Hoof Prints

2009-09-25T22:10:00.002+08:00

I didn't even realised my blog still existed. 2 years on and 2 kids later, so much has changed and so much has remained the same.

Ally is now 2 and going through the typical toddler phase. There are days when she is lovable and just a joy to be with, other days, nothing I do is right and I often find myself gritting my teeth and praying for extra patience. She is now a big sister , Max joined our family on June 30th 2009. He is such a wonderful addition and his easy going nature is a nice compliment to Ally's intense personality.

Life with a toddler and an infant is definitely interesting and there is no way I could ever manage without my better half. He's an amazing father, the children are so lucky that he is able to spend so much time with them.

With our new addition, we had to say goodbye to my grandmother who passed away rather unexpectedly. Such is the circle of life I guess.

2007-07-18T12:41:00.000+08:00

Introducing Miss Ally

Between my last post and now, we've welcomed a new addition into the family with the arrival of Miss Ally. It took a day or two for the maternal instincts to kick in ( and for the drugs to wear off!) but I can now proudly say that motherhood is wonderful.
I use to watch shows whereby mothers proclaim " I never knew I could love someone so much" and think to myself " oh cut that crap!" but you know what, its true. A child really changes your life in so many ways and brings with it a whole host of different emotions.
It took me a while to embrace those changes and to stop wishing for my old life back. Once that was done, I actually learn to enjoy being with her and watching her change day by day.

The fact that Ally was born with a cleft palate makes me all the more protective of her. I want to protect her from other people's ignorance of her condition, I don't want anyone saying that I did something wrong to cause her condition or that her condition is a sign of bad luck. All that is just plain ignorance and I want to protect her as much as I can from all that bullshit.
Of course I went through a period of blaming myself, I thought back on what I could have done wrong, how I may have caused her to end up with a cleft. At the end of the day, I decided it was no use looking back to the " what ifs" what's more important is dealing with her condition now and looking after her to the best of my ability.

She is 9 days old today and I'm still learning her little likes and dislikes. Ally is no doubt the apple of her daddy's eye and grandma's little angel.

2007-06-02T17:10:00.001+08:00

Of Shaved Legs and other things..............

I knew the day would come, it was just a matter of time. Today, for the first time during my entire pregnancy, I had to enlist the help of the good husband to shave my legs. Now, don't get me wrong, I haven't morphed into some huge unrecognisable balloon. The fact of the matter is, its too uncomfortable for me to do it on my own. The poor husband looked at me with " are you kidding?" written all over his face, as soon as he heard my request. Luckily for him, he was smart enough not to question and obediently took the shaver and started on the task.

On a totally different note, I just heard something that totally irritated the hell out of me. I overheard one of our instructors telling the volunteers " we have to think about how our actions will affect others, always put yourself in their shoes" this statement coming from a woman who has been so vindictive and cruel towards me just a while back. I could not believe my ears ! Neither could I believe people could be so hypocritical.

In order not to end my day in anger, I shall leave everyone with this.

2007-05-31T11:56:00.000+08:00

Oh my goodness, I know I haven't posted anything since October of last year. Caught up in this vicious cycle that we call Life. To make up for it, I'll post pictures from my recent Bali trip!

The fantastic view from our resort. It was a bit dreary for the first 2 days but the sun finally showed itself on day 3! The hotel had fantastic private villas which were way beyond our modest budget.

I haven't been to Bali since I was 13 and the place still holds many special memories for me. To think I use to spend an entire month there every year from the time I was 9-13. Food is fantastic and so are the people and their culture.

Besides the Bali trip, I guess the other exciting news is the new addition to our family!

Little Zippy is now a well loved member of the family. He was a rescue dog who came with several issues but I must say he has settled in well and Zack loves his new brother.

2006-10-01T19:20:00.000+08:00

The wedding mania is finally over and the dust has started to settle. We're back from our honeymoon and life is back to normal.

Everyone has been asking, does it feel different to be married? This question puzzles me because, why should it feel different? How does marriage change our relationship? The only way marriage has changed our relationship is legally. We are now legally man and wife, if we want to purchase a house, we can...etc.

At the moment, our main focus is purchasing our own place. If all goes well, we should be in our new place by the end of next year. Then with that will come the inevitable question, " when are you two planning to have children?"

There is no right answer to this question no matter what you say. If you tell the person asking, " we want to wait a few years..." they will start lecturing you on how you should not wait so long ....etc. If you say you're planning to have kids soon, they will tell you that you're still young and should wait a few years. So you see, there is no right answer.

2006-06-27T19:19:00.000+08:00

Dead or Alive

Tiger the cat nearly didn't make it home. His heart stopped 3 times while they were operating on him but thank goodness he pulled through. His fatty lump is still there and I think he'll just remain a lumpy cat for now.

Other than that, life has been treating me well. I'm feeling on top of the world, a great burden has been lifted and I'm finally at peace with the world and myself. Over the last few weeks I've learnt many important life lessons and my dear husband has been my greatest pillar of support.

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, wedding pictures to be taken this Saturday, my gown finally fits! Invitations need to be printed....etc and my wedding planner is still out of town!

2006-06-08T20:43:00.000+08:00

It's been way too long since I've last posted something. Since then, a birthday has passed, the wedding registry has passed and lots more insane days at work and school have passed.

The wedding is less than 2 months away. The gown has been chosen, and the hotel has been booked. My wedding planner has been great and she has really been the one helping me keep my sanity together.

Other than that, the usual goes on, work, school, life. Nothing very exciting though I did have a trip to the emergency room about 2 weeks ago. Not too sure what that was all about but have an appointment with the neurologist who can hopefully pin point the problem. Its nothing major I know, but it'll be comforting to get the tests done anyway.

Tiger the cat is off for surgery tomorrow to remove a fatty lump, paws crossed that he'll be alright.

Other than that, the rest of the pets have been fine, had a little adventure cat-sitting not too long ago. Ralph nearly died on me no thanks to the inefficient staff at the nearby clinic. This July there will no doubt be more pet sitting adventures as friends leave to go home for the summer holidays and I'll have to look after their furry friends.
That's all for now and I'll leave this post with my little thought for the day. " A friend is someone who continues to believe in you, long after you stop believing in yourself"

2005-12-11T07:22:00.000+08:00

My family is trying to comes to terms with the loss of a loved one. It's funny how people have their own ways of grieving. The men of the family generally did not show much emotion though the younger ones did break down on the day of the cremation. They kept themselves busy by finding little jobs to do, just so that they never had the time to sit down and actually let reality sink it.
My aunts on the other hand, were inconsolable. Which one could understand seeing as how they had just lost a sister. As for myself, I felt like an outsider looking in at the whole scene. I was there when she drew her last few breaths, I cried like everyone else in the room but because I could feel their pain.
At the wake, I felt like I was in a dream, at times I broke down, other times I gave comfort to whoever needed it. Now that everything is over, I'm finally feeling my grief. It has only been 4 days, I'm gradually getting more sleep at night but I go about the day with a heavy heart and an unsettled feeling inside. Friends and family have assured me that she is now at peace which I do believe as well, but her last few moments still haunt me.
I had to deliver her eulogy and I stayed up all night the previous day writing and re-writing it so that it would do her justice. It was one of the hardest speeches I ever had to make but I got through it without breaking down and I knew she would have been proud of me.

2005-12-03T07:31:00.000+08:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!! You can see that Zack would rather be Santa than a reindeer.....

2005-11-13T12:11:00.000+08:00

Massive cat overload..... some pictures of Max (the black one) and his pal Beowulf.

2005-09-01T18:14:00.000+08:00

Photos of my really adorable pony and I at our first show jumping competition!

It was so nerve- wrecking! I really admire all the others who were so calm and collected just before the competition. I think I was the only one that looked like I was about to throw up!

2005-07-15T16:54:00.000+08:00

Lost

No dear readers, this post will not be about that hit TV show with the same title. ( one that I've yet to catch actually). I'm about to tell you the tale of a lost cheque.

I received a very official looking letter from the bank the other day and thought that I had accidentally exceeded my credit limit. To my surprised, it was regarding a cheque that I had wanted to credit into my account in APRIL. Turns out that the cheque had to be sent to a neighboring country of ours which I shall not name to be cleared. Now, the cheque was from a bank in Australia but had to be cleared in another country. Don't ask me why, it's all very complicated.

After 3 months, the bank now informs me that the other bank in the neighboring country has refused to answer their various calls over the last 3 months and finally got back to them and said that the cheque is lost. I was absolutely flipping mad. Immediately, I picked up the phone and called the service hotline. Now, English is not the first language in this neighboring country of ours, that is not to say that no one speaks it though.

Here is how part of the conversation went.

Operator: " Miss we cannot find the cheque, you ask the person to issue you another one."

Me:" Excuse me, YOUR bank lost MY cheque and I have to inconvenience someone else to get a new one?"

Operator: " Sorry please hold on Miss" ( After a few mins) " Miss, you will have to ask them to issue a new cheque"

Me: " Oh great, after waiting for 3 months, it's nice to know that I have to go back and get another cheque which you might probably lose anyway. ( I'm waiting for an apology by the way. PS: It never came)

Operator: " "Sorry please hold on Miss" ( After a few mins) " Miss, you will have to ask them to issue a new cheque"

By this time I was about to pull my hair out, I decided I was wasting my time and just hung up. If I thought people in TLOTW or the land of the blind ( TLOTB) as I have taken to calling it recently, were bad. This bank in the neighbouring country takes the cake!

2005-07-14T18:46:00.000+08:00

ZACK'S 11TH BIRTHDAY!!!

Special doggy cake just for him

2005-07-14T16:05:00.000+08:00

Dear readers, my blog is now PINK! Horror of horrors..... I can now reassure you that I have not gone mad. I'm just trying to embrace my girly side which is usually hidden away. Actually the real reason is that the old template depressed me so I decided to change it, simple as that.

The current hot topic of the week in TLOTB is the scandal regarding the salary of a CEO working for a charity. For those interested in details, pls go to http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,91415,00.html?

