours...eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

When you say, don't use the computer for anything other than data processing, they'd still surreptitiously click here and there, stealthily surf the net and inadvertently invite a virus into my office network. And adamantly deny on the graves of their ancestors that they did not touch the mouse..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee..

When you say don't eat your food in front of customers, they'd still do it. And when the floor gets dirty, they'd wait until you have to tell them to sweep or mop, again and again and again. Or telling them to put the toilet sit-cover up after use and not pee anywhere else but into the bowl, they still do the contrary. And when you tell them to give you an advance notice when they need to apply for leave, they call in sick instead. But they never fail to be first in line at the end of the day when it comes to collecting their over-time wages or remind that their monthly pay be deposited into their bank accounts on time..eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

There.....I feel much better already..

On days like this..

I wish I could just laze around in bed for a few minutes longer, to hug my pillows a little while longer and inhale that stale aroma that is uniquely my own. To leave my eyes half open and dream of days lying under the sun, by the beach on some island that belongs to no one but me. Or dive endlessly with the sea creatures and never needed to come up for air.

On days like this when I am staring blankly into space, I wish I could just stuff myself with buckets and buckets of buttered-popcorn watching endless movies or find myself in a matrix living out every action that is only limited by my imagination. To be the greatest singer or actor and be idolized by many. On days like this, I wish I could also run a full marathon and not feel tired in any way or to swim like an Olympian and fully bask in all its glory. Or maybe to do just nothing but still feel completely contented every single minute of the day.

On days like this, I wish I could just stop all my nocturnal nightmares dead in their tracks and emerge a new spirit to face another day. And when I am lazing there and pondering the days of my life, I wish I could just turn back the clock and freeze it at the peak of my time. To be able to walk down the road and be looked upon like Zeus or Apollo, with all its magnificence and be seen as perfect on any day. On days like this, actually I just wish I could sleep for a few minutes more.

Yes..if only everyday could be days like this..

Money..money..money..ah ha...

in a rich man's world..ahhaaaahhhhh...all the things I could do, if I had a little money...

Don't we all know that tune so well. We go through half our lives chasing those elusive pieces of paper, and we push away everything else that got in the way. We would go to the far corners of the earth to earn those extra few bucks, and in the process slowly forgetting the paradise that we left behind. We would forgo sleep, love, friendships and even food some times just so we could have more in our pockets, only to find that our pockets keep getting bigger and bigger and harder and harder to fill. And then we find our youth wasted away.

We forget about the joys of eating cup noodles on a cold rainy night, of having to share our best friend's meal at school because we did not have any pocket money left from the year before. We forget about the fun we used to have walking in the rain after school because we did not have the bus fare or the times when we had to borrow our friend's textbooks and felt eternally grateful for them. And then we die an eternal death all the same, with nothing but ashes to show.

We forget about those days too when our parents could only afford to buy us chicken-less chicken rice but we chomped the food down gleefully anyway. And every new year was a new cycle of recycled hand-me-downs but we nevertheless happily cat-walked our way to the relatives' houses just the same. We forget too the abundance that we used to have if only we had stopped to appreciate, only to be offered food and given paper houses and cars plentifully in our deaths.

But we always remember how it is that our neighbors and relatives are always one step ahead of us in their annual vacation trips, the cars that they would drive or even the numerous fashion designer bags that the fella's wife would parade about, down to the finest details. And we never fail to remember where we saw them ate at all the exclusive restaurants in town over the last 6 months, only to pretend that we actually just came out of one ourselves each time we met. We always remember to gloat about our own little achievements and ensure that we throw in sufficient exaggerations to extract more oohs and wahs. And we will always remember to ask God for more wealth and prosperity each time we go to the temples or churches to pray. If only we did not forget that God already made us perfect in every way and given us all that we could ever need every single day.

If only we would try to always remember and never forget ..

To the Temple..to the temple..

I saw this little poem some where some time ago written by someone and I thought it so appropriate to share..

"Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,
First fill your own house with the fragrance of Love.

Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,
First remove the darkness of sin from your heart.

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,
First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen.

Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,
First bend down to lift someone who is down trodden.

Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,
First forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you."

To that person who wrote this..thank you..

Aiyoh..you not scared meh..?