Since I myself work for a charity, this subject matter hits close to home. Anyone who has been to our centre would know that there are no gold taps in our toilets, heck, they should be happy to find that one out of the three taps work! ( And that the toilet flushes!)
Instead of the fleet of luxury cars that the other charity is said to have, our staff owns 1) a van 2) an 8 year old family sedan , 3) a nine year old vehicle with 4 wheels that breaks down once a month 4) a vespa and 5) 2 bicycles. Hardly swimming in cash are we?

The public is now demanding that the accused charity be transparent with their finances. If this rule was to be applied to all non profit organisations, it might not be such a bad thing. It is only then would the public be able to see that every charity dollar DOES matter to us. Being an independent organisation, we receive no funding from the government and do all our own fund raising. No TV celeb is out there doing some stupid stunt on a show to raise money for us. I don't even think half of the people living in TLOTB even know we exists. This is the same situation for many of the other small charities out there like ours.

So why am I rambling on and on? The bottom line is, I hope that most people will realise that there are many who still rely on their generous donations. It is only with their continous support that lots of other charities can continue doing their good work.

2005-07-13T17:34:00.000+08:00

I brought Zack to have his picture taken some months ago. Haven't had the time to put the pictures up yet but I'll just show everyone my favourite shot.

He looks so sweet in that picture, actually he was a little confused cos I was making funny noises to try and get his attention.

This is Beo, nearly a year after he literally walked into our lives. Can't believe that scrawny kitten is now such a big boy!

Pictures of Zack's 11th birthday party in my next post!

2005-07-07T17:38:00.000+08:00

Oompa Loompa?

I'm in a hurry to get to a dinner appointment but I have just watched the trailer for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Johnny Depp looks a lot like Michael Jackson. Maybe it's the fair skin? Or that less than manly voice? Whatever it is, those Oompa Loompas better watch out and little Charlie Bucket will be best not sharing a bed with Mr Wonka anytime soon. Chao for now!

2005-05-25T18:38:00.000+08:00

After 22 years, I have finally watched my first Star Wars movie. I'm NOT a science fiction fan, in fact, I hardly know anything about the Star Wards Trilogy. I at least could identify Yoda, the small green guy with funky hair. So there I was, watching Episode 3 , Revenge of the Sith, trying not to laugh my head off. I mean, some of the dialogue in the show was just hilarious! I did learn important lessons from the movie which I like to share with you.

Lesson 1 : Do Not Play with Light Sabers.Take a hint from these guys.....

All three have had their hands/arms burnt off from these gigantic light sticks. Children and adults should know that they are not toys.

Lesson 2: Bathe frequently or Use lots of deodorant if you're going to wear a long coat 99% of the time. * * Note: this lesson is only for those who live in TLOTB and have to contend with the insane heat.

Did you see the scene when Master Yoda lifted up both his arms and the bad guys just died from the smell which permeated through those robes? Enough said.

Lesson 3: A lizard can outrun a vehicle.

When Obi Wan goes to kill whatever that ugly creature is called, there is a scene where he is riding his pet lizard and that lizard could actually outrun the bad guy's vehicle. So if you're ever chased by a man in a rob holding a light stick, jump on the nearest lizard that you can find.

Lesson 4: To appear wise, speak in grammatically wrong sentences.

Learn from the Master. You could look like this

but as long as you speak like this " Hard to see , the dark side is." People will respect you and bestow you with the title Master.

So you see, Star Wars wasn't a complete waste of time after all. I would have like to have told Anikn that he shouldn't have covered his burns with that ugly black suit and mask. If he had made a trip to TLOTB, I'm sure one of our plastic surgens could have helped him. And with the great Sale around the corner, he could have picked up some nicer clothes as well!

2005-05-15T21:15:00.000+08:00

I've been really busy lately, there was a big event at work which thankfully, is finally over.
Recently, I began to suspect that Zack the dog might have something called " Cushing's disease" which mainly affects older dogs. It's been worrying me and tomorrow I'll know for sure if he has the disease or not when the results of his blood work come out. By the way, for those of you living in TLOTB, look in today's Strait's Times Classified section and you'll see the one and only Zack, winner of the best of breed contest!

My birthday is slightly less than a month away and I've been thinking of treating myself by splurging on a digital camera. I haven't bought anything expensive for myself since, ermm... I can remember. If anyone can recommend me a good one to get, drop me msg!

Me, Myself and My Bike

2005-04-27T10:30:00.000+08:00

I haven't been able to take a good picture of my bike but I finally have one! Ta Dah! I still remembered the first day I got my bike, I was so excited that I actually left the key in the ignition and walked away! It was only when I reached home and realised I was missing a set of keys. Imagine my panic at the thought of my brand new bike getting stolen just half an hour after I've gotten it. You would think that that incident would have taught me a lesson but I just did the same thing just last week! It must be age....I'm becoming senile at the ripe old age of 22.

2005-04-24T12:19:00.000+08:00

Waffles passed away on 24th April 2005. He lived a good long life ( 3 1/2) and though he had a chronic condition, Waffles fought bravely till the end and will always be remembered for his appetite for life and his hamster mix.

2005-04-09T09:12:00.000+08:00

Don't Forget Rover!

I've been thinking, since I have so many pets, they should have their own site dedicated to them. Many of my friends are always asking me how is your cat, dog, hamster..etc so the site would enable everyone to get to know them a bit better. Hopefully I can get it up and running in about 3 weeks so stay tuned for the URL!

2005-04-02T09:33:00.000+08:00

My last term of classes have just ended. Dealing with special needs children is very fufilling and at times fustrating. At the end of each term, we always have a small party for the children and give them certificates for their efforts. In return, they make us cards or little gifts. That is where my problem starts. When you receive a picture like this....

it makes you go " awwwww...." Especially when you know it's extra hard for some of these kids to even hold a pencil. But my question is, what do you do when you get like, 50 of them? I don't have the heart to throw them out, and my fridge at home is only so big. More often than not, I paste them onto the notice board at our centre. Every ten weeks signals the end of term, which means I have to do this every 2 months or so. Of course there are some special pictures that I keep at home, pictures from children who have touched my heart in their own way.

When I first started this job, I wasn't sure if I was going to stay on. But after nearly a year, I think it's likely that I'll stay on.

2005-02-24T17:25:00.000+08:00

The Terminal

It's time to leave OZ and go back to TLOTW. I had a great trip, the weather was excellent and it was so especially good to see all my friends again. One thing I miss about TLOTW while I was here was it's size, or rather lack of it. Back home, it might take, 2 hours to go from one end to another. But here in OZ, it took me 2 hours just to get from my friend's place into town! And this is how so many people travel to work everyday, hours and hours in the trains. I'm never going to complain about that again. Which explains why I ended up at the airport 3 1/2 hours before my flight. The city rail is not always reliable and I really didn't want to miss my flight just because the train got delayed. So I boarded the train at 4pm for a 9.30pm flight. It took me two hours to reach the airport which left me heaps of time still. Which is why I'm now standing behind a Coke machine typing out this post on one of the free internet access terminals.
One thing about TLOTW, the airport sure has lots of things to do. Even if you were stranded there for hours, there are movies to watch, heck, you could even get a massage and go for a swim. The Sydney airport is a little more modest, just a couple of shops and small cafes which is why I'm going insane! There is only so much I can read and walk around so I'm just hoping that time will pass QUICKLY.
My flight from TLOTW to Sydney was rather uneventful. I had a window seat and lucky for me, no one sat next to me. Being the cheap skate that I am, I had booked tickets on well, a modest airline. The seats were nothing to shout about and neither was the food. But the crew was polite and the aircraft was clean so I can't complain. Only problem was the seats were very close together which didn't leave one a lot of leg room. Despite being vertiaclly challanged, I still found it quite uncomfortable and I can only imagine how the tall Aussie bloke behind me must have felt. Which is why I didn't turn round and scream at him each time he kicked the back of my seat. We were suppose to land at 8.30pm that night but the airport was really crowded with lots of flights coming in. As a result, we had to wait so we circled in the air for over an hour. That was NOT fun. By the time I got out it must have been past 10pm.
20 more mins before I get to board, all I ask for is for my flight to land on time and for all the kids on board to remain relatively quiet for the next 8 and a half hours. Fat Chance.

2005-02-14T17:30:00.000+08:00

A Brief Farewell

I will be leaving for Sydney this Friday and will be back in a week. I'm sure I'll have lots to blog about when I get back so in the meantime, take care everyone!

2005-01-27T20:46:00.000+08:00

An Update

Thousand apologies for not updating my blog in recent months. A summary of what has happened.....

I got my work contract renewed for another year.

I'm going to Australia for a holiday in 2 weeks.

Zack went for his operation and has recovered fully.

Stuart the hamster went to for HIS operation and has recovered fully.

Been filling out University applications for a place in SIM.

That's about it really. I guess I have been caught up in everyday things and didn't have the time/ was too lazy to write.

I absolutely love having my bike. The freedom of just going where ever I want , when ever I want is great. If not for the insane drivers on the road, it would be perfect.

A really funny thing happened the other day, Beo the cat caught a bird in the field. He proudly walked into the stable with the bird in his mouth showing off his catch. All this while the bird is screeching it's head off and the boys tried to rescue it from Beo. But Beo was too fast and the poor bird became his lunch. Very contented and very proud of himself, he walks out the main door and to his surprise, a whole bunch of birds are flying overhead outside waiting to attack him. He quickly makes a U-turn into the safe arms of his Daddy Matthew. The look on Beo's face was priceless, when he realised that he was out numbered ( 1 cat to 20 birds) he did the quickest dash back in I had ever seen. I'll put up pictures of Beo soon.

2004-11-27T09:45:00.000+08:00

Sick, Sick, Sick

I have been really busy looking after sick humans and pets. First it was my mom who fell ill. She was in hospital for a while but now she's home and on the road to recovery. Then, Zack decided to go off his food and water which was really worrying. Was about to give him an IV when the vet said to try and force feed him water first. That worked, for a while. Now whenever Zack sees a syringe, he runs under the nearest table to hide. I don't blame him.... Even I was sick of forcing him to drink it.

Yesterday night, my hamster was very sick. The vet said he might not pull through but just when she said that, he turned around and bit her. So I'm quite confident Stuart will live. Stuart was the runt of the litter and he has always been small. But what he lacks in size he makes up for in brains, looks and character. Fingers crossed that he'll pull through.

The only pets that are healthy at the moment are the cats and Waffles the other hamster. Let's hope that they stay that way.

2004-11-11T17:47:00.000+08:00

No time to write today so a few short words....

I GOT MY BIKE!!!!!

Enough said..............

2004-10-10T10:49:00.000+08:00

In two weeks, I might no longer have to catch the train to work. If everything works out *fingers crossed* I'll be driving my brand new ET-8 Vespa by then! In the meantime, I would miss all the "lovely" people that I have met during my daily trips to work.

Just the other day, I was standing in the train minding my own business trying desperately to finish my book. So of course I didn't take much notice of the people around me. The train was crowded, filled with students and a bunch of other poor unfortunate souls who obviously start work at around the same insane time as I do. Anyway, after a while I noticed that the people around me were starting to move away. Thinking something was wrong with me, I proceeded to descretly check if A: I had accidentally walked out of the horse in my pyjamas, B: My pants were zipped up and C: that various body parts were not accidentally exposed. It was only when I turned round to check if there was something on my back did I notice the flicker.
Mr Flicker was standing at a thiry degree angle behind me, happily cleaning out his nose. From the looks of it, this was probabbly the first time in 40 years that his nose had a proper cleaning. You should have seen that man go at it! His nostrils were like a bottomless pit! I mean, the guy was digging his nose non-stop for 4 whole stations! He would then proceed to start flicking it at the various unexpecting people around him, mainly, ME.
It was one of the most revolting things I had ever seen! I felt sorry for the poor sods sitting down because most of them were asleep and as such, had no chance to take cover from THE FLICKER.
People then starting giving me knowing looks, as if to say " Now you see why we moved away you stupid girl?!" I decided then that Mr Flicker had to be given a taste of his own medicine. So I did what any other well brought up girl might do. When the train reached my station, I let out a huge silent fart which, trust me, stunk like hell. Then I turned round and with a big smile, walked out of the train.

2004-09-29T18:43:00.000+08:00

I know I know... I haven't been writing for a really long time. Well, I've been busy at work, lots of shit going on at the moment, politics as usual. What pisses me off the most is that I'm being discriminated in my own country by people who are not even citizens of the country. It's a long story and I don't really want to get into it right now.

Lots have happened since my last post. Zack the dog contracted bladder stones but he is now on his way to a full recovery. He had a short stay in hospital when my brother accidentally fed him my mom's antibiotics instead of his own. So that week was a little hectic.

My grandfather is in hospital as well with a lung infection. He's in ICU now cos his kidneys were starting to fail. Hopefully he's on the mend as well.

Yesterday I found out that a student at my school had jumped off the 4th floor of the building. Well, the newspaper report didn't say if she had jumped but I think she might have. When I was 17, a friend of mine jumped off the 20th story of his flat a day before his 16th birthday. He couldn't deal with the pressures of school and I think he never really got over his father's death as well. What makes it even sadder is the way the other students talk so candidly about this girl's suicide. It just makes me disgusted.

Enough sad news, here are some pictures which I took over the past few months.... :)

Zack, the ever loveable dog with his best friend Snoopy

Beowulf the kitten taking a little snooze

One of the biggest horses I have ever seen. Charmant aka The Dinosaur

Milo, one of the sweetest dogs ever

The crzay ones! Soo and I in one of our rare sane moments

2004-08-29T19:24:00.000+08:00

I went to watch a movie today, alone. I do that sometimes, when I just want to enjoy my own company, or when I cannot persuade the other half to watch a chick flick. So I decided to go and watch " Spellbound" this morning.

The entire cinema consisted of 1 person, ME! It was quite cool, no annoying children asking
" what's happening ah?" , no mobile phones going off at the most crucial part of the movie and best of all, no horny couples making out in full view of everyone else.

The movie tracks the lives of these 8 children who are preparing for the National Spelling Bee. It's this huge competition that is even telecast live on ESPN. Since when did spelling become a sport, I have no idea. But the competition is so huge that even us folks living in TLOTW get to watch it on ESPN, a week after the live telecast that is.

Even if spelling isn't exactly a sport, you got to hand it to these kids. They spend up to 9 hours a day, learning words from the dictionary. One child had a tutor for German, French and Spanish as well as a spelling coach. Some of the parents get so caught up in it that their lives revolve around their "champion". The one thing these kids have in common is that none of them really have many friends. And you wonder why..... They have such extensive vocabularies that no average teenager would be able to understand them without a dictionary in one hand. A parent of one of the contestants said that the spelling bee is another form of child abuse. While I won't agree with her totally, I feel there is some truth in that statement. It's ok if the child chooses to do this for his/herself. But when it's the parents who force the kids to study 24/7, then I feel it's wrong. After all, these are KIDS and should be allowed to act like one.

It was a pretty good movie, go see it if you have a chance.

2004-08-27T20:34:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I last updated my blog. Reason being, I'M STILL SICK!
I had that horrible flu and nagging cough that wouldn't go away. The flu is gone but I still have the bloody cough and a very bad cold. Not a very happy person at the moment, just ask the people who work with me. For the past week I must have been one heck of a bitch to work with.
The sawdust in the horse's stables have not helped my cold so I'm constantly walking around with a running nose.

It's not even 9pm but I'm off to bed.......

2004-08-09T08:02:00.000+08:00

A Long Wait

I had to go to the doctor's on Saturday as I'm having a really bad sore throat. In TLOTW, there are numerous clinics around, almost every housing estate would have at least 2. However, my company only accepts medical certificates from a government doctor which meant that I had to travel 15 minutes to the doctors when there was just one right opposite my house.

It was my first time going to a government clinic and I have heard horror stories of the endless waiting. At the entrance, there were numerous signs, stating " If you have an appointment, go to Level XXX." " If you're here for an X-Ray, go to Level XXX Room ___" It was so confusing trying to figure out where to go. While I looked around like a lost child, all these older people were expertly locating the right counter to register. I could have sworn that they had a built in radar system telling them where to go. Oh, did I forget to mention that the building had like 7 floors with over a hundred rooms?! Feeling fustrated, I went to the nearest counter to register. Thankfully it was the right one. The nice lady gave me a queue number and told me to go wait at counters 10-17.

In my hand, I clutched my precious 4 digit number which would, hopefully, take me one step nearer to seeing the doctor. The waiting room was chaotic. There was a board where your number would be flashed. I thought that I could settle down and read my book for a while, since there were like 40 other people ahead of me. Then, right at the bottom of the number board this small sign read " Numbers may not be called in sequence, Please look out for your number."
It was worst than waiting for 4D results! Each time I heard that stupid mechanical chime, I would glance at my ticket and look up at the board. And since there were like 8 counters, there were times when 5 different numbers would be flashing at the same time. Talk about confusing. I really wondered how the elderly people could keep up with that darn flashing board.
When my number was finally called, I was given yet another number. From here on, it was all downhill.
I had to wait nearly 3 hours to see the doctor. 3 hours with a waiting room full of ill-behaved children was enough to bring back my headache. When I finally saw the doctor, I was perhaps, more sick than when I left the house that morning. After getting a precription, I had to go to the pharmancy and guess what? Get another queue number. Thankfully I didn't have to wait too long. But the doctor had also given me medical leave, which meant that I once again had to return to the chaotic waiting room to get ANOTHER queue number to collect my medical leave.
I was ready to pull my hair out at this point in time.

It has been two days and I'm not any better. But if you think I'm going to go back to that labyrinth of rooms and queue numbers, I think it's time You saw a doctor.

2004-08-01T08:51:00.000+08:00

The weekend was great, even though I had to work Saturday. Went out on Saturday night with a bunch of friends for dinner and then we headed over to a pub to listen to the band.
It was smoky and crowded, two of my greatest dislikes but I ended up having a really good time. My friends and I were acting like total idiots, having the time of our lives not really caring if the rest of the people around us thought we were morons. And this is before they started drinking. No one got drunk, I think we're all a little too old for that.
Out of the whole crowd, we could only spot 3 reasonably good looking men. Actually 2, cos one of them later turned out to be a girl. Oops.
The chick parade however, was out in full force. I lost count of the number of mini skirts, skimpy tops and revealing bras.
We made a few points last night, 1) Don't try to rub us at any time, or you might suffer a fate worse than death. ( Ask the guys standing in front of the bar if you don't believe me )
2) When you go out with a bunch of girls, people tend to assume that you must be lesbian. It does not help if you are sharing a chair, a drink, hugging and grinning stupidly at each other ever so often. ( One of our guy friend's girlfriend was completely freaked out by us last night and is convinced there is a threesome going on somewhere) I don't think she'll be asking us out again anytime soon.

2004-07-21T19:55:00.000+08:00

Saga of the Egg

I had this craving for a half-boiled egg half an hour ago. For people who are not familiar with this rather strange dish, citizens from TLOTW love to devour it for breakfast with a little soya sauce, white pepper and toast. It looks something like this

Now, I haven't eaten this ever since I was a child. Firstly, the yolk smell from the half-boiled egg really freaked me out and secondly, I'm allergic to egg yolk. So, it was a really unusual craving and I refused to go to the foodcourt and pay $1 for 2 eggs which I could easily cook by myself. How hard could it be? All I needed was water and eggs.

I forgot one really small detail, how long to boil the eggs for. Oh, and did I forget to mention that my burner had a gas leak which I wouldn't have noticed had I not wondered into the kitchen to check on the eggs?

In the end, I had eggs which was 3/4 cooked, a gas-smelling kitchen and a burner that leaks. That's the last time I try to save a dollar by doing it myself.

2004-07-15T19:48:00.000+08:00

Failed my driving test today by 2 points........... Was really upset right after the results but I'm ok now. RE-test is on the 12th of next month so wish me luck. I was so nervous this morning during the test that my hands were shaking. Hopefully the second time round it'll be a lot better and I'll remember to check my blind spots.