My friend would ask me, as she put her arms lovingly round her boyfriend while we chomped down a late afternoon lunch, in a rather trendy cafe located in one of the classier parts of town. "You not scared meh?", she kept asking..."when you are old and gray and all alone, then you know", as I rolled and stared at her blandly with the white of my eyes for a good 5 seconds, before I resumed slurping up strands of my spaghetti vongolie. "Aiyah...you think both of you will be together forever meh..?", I retorted. "You see, you see...he's already looking at that sweet young thing over there while you are wrapping him so tightly over here with your tentacles"..which disrupted Brian's (not his real name) brief misadventure only to face the octopus in front of him, with the most defensive look on his face, and spurting excuses that any three year old could outdo. "Seriously Sally (not her real name either)", I reasoned with her, "you guys are going to be old too and if you two still happen to be together, you think both of you can go at the same time meh? One of you will sure kick the bucket first one..if he goes first, you will also be left alone, not scared ah?!!"..That stumped her for a while and she went back to twirling her fettuccine while absentmindedly stabbing at the pieces of ham, twirling and stabbing, and Brian throwing out furtive glances at the more attractive side of the wall now and then, and kicking me under the table as a warning not to blow his cover again.

"And besides", I said to her as a matter of fact, "I like my freedom. I like the fact that I can splurge on myself as often as I like. I get to stay out as late as I want, go anywhere I want, do anything I want and I am always available to any sweet young thing...hahaha...right Brian?"

And of course, Sally must always have the last word on any topic that we argue about ..."Well, at least I got someone here to bury me when I die...!!" as she stuck her tongue out at me and placed a big peck on Brian's cheek, leaving tiny pieces of ham on his face...

Wah..If looks could kill...

or a smile should maim, I would have been seriously injured or died many times over by now. But I'm still alive...

Why is it that people nowadays are so paranoid of a smile, a nod, a hello from strangers? Why do people give off that "do I know you?" kind of look or worse still return a friendly hi with a killer stare. A smile should be returned with a smile and likewise an acknowledgment given for any courtesy so rendered. But I guess that would just make everything too hunky dory and perfect and we insists on believing that we don't live in a perfect world anyway.

I remember a time when my friends and I used to make friday rounds at one of the more notoriously seedy parts of the city, bringing with us nothing but packets and packets of nasi- lemak (coconut-milk rice) and smiling our way through. Just so we could distribute our measly hand-outs to the not so fortunate late night workers doing over-time straddling the corridors of red-lighted shop-lots, or those self-taught "medical school interns" perfecting their already perfect injection skills, that despite the environment and the behavioral norm expected in that kind of vicinity, people there were generally more spontaneous and genuine in their appreciation, despite our intrusion into their world. People nowadays would have thought us obnoxiously presumptous then or worse, just plain silly to be making our presence felt in that special enclave. But if truth be told, I think we generally felt a lot safer and more welcomed there then.

And I must say that the warmth that emanated from those people, who were abandoned to stay and survive in that cold cold place, was definitely more real than even some of our closest friends or neighbors...

Oh Lord...it's so hard to be humble..

2 minutes and 38 seconds left..yes..

That's me staring at the stop-clock on the thread-mill machine going at 6km/hr. Started doing like 30 minute routines in the very beginning but that somehow got reduced to 5 minute runs lately. The excuse? Well, I am spending more time nowadays on the weight machines plus doing 200+ crunches every other day. This has been my everyday activity after work since December last and I am so surprised that I have managed to maintain the momentum even though it has been getting somewhat shorter and shorter times being spent at the gym lately. Still, I am quite pleased with the results I am seeing so far.

As I stare at myself in the full-length mirror each time after a work-out session, I just cannot erase that melody out of my head..without fail, each time as I look in the mirror.."...oh Lord, it's so hard to be humble...when you're perfect in every way.." at other times, it's another tune that creeps in.."I'm too sexy for my body, too sexy for my...." It's weird but I swear, I just cannot shut them out..or refrain from typical locker-room jibes at my buddies.."hey, look at these pecs..." as I strike a pose..."Ya ya ya",...my buddy would say out loud..."they look like they are turning into very nice cleavage..."

And of course, there had been rather futile attempts too to make the sculpturing process go faster by ingesting wonderful pills and doing crash diets only to give them up a week or so later. Just yesterday, I popped a yellow looking capsule that supposedly helps to keep one from eating or have thoughts about food only to have the feeling of a walking zombie for the rest of the day with the appearance of a botoxed look on my face until today. Hmm..guess that one just went out the window. Today, there's this new white oblongish-looking pill..and I am having second thoughts about popping that one into my mouth.

But I guess at the end of the day, when all else fails, I can always rely on this image of a good friend of mine who could blindly roll down a bowling alley and still make a strike each time. And to keep me arduously fixed to my gym routine, I should also maintain that image of him emerging out of the sea like some greek god ala ursula andress, in a period of 6 months or so, and back again to the bowling ball physique in just as short a time..

Hmm..vanity..

Sawaddee krraap..khob khun krraap..

Did I get that right?

Such wonderful, melodious sounding language, one could almost sing a tune out of that simple sentence, with the graceful coming together of the palms and the slight bowing of the head as those words are uttered in the most gentlest of manner, just makes the song complete. Yeah...the Land of Smiles. And I have not even started on the food. Just the thought of that makes me want to have dinner a few more times.