2004-07-06T06:23:00.000+08:00

It has been a very long week, emotionally and physically. I nearly lost somesone whom I love very much as a result of an accident. What really makes me angry is that the person who caused the accident is not the least bit sorry. It's a really long story but let's just say I'm really grateful that my boyfriend is still alive.

Week 2 of work. I'm enjoying it, but still finding it hard to wake up early in the mornings. I'm now nursing a sick kitten who had been attacked by my other cat. The wound got infected and well, its not a pretty sight. My day now revolves around the kitten, he is on a few types of medication and I have to rush home at lunch time to feed it to him. My mom is NOT happy that the kitten is living with us for a week, but I can't send him back till he's 100% well.

I'm going to be late for work, will blog later.

2004-07-04T19:25:00.000+08:00

2004-07-04T19:20:00.000+08:00

It has been a bad week. First there was that incident with the pole which led to a visit to the hospital. Then on Saturday, my boyfriend fell while riding in a race. I wasn't there to see it and in a way it was good 'cos I would have totally freaked out.

He only suffered bruises and needed a couple of stitches for his chin, other than that we're all just very grateful that he's alive. When I watched the replay, my blood just turned cold, it could have turned out a lot worst. The horse had nearly fallen on top of him and its a good thing he manage to break the impact of the fall by clinging onto the horse's neck. Even until now, it still makes me feel a bit sick each time someone mentions the accident.

My first week of work is over. Enjoyed it but am really tired from the intensive training that I'm undergoing at the moment.

Oh, there has been a new addition to the cat family at the stable. A kitten just walked in one morning and decided to make our stable his new home. He is so sweet, very timid and very small so I decided to name him Squeak. Pictures of Squeak soon.

2004-07-02T06:16:00.000+08:00

Sorry I haven't written for so long. Just started my new job and have been very busy. I'm actually on a course now to get my qualifications and that along with work, is just enough to kill me. I have no social life, day revolves around work and my precious sleep. But I'm learning a lot everyday so that makes up for a lot.

Nothing very interesting has happened yet, except for a trip to the hospital when my boyfriend spilt his head open by banging it onto a pole. That gave him 9 stitches, right next to his old scar where he had previously spilt his head open. What can I say? I'm in love with a walking disaster. :)

Have to rush off to work, can't wait for the Sunday when I can finally sleep in. Working 6 full days a week is NOT fun.

2004-06-25T11:00:00.000+08:00

Been thinking about my stuides lately. I'll be putting them on hold for the moment while I join the working world. But, am I really doing the right thing? I'm not too sure if I've made the right choice. Sure, lots of people have told me that I can go back to my studies later on, but when that time comes, will I really do it?

My life plan is a bit screwed up now. The original one was like something out of a fairy tale, work, get married, have kids...etc. But who am I kidding, this is the real world man! Nothing works according to plan, I just have to learn to be a bit flexible.

I guess the path that I have chosen will bring me new opportunities and challenges. So I'll just take whatever comes and see what I end up.

2004-06-22T22:11:00.000+08:00

Life's a Beach

For some strange reason, I awoke with this longing to bring Zack the dog to the beach this morning. Even though I would have to travel half way round TLOTW to get there. The weather was good, slightly cloudy but with no hint of rain. So I packed up our stuff and called a good friend along. He too thought that I had lost my mind.

The beach was quiet, except for a family and some school kids playing games. We walked to the far end of the beach and settled down. It was only later that we realised that we had ventured into couple land. We were surrounded by couples making out, plus a threesome of gay men who were making out as well. Two of them were anyway. We had actually spotted them from a far but we thought the two men were actually a guy and his girlfriend ( we were VERY far away).

Zack, who is gay himself, seemed to be very attracted to the threesome. He kept wanting to go over to them but they seem scared of him ( all 4KG of him )so I kept him away. We had fun just chilling out on the sand, chasing his rubber ball and swimming. Usually when I bring him to the beach, I would wash him off at one of the outdoor shower stations. It just so happened that today, they had closed it for cleaning. So I had no choice but to bring him into the ladies since he was covered in sand.

There was a family with 4 children in there and for religious reasons they are not allowed to touch dogs. I made sure to stay far away from them, but they had taken up the entire bench and left me with nowhere to put my belongings. So I asked her to move her things and she gave me this really unnecessary lecture about how I shouldn't have brought Zack in. Even though I had told her the outdoor showers were closed. Now, TLOTW, being the multi-racial place that it is, I understood her stand from a religious point. What I didn't appreciate was her attitude towards me and her tone of voice. Not wanting to make a fuss, I bathed Zack as quickly as I could and got the hell out of there.

2004-06-21T09:47:00.000+08:00

I was persuaded to go across the causeway for the weekend. Knowing that every other family in TLOTW would be having the same idea, I prepared myself for the worse. Surprisingly, we were only stuck in traffic for about an hour and a half. It was at the hotel that I was truly ashamed to be from TLOTW.

Check in time is officially at 3pm. By the time we reached the hotel, it was half past 3. There was a long queue of people at the counter so we joined the back of the queue. In about 10 minutes, a fellow citizen from TLOTW started to complain about the slow service. Apparently it was costing his family precious shopping time. I must admit the service was a little slow, but there was no reason to make a scene right in the middle of the hotel lobby. So the manager came out to try to pacify the bloke who by now, was really working it. I think he expected a free room or something, just because he had to wait in line for 20 mins like the rest of us.

Day 2: There was a buffet breakfast which started at 6am. We woke up early and headed down to breakfast about 7.30am to avoid crowd later. In the cafe, citizens of TLOTW stuck out like a sore thumb. From their dressing to their behaviour. While other people just graciously accepted what was given, they had to question everything. What's this? Why isn't there any bacon? Where is my coffee? My cup is dirty, ( it had a non-existent speck)...blah blah blah. I felt sorry for the other people trying to enjoy their breakfast.

Despite these 2 incidents, it was a rather enjoyable weekend. I did a bit of shopping, ate fantastic local food and chilled out. Oh, my ringworm has not clear up and I just heard that sometimes it takes 3 months for the scars to go away.

2004-06-18T07:21:00.000+08:00

I'll be starting work in about 1 & 1/2 weeks. For the past 3 weeks, my daily routine has consisted of this : wake up, brush teeth..etc, play with dog, play with hamsters. Feed dog, feed hamsters. Turn on the TV, clean house while trying to watch TV. Play computer games/ go out... Not exactly rocket science is it?

While many of my friends are slogging it out in the real working world, I'm living in dreamland playing " house". The shift back to the working world is going to be a huge slap in the face. Not that I'm not looking forward to it, I'm sure work itself would bring many surprises. And even though I love the little dreamland I'm living in, it can get boring at times. No more hours of TV and millions of hours to waste, it's now time to act my age and do some proper work. *sob*

2004-06-16T07:37:00.000+08:00

Orlando Bloom has just been voted the sexiest male in Britain. What were these people thinking?! Look at this face

How is it sexy in any way?! I guess it's only sexy when you compare it to this

Orlando Bloom may act in all these " tough guy" films like "Troy" and " Pirates" but he's better off just being an elf. I have seen women who look even more manly than he does. So is he sexy? NO WAY, unless the people who voted have some kind of elf fetish.

2004-06-15T09:20:00.000+08:00

Zack the dog now has fungus on his paws. He and I are like a big walking fungus community. My ringworm is clearing up, NOT. It itches like hell despite the creams and lotions. From the look of things, Zack isn't feeling any better than I am as well. While at the vet's yesterday, the 2 of us looked like we were infested with fleas. One minute he would scratch, than the next minute me. It's no wonder the lady and her collie decided to move further away from the two of us.

2004-06-14T09:15:00.000+08:00

I have come down with yet another strange skin disease. The first time I had abscess which appeared for no reason. That lasted 2 weeks. Then there was the horrible case of hives which my doctor described as " one of the worst" she had ever seen. Now this. Ringworm. Don't know how or where I got it, just know that I have it. That and this huge blister which has gotten infected and has prevented me from wearing shoes for 2 weeks. I feel like a walking pus, if that grosses you out, too bad.

2004-06-11T07:39:00.000+08:00

I'm mourning the loss of my favourite horse. He died at an age where most horses are just begining their lives. The worst part about it is he was perfectly healthy when he died, he was shot because he couldn't race. Such is the life of a racehorse.

If there was ever a gentle giant, Maax was certaintly one. He was one of the biggest horses at the track, towering over everyone. At first glance, he looked, well, ugly. But his character made up for his appearance. I was his mommy, after looking after him daily for nearly a year. Every morning he'll stick his head out of his stable to greet me. One thing Maax loved was his feed. Everyday he would eagerly wait for me to bring up his bucket of food and each time he saw that white bucket, he would start neigh-ing, as if to say " feed me please mommy, i'm hungry" Each day, his feed bin would be clean, he never left one crumb. It was a joke at our stable that the day Maax didn't finish his food was the day that he felt sick. Even after a hard race, when most horses would be too tired to eat, there he would be chomping away.

It's hard to describe our relationship in words, but everyone who saw us knew we have something special. Before he was sent away, I visited him everyday and spent hours with him cos I knew I would never see him again. When I received news of his death yesterday, it just confirmed what I had suspected all along. So Maax, where ever you are, know that mommy loves you very much.

In memory of Maax, 01-01-99 to 01-06-04 " The horse who brought so much joy into my life"

2004-06-09T20:55:00.000+08:00

I have gotten my provisional driving license! Which means I can now drive on the road with an instructor! 2 more lessons then my test and hopefully I'll be zooming around on my brand new Vespa in no time. Only problem is breaking the news to my parents. My dad is quite cool but mom is going to freak out when she finds out I'm riding a motorbike. She doesn't even know I have been taking lessons. In the meantime, I shall just drool over my dream scooter.

2004-06-07T22:28:00.000+08:00

Too tired to blog tonight so I shall just post pictures of Scampy and Ralph, plus my 21st birthday cake!

Scampy

Ralph

The loving couple

Ralph and Buzz the 2nd, Buzz the lst has mysteriously vanished

2004-06-05T07:54:00.000+08:00

There was a huge storm last night. One of the biggest I have ever seen in a while anyway. But I wasn't awaken by the thunder or the lighting, I was awaken cos I had a cat on my face. REALLY.

I was sleeping on the sofa last night, to keep the kittens company since they weren't allowed in the guest room. So anyway, I fell asleep with 2 kittens on my lap and woke up to 1 scared one on my face. Ralph was beside himself, he didn't know where the noise was coming from and why it was so loud. Since he was abandon when he was really young, the only "mother" he knows are the humans that look after him. So he tried to snuggle as close to me as he could. Scampy decided to just hide under the blankets. I couldn't sleep with him on my face, besides his whiskers were tickling my nose, so we made a compromise. I shifted him to my shoulder and he agreed to sleep there. Only problem was, I couldn't change my sleeping position once he had settled there.

I woke up to a gloomy day with overcast skies. Not to mention a sore back.

2004-06-04T09:08:00.000+08:00

Broken

I'm still cat-sitting and the cats are fine. This time, its the house that is giving me problems.

I woke up today and wandered into the kitchen, still half-asleep. The whole kitchen was flooded!! And trust me, I woke up the minute I stepped into the water. Seems that there is something wrong with the fridge. Its still cold and the ice dispenser is still working so I'm not too sure what's wrong.

Anyway, I walk into the master bedroom to switch on the air-conditioner for the cats ( yes, they sleep with it on) and what do you know, that's spoilt as well. It's working but there is disgusting musky smell coming out of it which didn't happen the last 2 days.

So now I have two healthy cats and one broken down house.

2004-06-02T14:55:00.000+08:00

Cruel Intentions

How can a human being mistreat an innocent animal and act as if he did nothing wrong?
There was a recent case of animal abuse in the newspapers recently, someone had put a rubber band so tightly round a cat's neck that it ate into his flesh and nearly killed him. I'm sure there are a lot more cases of animal abuse that is never reported.
Each time I read such a report, it makes me sick. I can't understand how people can be so cruel? Even if you're not an animal lover, there is no reason to harm them. As chief-keeper of my own mini zoo, I would personally kill anyone who dares to lay a finger on any of my animals.

Its my 2nd day of pet-sitting for Ralph and Scampy, and I must say they are behaving themselves really well. Ok, Ralph is behaving himself but Scamp is really sweet. They do the most stupid and funny things, like this morning they wandered into the bathroom while I was having my shower and started to play with the water droplets on the shower screen. Once I was done, Ralph decided to step into the shower area, only to retreat with disgust when he realised the floor was soaking wet. And did I mention about how I came home to 2 kittens swinging on the curtains? Pictures of them when I get home

2004-06-01T08:48:00.000+08:00

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and I came across this article where Muslims were going around killing everyone who was a non-Muslim. The details of the killings made me feel a bit sick but at the same time, it also made me wonder. If I had been in that situation at that point in time, what would I have said when they pointed the gun at me and asked " Are you a Muslim?" Would I have denied my religion to save my life?
In that moment of fear, I don't think I would know what to say. I don't know if I can be one of those people you read about, the kind that would proudly proclaim their religion, knowing that they would die for what they believed in. It all seems so , well, movie-like. In real-life, one has to be a bit more practical.

Last night, I had to attend my cousin's wedding. He had a church wedding on Saturday which we didn't attend, simply because we didn't feel comfortable in that church. But we went for his wedding dinner anyway. My cousin is really into this whole church thing, I've nothing against it but when he made his speech and thanked his church "brothers and sisters" before his parents, I just thought that it wasn't right. After all, who can be more important than your own parents? My family and I sat through dinner, the 4 of us obviously uncomfortable with the worship and continuous references to "Him". Don't get us wrong, we're not atheists, we're just used to a more subtle, quiet & personal way of embracing our religion. Well, to each it's own. The dinner is over, we've survived and my cousin is happy cos all of us came to celebrate this special occasion with him.

2004-05-29T08:13:00.000+08:00

I've been really upset the past few days. Non-animal lovers can stop reading from here.

My favourite pony has been taken away from me. Okay, not literally, let me explain. Misty has always known to be difficult. I've worked with her for 4 months, everyday. She has become close to me and we know each other inside and out. Suddenly, this other girl is riding her now because she's shorter than I am. Misty is quite a small pony and my height has never been an issue till recently since Miss A has started asking to ride her.
All my hard work has gone down the drain cos everything that I have taught her, is ruined! I was so bloody angry the first day I saw her riding Misty. But the thing is, its not for me to decide so I can either act like a child and make a heck lot of noise, or shut up and just bear with it. And yes, I admit that I'm jealous as well. ARGH! Its so bloody frustrating!!!

2004-05-28T08:05:00.000+08:00

I'm starting to accept my new hairstyle, that doesn't mean I like it.
I was still bitching about my hair to anyone who would listen to me ( Zack) when my brother came home and made it all better. First of all, he didn't laugh, after taking a Looong look, ( I think he was trying to think of something to say) he said" it's not that bad, sort of looks like Elyse ( from America's next top model)"

After hearing that, the hair didn't seem so bad anymore. Till this morning that is.
Like I said, I've never had short hair and those of you who do will know how it looks like when you just wake up in the morning. With long hair it was a lot easier, just pull everything back into a ponytail. I swear, this moment I woke up and looked like I had a bird's nest on my hair. Hair was sticking out in all directions and despite my best efforts, its still sticking out, 2 hours after I have woken up.

I'm considering shaving my head. Seriously.

2004-05-27T17:30:00.000+08:00

A Hair-raising experience

I got my hair cut today, and it came out exactly as I wanted it,NOT!
Its so short, I look like a boy, not just any boy, the kind of boy that gets his mom to cut his hair for him kind. My hair is super short, the shortest I have ever had it and its....its... words cannot express how bad it is.
Its not really my hair-stylist's fault. She has been doing my hair for 6 years now and this is the first and hopefully last, big mistake. I told her to cut it shorter, little did I realise that it was already quite short. ( *Note to self, NEVER leave glasses at home when going for haircut)
My only consolation is that my hair grows pretty fast. In the meantime, I have warned all insensitive male species that live with me that should they even dare laugh at my new hairstyle, they'll never see a hot home-cooked meal for a looong time.

If you think I'm going to put up pictures of my new hairstyle, you got to be joking. In the meantime, I'm avoiding as many people as I can.

2004-05-26T11:13:00.000+08:00

For Goodness Sake, He's just a dog!

Once again my fellow citizens in The Land of The Wealthy(TLOTW)have shown their strange characteristics.

I was taking Zack down for a walk and while we were in the lift going downstairs, it stopped in on the 7th floor. A lady and her daughter were about to walk into the lift when they saw Zack. I was carrying him in my arms. The lady stopped dead and went " Eeeeee dog, don't wan don't wan, you go down" She grabbed her daughter's hand to restrain her because unlike her idiotic mother, the girl had enough sense to know that a little dog is quite harmless. I explained that Zack wouldn't bite, besides, I was carrying him. She said that he was dirty and didn't want to be in the same lift with him. Fine! So I did what any dog owner would do. I told her " I think my dog is a lot cleaner than you." And I pressed the close button.

You would think that the woman is a rare species, trust me, Zack and I encountered 2 more people like that during our walk. Despite the fact that he was on a leash, they felt that he was a major threat to their children's safety and thus, took great lengths to avoid us. One lady even gave me a dirty look! Hello?! HE IS A POODLE! How dangerous can he be?!

( By the way, this fantastic cake was baked by my colleague. You can see her other yummy cakes here)

Citizens in TLOTW need to wake up and see that we live on this earth with animals as well. The earth does not merely consists of trains, buses, cars and high buildings. In the meantime, there is nothing Zack and I can do about these ignorant people so we've decided to just enjoy our walks and ignore these bloody fools.

2004-05-25T18:38:00.000+08:00

I have been slacking around the past few days, just enjoying my own company and the company of my doggy Zack. I blur-ed my face on purpose, didn't want all your computer screens to explode. But now I realise I look like one of those people who appear on Crime Watch. What the heck.

Zack and I spending quality time together

The next few weeks I'll be pet-sitting once again. THis time for Ralph and his girlfriend. So stay tune for more of my pet-sitting adventures. Fortunately its an apartment this time, with only 1 main door so I won't have to climb out windows anytime soon.

2004-05-24T11:36:00.000+08:00

Slacker

I'm enjoying my first day of slacking. Slept late, woke up late and immediately started playing computer games. So far, its great! Its nice not having to think about school or work. But I think in about 3 days I'm going to be sick of having nothing to do.

Ralph now has a girlfriend whom he adores.

Scampy, Ralph & "Daddy" Andy

My digital camera has officially died on me so it'll be a while before I upload more pictures.

2004-05-21T14:12:00.000+08:00

Presents!

Today is my last day at work, its sort of a bitter-sweet moment since I've grown close to lots of my collegaues.
They have given me all sorts of cool gifts, which I'll try to put up pictures of when I've sorted out the digital camera.

By the way, I have a new email account! So email me

Longer post tomorrow.Really.

2004-05-20T09:18:00.000+08:00

Ralph the Lucky Cat

Ralph has now found a loving home. He will be joined by another kitten who has a similar background to him. She's the same age, weight and size but she sure has one heck of a temper! Anyway, no pictures of Scampy yet but some pictures of Ralph at his new home.

2004-05-20T09:09:00.000+08:00

Show Off

I met a really inconsiderate guy in the train today. He even beats the average citizen in TLOTW.
Once again, it was the morning rush hour and the trains were packed. This idiot who happened to get a seat, decided to show off his model-length legs by stretching it out fully. I was almost tempted to "accidentally" stomp on his feet. Stretching out your feet in a crowded train is NOT a smart thing to do. First of all, you piss off a lot of women who are mostly wearing killer heels. Enough said.