But I am not just talking about the language or food today. It is something in me, a seed of curiosity that perhaps some where in the line of my ancestry, I do have a higher percentage of Siam in me than what is physically obvious. Then again, I also feel an affinity towards things Indonesian, like their songs for one, that makes me wonder where I actually belong. On the other hand, those Korean movies that I find myself so engrossed with at times...."sarangheiyo" could just make me go weak in the knees. I get warmly excited too by the ringer tone on my mobile that goes..."konichiwa...konichiwa..." in excruciatingly increasing crescendo with an in-coming call and if I do not very quickly press the answer button, people near me might just start thinking that there's a "Ju-On" spirit lurking around me, waiting to gobble them up. Not very unlike my occasionally humongous appetite in a Japanese restaurant when I gobble up the sashimi or swallow the tempura, as much as I like multiple helpings of Irish stew or the typical English fish & chips at any other time.


So where does all these lead me? It can be so confusing at times. Could it be that I really was one of these many peoples in my previous incarnations and therefore somehow never quite cut off completely those silvery chords in this lifetime? Or maybe it's just wishful fascination with some things that are not quite your everyday ordinariness. But whatever it is, I like the feeling that perhaps I am actually a bit part of this great humanity and even though I may just be a number, I represent the whole in some small way..

Wah liao eh..die die also beh tahan leh..

What is it about that laugh of hers that really brightens up my day or the strange lingo among us that we are so familiar with when we speak, that a simple telephone call conjures up an image of an animated video-call instead? Nah...she's not my special special half or anything of that sort, you know what I mean. In fact, she's much better than that. She's a wonderfully great friend. One who you would not hesitate for a minute to reach out for that familiar booming laughter now and then. One who could literally turn all your miseries into a full feature cartoon.

Oh my, and her husband..he's fun too. In fact, he completes her in every way, in areas that she lacks, he more than covers up for her or rather some times leaves her even more exposed, like when she had at one time accidentally dropped her scuba mask into the sea and he standing on the hull happily posing and pointing to where the mask was drifting and before she could holler out with a thunderous commandment..."what are you doing still standing...." he was already at the bottom of the sea frantically searching, and the ashen look on his face thereafter for having failed his wife miserably for losing the mask that she had dropped, and she having to sit out her next dive.

And those days when we used to organize an extended holiday within a holiday within another holiday trip somewhere, it was as good as breathing nitrous oxide 24/7 and every meal, or rather that would be like 8 meals a day, became a gastronomic buffet competition. Amazing people really. The sight of grazing cows or the occasional stray dog would literally bring a cacophony of excitement as we drove by the countryside. God certainly knows how to create humor and innocence in a perfect combination.

Just the thought of us in a karaoke joint eons ago brings back "haunting" memories of the many many uncontrolled and unabashed, roll-on-the-floor kind of laughter. Haunting? why? because those episodes literally went into my dreams on nights after the fact. If you have heard a flattened version of a jazz classic sung with a rock rhythm, you would understand what I mean. And he truly rocked in every sense of the word. Yeah...those were the days before American Idol appeared on our TV screens. Nightmares were never the same after that. I sure hope their kids turn out better in the vocal department.

Yeah...Those were the good old days..and right now, I just need to make that telephone call..

Ah...sorry hor, should have explained earlier..

I just thought I should have at least listed down the reasons why I am getting into this blogging craze like everybody else on this planet, at least before my very first write-up. Never mind, it is still a good after-thought.

Well, I had first thought about putting down in words the so many many things that come into my head every minute of the day but just never got around to it. Plus a lot of those things would have been severely censored anyway..haha. But I've decided that it should be stories that affects me sufficiently enough for me to want to write about them and not any of those nonsensical thoughts that have a way of creeping into my head and would probably destroy every sensible neural connection that's left in my brain. Anyway, I have not decided on any particular schedule for this blog or any specific topics that i should focus on, so it'll just have to be on an ad-hoc basis. Will probably stay away from anything too heavy. Light and easy would be the general idea here.

But of course, if there is any particular issue that I come across and feel so so strongly about, I just might break the norm and lash out. So keep those helmets on standby and take cover when necessary.

If you happen to be a friend of mine, an acquaintance or known me in any way, and find that I may have described you in any of my articles or felt that you had been used as a template, please note that I was not really referring to you, it was probably someone like you but rest assured not you. And if you still feel insecure about it, do note that I will not use any recognizable name just so you can sleep peacefully at night.

In any case, if you just happen to come across my blog and enjoy what you read, by all means, do drop by again and again. But if you hate my writing, please feel free to skip along. No need to leave any comment. Thank you.