I understand if he's really proud of his legs. But look, if he had a really big dick, he wouldn't whip it out and display it for all to see now would he? Then again..... men do stupid things sometime. Okay, your average sane man would not do it. Even if they had a monster size dick, they would keep it in their pants. The same theory should apply to any body part for both men and women. Just because you have like FFF size breasts, you don't have to wear such a low-cut blouse that they look like grapefruits about to explode.

Human beings are such strange beings.

2004-05-17T09:08:00.000+08:00

Strange Characteristics of citizens in TLOTW

Maybe its the water that we drink, but citizens of TLOTW never fail to amaze me with their strange behavior.

Take today for example, there was a train delay during the morning rush hour. As a result of that, the station was even more crowded than usual. When I reached my stop,hundreds of people rushed out. I'm serious. Hundreds.
Now, I can understand if they're rushing because 1) Their wives are giving birth, 2) someone is giving away money or 3) there is a major disaster. But no, they were rushing to get to WORK. Keep in mind there was a good 20 minutes before most people officially start work. And since most people always moan and groan about work, why are they so eager to get there?
The reason is simple. They are not eager to get to work, all they are concern about is to get ahead of everyone else. They HAVE to be first, asking them to give way might just give them a heart attack. No matter what the occasion or situation, citizens of TLOTW must always be first. That rule however, does not apply to wedding dinners where most people seem to fail to read the invitation card and often turn up more than half and hour late.
Like I said, it must be the water we're drinking. I'm going to boil all the water that I drink from now on.

2004-05-13T09:59:00.000+08:00

Strange Weather

We have been having really strange weather in TLOTW recently. Which explains why I'm sitting here at my desk shivering my ass off. When I woke up this morning, the sky was gloomy, just like the day before. As I walked out of the bathroom after my bath, the sky was clear and the sun was shining, it was bloody HOT.
Thinking that it was going to stay like that the whole day, I chose my outfit for work.

Coming out of the train station, I noticed that the sky was now considerably darker but the air was still thick with humidity. Now its nearly 11am and it looks like we're in for a real thunder storm. It's freezing in the office and like I said, I'm shivering my ass off.

2004-05-11T11:06:00.000+08:00

Hair There, Everywhere

Due to the recent insanely hot weather in TLOTW, lots of people have taken to wearing sleeve-less clothing.

On my way to work today, I had the PRIVILEGE of standing next to a sweaty, hairy woman who looked like a man wearing a dress. I kid you not. During my 40 minute train ride, I realised that lots of women in TLOTW have hairy armpits! It is not as if they cannot afford a shaver. Out of all these women, maybe a small percentage have husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends who have an armpit hair fetish. But this does not excuse the other 99.99%! And we're not talking short hairs here, they were all Rapunzel length.

I really felt sorry for the poor souls sitting down. They have the birds eye view of the armpit gallery as all these sweaty hairy women stood in front of them grabbing the handrail, armpit hair in full view. Its not wonder all the people sitting down pretend to sleep.

Can someone kindly explain this strange phenomenon to me?

2004-05-09T10:09:00.000+08:00

Sorry to everyone who tried to read my blog on Friday. My host server screwed up on me and I lost a lot of my pictures which really pissed me off. So now, my blog has a new look, thanks to the inefficient people at my previous lousy server that lost my pictures. In the meantime, please use your imagination for the rest of the pictures that have failed to load.
Finally, a picture of Ralph the kitten who at the current moment is doing fantastically well.
Will blog more on Monday.

2004-05-06T09:29:00.000+08:00

This is the house that Jack built............

After living alone this part week, I realised that I actually enjoy being by myself or rather, living away from my family. This new found freedom came with a whole lot of responsibilities though. It has also made me appreciate my mom a lot more. Usually she irons our clothes for us, the rest of the household chores is split between my brother and myself. Since the whole family works, its only fair that everyone pitches in with the housework cos you can't expect my mom to come back from work and clean up after us.

My boyfriend and I are thinking of buying our own place. It's something that we have talked about for a long time, only thing is we couldn't decide what sort of place we wanted. A private house is definately out of the question now. After staying in one for the past week, I've decided that I'm much more comfortable in an apartment. It's a lot easier to maintain and doesn't come with a lot of other residents ie: mosquitoes & rats.
This was what my dream house used to be:

But after careful consideration, this is what my dream house would be:

Its not grand but at least its a roof over our heads. :)

2004-05-05T09:35:00.000+08:00

Lesson of the day: Wear Nice Panties whenever you go out

As I was walking out of the MRT station this morning, I saw a girl lying on the floor. Judging from the colour of her face, she must have just fainted. Seeing this girl reminded me of a similar incident that happen to me a few months ago.

I was running a high fever that morning and decided to go to the doctor. My boyfriend offered to come over to take me to the doctor. Usually, he would fetch me there on his motorcycle. But that day was unusually hot so he decided that we should take the MRT instead. That turned out to be one of the smartest suggestions he ever made. While we were at the MRT station, I told him that I needed to go and withdraw some money. Since he needed to buy a train pass, we agreed to meet near the machines. At this point in time, I was starting to feel nauseous. Everything seemed to grow more distant. From experience, I knew that I was about to pass out so I quickly made my way over to my boyfriend and before I could tell him how I was feeling, I passed out. The last thing I remember seeing was a brick wall. The train station was still relatively crowded as it was morning rush hour. I honestly can't remember what happened after that except someone carried me onto a wheelchair. According to my boyfriend, a kind lady rubbed some medicated oil under my nose and the train staff came rushing out with the wheelchair. I regained consciousness a while later and my mind was alert enough to know that a huge crowd had gathered round. At this point in time I was so embarrassed for causing such a commotion that I just kept my eyes shut and pretended not to know what was going on.
There happened to be a clinic next to the train station which is where they CARRIED me to. Yes, CARRIED. They wouldn't let me walk there by myself and though I appreciated their concern, it was SO embarrassing.

Back to the girl at the train station this morning. When I passed out, I was fortunately, wearing shorts. This poor girl happened to be wearing a short skirt and when she fainted, well, lets just say lots of office-goers saw much more than they bargained for. Like my friend's grandmother always says " Always wear nice panties when you go out, you never know what might happen".

2004-05-04T12:16:00.000+08:00

Ant Attack!

The cats and I are officially being attacked by ants. This morning I saw a trail of huge black ants in the living room. Following this trail, I soon came to their ant castle. Raffles the cat was busy trying to catch the ants crawling on the ground but he soon realised that though he might be bigger, there were A LOT more ants than cats. Being the loyal pet he is, he retreated under the safety of the table. Grabbing my insect repellent, I started spraying the entrance of their ant castle. Soon, hundreds and thousands of them started running out. It was fascinating yet at the same time really disgusting. Most of the ants ran out carrying their important possessions ( crumbs of food) only to die in the puddle of insect repellent at the entrance.
I may have killed the residents of the ant castle, but I suspect that their main army is still hiding somewhere in the garden. Tonight my mission is to free the cats and myself from these pests. Armed with my trusty insect repellent, the monster black ants won't stand a chance.

2004-05-03T09:09:00.000+08:00

A great Weekend

Despite my stupid Friday, the rest of the weekend went really well. When I got in Saturday morning, the house was still standing, except the kitchen stunk of cat food and their litter box. As expected, they started complaining the minute I stepped in. My brother , his girlfriend and a colleague from work came over to spend the weekend. We had lots of fun swimming and basically just goofing around. It was nice to spend sometime with my family and friends, especially now when there is so much tragedy in the world, it really reminds us to treasure the people around us more.

2004-05-03T08:55:00.001+08:00

I So Stupid

Despite my reservations about leaving the two cats alone for the night, I was soooo happy to be home. My dog welcomed me back so enthusiastically you would think I had gone for years ( don't you just love dogs?) Oh, before that, let me tell you what an idiot I was/ am?
Anyway, like I said, I was going home on Friday. Technically you need keys to enter the house, either that or someone should be at home to open the door for you. Guess what? I had neither keys nor was anyone home. SIGH. Being the idiot that I am, I had left the keys with the cats. ( Now, what the hell would the cats need my keys for?! My stupidity amazes me)

The nearest family member who had keys was my brother and he was all the way at the other side of TLOTW. I travelled all the way to the Turf Club, tired and irritated with myself. hoping to just get the keys and GO HOME. No luck, one of our horses just happened to win the race while I was there and hence, I had to go in and celebrate with the owners. What made everything worse was that they kept offering me champange. In order not to be rude, I had one glass, knowing I would regret it later.

True enough, ten minutes later I had the worst headache ever. I collected the keys, caught a cab and just went home to relax, NOT. My mini zoo at home needed and wanted my attention. Picture this, I'm feeding my hamsters and Zack the dog is resting his head on my lap, pawing my hand asking me to pat him. When I turned my attention to Zack, the two hamsters started chewing on their cages demanding that I take them out for a little run in their hamster ball.

2004-04-30T08:44:00.000+08:00

Pet Woes

Today will be the first time that I would have to leave the two cats on their own for the night. Yesterday I got back home a little later than usual due to the heavy downpour in the evening and the minute I stepped into the house they came rushing to me whining. Since not all of you can understand cat language, let me translate. Cat 1 aka Raffles: "Where have you been? I want my dinner!"
Cat 2 aka Shan: "I'm huuunnnggrrryyy."
Cat 1 & 2: "We want our dinner NOW, NOW!"
So on and on they went, grumbling to me about how they have been starved cos I was ten minutes later than usual.
And tonight they will be all alone by themselves. I left enough food and water to last them 5 days, even though it'll only be for a night. Knowing the two of them, they're still going to complain about the "lack" of food the minute I go back.

The reason I'm leaving them on their own is because I have to go back to my own house to see to my three other pets who at this point in time would be complaining as well since I haven't seen them for the last two days. I'm guessing its going to sound something like this, Dog aka Zack"woof! woof! wooooffff!!!!"
Hamster 1 aka Waffles " squeak squeak squeak!!" ( not too sure what sound a hamster makes but they do squeak when they're fighting)
Hamster 2 aka Stuat " squeak" ( Stuat doesn't speak very much, he's shy)
Zack " woof , woof WOOF!!!"

By the way, that's not all the pets that I have. I'm a surrogate mother to 4 cats and a horse. Put all of them altogether and we'll have an animal symphony, either that or we'll go deaf. Woof!

2004-04-29T11:47:00.000+08:00

Cat/ House- sitting 101

For the next week and a half, I'll be cat/ house -sitting for a friend of mine. She lives in a HUGE 3 story house with her husband and two cats. Before she left, she gave me a list of phone numbers, house keys....etc. From there I should have sensed a problem. See, when you enter the main gate, the first thing you would notice is that there are many ways into the house. At the last count, there was one front door, and 3 side doors. So clutching my unlabelled bunch of keys, I listened as she explained which key was for what door. Rule #1 in house sitting, if house possess more than one door, ALWAYS label keys.
Since it didn't occur for me to follow Rule #1, as I was getting ready to leave for work this morning, I realised that I couldn't lock the door despite trying out the whole bunch of keys. At this point in time I was already running late. Looking around, I assessed my options. I could either 1) leave the door unlocked or 2) climb out a window. I chose option two. Instead of leaving one of the windows on the first floor opened, I decided to go out through the basement. The basement is connected to the main house by a dumb waiter which is a small elevator which people use to send stuff up and down, mostly in hotels. They had one in the house so I squashed myself into it and sent myself down to the basement. It was only after that I realised I could have gotten stuck inside and no one would have known. So, Rule #2, Never ride the dumb waiter. ( After re-reading this post, I realised that rule #2 has two meanings. So to those who know what I'm talking about, Yes, do not ride the dumb waiter elevator and do not ride the dumb waiter, full stop.).
After finally getting out of the house, I proceeded to make my way to the bus stop. She just happens to live in one of the most complicated estates in TLOTW, anyone familiar with Kew Terrace and its surroundings will know what I'm referring to. After walking round and round, I still couldn't see the darn bus stop. Rule #3, Familiarise yourself with the surroundings In the end, I followed this lady who looked like she was going to catch the bus, which thankfully she was.
And to think I was worried about the cats giving me problems.

2004-04-28T14:28:00.000+08:00

As I'm nearing the end of my attachment, I have to think about what I want to do next. There are so many things for me to do, and yet, it seems there is so little time for me to finish all of it.

I'm about to turn 21 in a few months, I have a job lined up and am getting married in a couple of years. Life has been extremely kind to me. But a little part of me feels that I've grown up too fast. I feel like I'm missing out on things people my age are enjoying.

Despite that, I'm grateful for lots of things that I have been fortunate enough to have. 1) Loving parents, 2) a roof over my head , 3) friends and 4) people whom I love and who love me back.

As we all know, life never turns out the way we planned it in our minds. As long as I remember what I have instead of harping on what I don't, I can deal with whatever life may throw at me.

2004-04-27T14:28:00.000+08:00

A Quick Update

Ralph the kitten was returned to the shelter yesterday. The couple who adopted him returned him cos their neighbour complained that he was too noisy. Well, he's a kitten in a strange place, of course he's going to cry for a while. Anyway, he'll find another home so not to worry.
Secondly, it seems that I'm going to be graduate speaker. Looks like I didn't screw up the audition as badly as I thought. Either that or they're really desperate. Anyhow, pretty busy with work today so I'll write more tomorrow.

2004-04-27T09:12:00.000+08:00

Love is In The Air

Since yesterday's schocking news, I can firmly say that love IS in the air. Let me give you a little background information on these 2 vastly different individuals who happen to be going steady with each other right now.
He is a mummy's boy, full stop. That is no other way to describe him. He who has never experienced a single hardship in his life, everything he wants, he gets.
She is a street-wise, intelligent girl who has seen much more of life than he ever will.
Physically, they're different as well, but that's not important. What amazes me is how they even got together in the first place. My conclusion is that Love/lust is lingering in the air, one of them inhaled too much of it and farted in the other's face.

2004-04-26T14:46:00.000+08:00

* Warning, a very depressing post*

I was reading a book about World War 2. Now, I know that it happened more than 60 years ago but a recent viewing of "The Sound of Music" made me want to find out more about the war.
To spare everyone the horrible details, I shall just state that I was close to tears as I read how women, children and the elderly were killed. It was so sad, Hitler wanted all the Jews killed, and anyone else who was disabled, sick or weak. He called it "mercy killings" but there was nothing merciful about the way these people died. I still can't imagine how a person could kill so many of his fellow human beings and yet carry on living like nothing had happened. The pictures of the mass killings were so sad and quite disturbing, which is why I chose not to put any of them here. * There was a picture here but my stupid host server has disabled my account*P/S: On a happier note, Ralph the kitten was adopted yesterday!

2004-04-26T09:08:00.000+08:00

Gossip, Shameless gossip

Like any female on this planet, I too like my fair share of juicy gossip. This one concerns the selfish ass that I had mentioned in my previous post. If you don't know who I'm talking about, TOO BAD.
Well, it seems this selfish ass who is always moaning and groaning about his lack of girlfriends has finally got attached. The best part is whom he is attached to. Now, anyone who knows the selfish bastard that I'm referring to would have perked up their ears by now.
He is attached to one of our fellow coursemates, someone I would have never thought would fall from him. If opposites attract, these two must be stuck together. Oh well, my little bit of juicy goss for the day.

2004-04-25T11:36:00.000+08:00

Life or Something like it

Death is everywhere. Yesterday, I witnessed an accident.
Anyone who has picked up a recent copy of the local newspaper in TLOTW would have realised that on almost every page, its about people dying, people getting hurt...etc. Its not exactly the sort of thing you would want to read early in the morning. Granted, death is part of life. Many of us fear death, I guess the main reason being that death is so unexpected. See, if I knew that I was going to die in 6 months, I would use that time to prepare myself and my family for what is to come. It may seem that I'm very morbid, heck, just look at the colour scheme of my blog. Maybe I'm cynical, but the world is sure becoming one shit of a place to live in. Granted that I've only lived on it for about 20 years but in that time, the world sure has changed. Or maybe I have changed.
" What nourishes me, also kills me"

2004-04-22T10:11:00.000+08:00

Discuss Disgust

A U.S. TV show is going to show photographs taken of Princess Diana at the scene of the car crash in Paris where she passed away. The photos were never published before out of respect for her sons and the extent of her injuries.

My question is, why should they be publishing it now? Just because her sons are older doesn't mean it will be easier on them seeing their mother in that state. There is a limit to how much is too much and in this case, I think the network has really crossed the line. Anyone who has lost a loved one knows how hard it is to cope with the loss. Its even harder when everyone in the world is watching.

Despite numerous protest, the network is still defending its decision to use the pictures claiming that the photos will be used in "journalistic context". If that is journalism, then its time I re-think my career choice.

2004-04-22T10:00:00.000+08:00

Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse

I have an audition this Friday. Its not for some big Hollywood production, heck, its not even for a local sitcom. Its for my graduation ceremony. They're holding auditions to pick the graduate speaker. That is not the bad part. Wait till you read the script that they've sent which I'm suppose to memorise and deliver on Friday.

Some parts of the speech are quite alright, but for the most part, it makes my hair stand. It's going to be a real test on Friday to see if I can deliver the speech without cringing once.

If I'm chosen as graduate speaker, I'll spare my fellow classmates the torture and keep my speech as short as possible. Thank you

2004-04-21T14:07:00.000+08:00

Complain, Complain, Complain

Once again, citizens in TLOTW never fail to amaze me. I was reading a blog of a fellow citizen of TLOTW. He was going on and on about how he'll never make enough money to enjoy the luxuaries of life...blah blah blah. And how he'll have to remain single so that he'll have enough money to buy his car, apartment...etc. Now, I happen to know this whiny bastard and he lives a comfortable life. He has the newest gadgets, nice clothes and parents who spoil him rotten. So there is no reason for him to complain when there are others out there who don't even have money to eat. As I've mentioned before, I can't stand money. Yes, I acknowledge that its essential for survival but other than that, I detest people talking about money ( lack of it or whatever). My fellow citizens in TLOTW who may happen to be reading this, don't die of shock.* NewsFlash* There are people out there who don't long for a huge house and flashy car.

So like I said, his blog entry really pissed me off because yesteday there was a tragedy in TLOTW, a highway had collapsed and 3 people are missing. One of those people had actually escaped, but he went back in to rescue his friends. The man is a father of two and his wife has been keeping vigil at the site since last night. It is a very unfortunate and sad incident, as the hours pass, hope of finding the three missing people alive decreases.

While some people are coping with the tragedy, maybe others who were fortunate enough to escape this incident should start counting their blessings instead of their money.

2004-04-21T11:20:00.000+08:00

A partially Happy Ending

Ralph the kitten is now at the shelter. It nearly broke my heart leaving him there and hearing him calling for me. But he soon settled down and took a little cat nap. I'm still hoping that he gets adopted, he deserves a good home.

2004-04-19T10:14:00.000+08:00

Have a Little Faith

Well, latest update on Ralph the kitten. I have found him a new home at a lovely animal shelter where he will be put up for adoption. This weekend was one spent on worrying, crying and finally faith. Let me start from the beginning.

After I had dropped Ralph off at a friend's, I begun the task of getting him put up for adoption. Numerous phone calls and emails later, NOTHING. All this time I had this strange cold feeling in my stomach, the feeling that I get when I know something bad is going to happen. Anyway, after endless worrying and waiting for replies from people, I had yet to find him a home. By Sunday, I was near tears as I knew what his fate would be if I was unable to find him a home. All I could do was pray, and pray I did. I prayed long and hard, and I decided to accept the situation as it was and let HIM take over. I knew that HE wouldn't let an innocent animal suffer and whatever should happen would be HIS will. So I placed all my hopes and worries into my faith in him and even then, I still couldn't get a good night's sleep.

Early this morning, I received an email that would change everything. A pet shelter had just opened and they took in strays who needed a home. All I had to do was contribute $30 a month for Ralph's lodgings and food. My heart suddenly felt so much lighter, I quickly sent them an email, asking them if they would take Ralph. After numerous email checking and still no reply, I decided to give them a call. So tomorrow, Ralph would be on his way to his new home where he will be loved and hopefully get adopted.

My faith has always seen me through hard times like this, especially when it had to do with the animals that I have tried to rescue and re-home. So sometimes, it really does pay to have a little faith.

2004-04-17T10:38:00.000+08:00

Update on the kitten

The kitten has been named Ralph. But we're in quite a desperate situation now cos he has a home for the next 7 days. After that, if no one adopts him, I don't know what to do with him. Hopefully something will come up in the next few days. Sigh. Pray hard, miracles do happen.

2004-04-16T11:35:00.000+08:00

The Funny Thing About Life

Today was just like any other day. I woke up, showered , got changed and went to work. But as we all know, life tends to throw us curve balls now and then.

As I was about to cross the street to my office, I heard a loud wail. In fact, I had heard this dreadful noise for the past two days, and each time I could never find out its source. So I looked around, nothing. Then, I spotted something furry in the drain. It was a poor kitten, skinny little thing, a bit scruffy obviously from being in the drain. Anyway, it wasn't the most friendly cat, it wouldn't come out of the drain despite my best efforts. Picture this, me, in my office clothes ( wrong day to wear a skirt) bending down over a drain trying to get the kitten to come out. Obviously my fellow citizens in TLOTW started to stare, not one person offered to help. In fact, they were looking at me like I was insane. After much pleading, the kitten did come out, the minute I picked it up, out came it claws and yes, they were bloody sharp. Trying to keep as calm as possible, I quickly carried it across the street and into my office.

Everyone was a little shock, but accepting of my new friend. My boss didn't say much but I could tell that he wasn't very happy. Anyway, the poor kitten kept meowing, and knowing how annoying this could be, I had to find a place to put him before my boss got upset. We got one of those big DHL boxes, lined it with paper and placed him in. Being a kitten, he obviously didn't co operate. He scratched and eventually climbed out of the box but I had to attend a meeting so all I could do was cross my fingers and pray that he didn't make too much noise. Thankfully he was relatively quiet and no one mentioned anything about the noise from the stair well.

Now, even though I love cats, my mom is allergic to their fur so there is no way in hell she's going to allow me to bring this kitten home. Recently I had just begged a friend to adopt another stray that I had found so he's out of the question as well. With no other choice, I called up the SPCA. The lady was really nice, she told me honestly that any animal surrendered over to them would not necessarily be put up for adoption, in fact more than half are put to sleep. I couldn't let them put the kitten to sleep! All he needed was a bath, some food and he would make a great pet for someone. I thanked the lady and tried to think of other alternatives. Right now my best bet is the Cat Welfare Society. I've sent them an email and am hoping that they'll get back to me soon. In the meantime, the kitten is happily sleeping on my lap, his food and shelter worries over. I'm glad I could make his life a little happier and hopefully someone would adopt him.

2004-04-07T09:09:00.000+08:00

More Observations From the Land of The Wealthy

Today when I was traveling to work, I made some observations about Citizens in TLOTW. It is a well documented fact that citizens in TLOTW are always afraid to lose out to others. They HAVE to be first at everything. This might help one understand why the bloody trains are always full at the doorways while the centre of the carriage remains empty.

An empty seat on the train during morning rush hour is like a God sent. I've learnt an important lesson today, if there is an empty seat and no one is making an attempt to rush for it, DO NOT SIT. I made that mistake this morning. Firstly, I was squashed between two huge people. That itself wasn't that bad, it was the fact that the both of them were asleep! And they decided to make my shoulders their pillows. I'm only average size about 5'3, okay 5'2 without heels. So it was like two huge mountains caving in on me. I tried my best to elbow both of them away but it was a lost cause. The people around me gave me "I told you not to sit there" looks. Since I'm not your average LOTW citizen, I decided to ask both of them if they could please get off my shoulders before they bloody break it. The conversation went like this:

Me: Could you please not lean on my shoulder?
Fat Person 1:* Blank Stare*
Me: Please don't lean on my shoulder, I don't mind if you want to sleep, but just not on me.
Fat person 1: * Blank Stare*
Since this conversation was going sooo well, I didn't want to bother asking fat person 2 who I suspect might have drooled on my blouse.

So till I earn enough to buy my own set of wheels, I'll just have to content with fat drooling people and a crowded train.

2004-03-29T09:15:00.000+08:00

More from TLOTW

On my way to work this morning, I realised that people in TLOTW lead fairly miserable lives. To earn the title, "Land of the Wealthy", us citizens have had to give up a lot. We work, go home, sleep and work again. Heck, no one even has sex anymore if a survey conducted by Durex is accurate. Plus, our government is "paying" people to have more kids. That's right people, we're short on children. Why? Because people in TLOTW think its too expensive to have children. An estimated cost of bringing up a child here is $400,000. And that doesn't include enrichment classes for the little one, a MUST in TLOTW.
Well, being young at heart, all I can say is this. Children don't care if they don't wear designer clothes, in fact they'll be happier in shorts and a T-shirt. They don't mind if you can't afford to send them for tution, language classes, in fact, they might be happier. All they want to do is play, and even then, there is no need to buy them the latest gadget in the market, some kids are happier playing with a cardboard box.
So all you adults in TLOTW, learn from the kids, have fun and go make some babies!

2004-03-25T09:59:00.000+08:00

Anyone who has a spouse in a high risk job would understand what I'm about to say.

My fiance risks his life everyday, his job falls into the same category as those of airplane pilots and stuntmen. I'm not saying that other jobs do not hold any risk, I'm just stating that some are more high-risk than others. Having a spouse work in a high risk job is stressful for any partner. Each time he goes out, I wonder if he'll come back. As I was watching "Apollo 13" yesterday, I could relate to how Tom Hank's wife ( in the movie) was feeling just before he left to go to the moon. My heart races each time my fiance takes to the track, and I can only breathe easy once he has passed the finishing line.
He constantly reassures me that he'll be fine but having cared for him through his numerous minor injuries, I know that there is always a chance he'll get seriously injured.
Maybe I'm being morbid, but my fears are not unjustified. I have spoken to women in my similar situation and not one is at ease each time their husband races. Of course I wish that he had a "safe" job, but I know he loves his current job and is good at it. So all I can do is support him and pray for his safety.
We don't have any children yet but when we do, I think my worries are only going to increase. I don't want my childeren to grow up without a father. Well, just a few of my thoughts for the day....

2004-03-23T11:36:00.000+08:00

Sports in The Land of The Wealthy

In the land of the Wealthy ( TLOTW), cars can cost as much as an apartment which is why public transport is the preferred choice of most. Our public transport system is affordable and reliable. Being one of those poor souls who has neither license nor car, I'm at the mercy of the public transport system.

To get to work, I have to take the train. That itself is alright, but I also have to change trains halfway and the interchange where I get off? A million other people get off as well. All one has to do is cross the platform to get to the other train. But with the morning crowds, people do not walk to the next train, they RUN. So in TLOTW, this is known as the 50m train dash. People living in TLOTW are experts at this sport, even 68 year old grandmothers can do the 50m dash in record time. The main aim of this event is to dash to the other train before you hear the door closing signal.
The second event also involves the train. This event takes place during the rush hours, weekends and public holidays. Its the "lets see who can get onto the train first" contest. The aim is to squeeze into the train as soon as the doors open. Who cares if the people inside need to alight first? Why don't we just shove our way in to get a seat? It doesn't matter that there are numerous signs and reminders to "Please let passengers alight first".

Which takes us to the next event, "musical Chairs". Like every train, there are limited seats. It doesn't matter if you're just getting down at the next stop, the main point is to get a seat for yourself. Who cares if there are old people and pregnant ladies who need the seat more than you?
The last event, "Who can pretend to sleep the fastest?" This is in reference to the above. Once you get a seat, the aim is to pretend to "sleep"that way, no one can give you dirty looks when you don't give up your seat to others who need it more. Its amazing how a presence of an old person puts those seated to sleep almost immediately.

Amazing, and only in The Land of The Wealthy. Stay tuned for more sports events.

2004-03-22T17:06:00.000+08:00

Gimme Gimme Gimme

"Money is the root of all evil" which is what many people say. In my country,money seems to be THE most important thing in life. Everyone works so hard at their jobs, trying to earn as much as they can that they hardly have the time to enjoy their money. It has come to a point where people are not having babies 'cos they claim its too expensive. True, our standard of living is high, very high in fact. A small apartment here could buy you a nice house in Australia. But if we all stop and think, maybe we don't need that second car, maybe our kids don't need tuition 4 times a week,maybe we don't need to live in a condominium.
This whole concept of making as much money as we can doesn't agree with me. Now, don't get me wrong, I do save for a rainy day. But I feel that our focus in life shouldn't be about money. In the "Land of the Wealthy"where I live, few people seem to share my views.
A penny for your thoughts?

2004-03-22T09:22:00.000+08:00

Beneath All The Glits And Glamour

On Sunday night, my fiance and I had to attend a gala dinner for his company. It was suppose to be THE event of the year, with lots of well-known people attending. My conclusion on the night? A gala dinner is a place where 1) people take 3 hours to prepare for and end up sitting in a room so dark that they could have attended naked and no one would have notice 2) ladies compete to see who can wear the most number of shiny rocks 3) in reference to no. 2, ladies compete with each other to see who has the biggest and most shiny rock 4) men take out the one suit that they own which they have worn to funerals, weddings and dinners 5) ladies who can afford all the big rocks sit together and compared plastic surgery stories.

You can tell I didn't really enjoy myself last night. Firstly, I don't fit into any of the categories above. Secondly, though I like dressing up, I don't really give a damn that the lady next to me is wearing a gown that cost enough to buy a small apartment. And lastly, my fiance and I are at least 10 years younger than everyone else. Thank goodness for the free flow of wine, after about 2 hours, everyone was behaving our age( more or less).

2004-03-18T16:38:00.000+08:00

Since everyone is so into this whole blogging thing, I thought I'll give it a try and see what the whole thing is about. My brain has officially shut down for the day so I'll continue when I get some inspiration.