New Cat in Town

I have right here in my hot little hands that actually aren't all that little and are only slightly warm at the moment the brand new lick-ready smooth-as-love MAC OS X LEOPARD Super Orgasm Deluxe UltraAdvanced Modern Operating System Designed by God Herself Somewhere in the Deep Moist Vulva of Cupertino Yes Yes Don't Stop Oh My God Yes.

It's puurrrrrlicious. I've never in my entire life seen such elegant way to explore and search your files and drives.

It's a manic Monday. Traffic was excruciatingly dreary. I started my journey at 6.25am. I reached work at 8.45am. It's been like this for the past week as well. HELLuva of traffic.

And then as I sat to start up My Precious, now running on the Yes Yes Don't Stop Oh my God Yes Leopard, it hit me. One of my favourite colleague-friend is no longer around to fill my days with bitching, laughing and nonsensical chats. It hit me one more time that I am now taking over her projects. More workloads in need of organization.
No more slacking around.


Wait a minute.. I AM slacking right now. Because Dell PC suck. Cannot get on with my work.

I'm also sitting here wondering why is UMNO Annual General Assembly held on the days including Deepavali. This is such a disrespect for the Hindus. Weren't there a debate or some objection? They still insisted on the dates. I just want to know why. Anybody knows?

A Home Filled with Old and New Memories

Quote of the day: Be someone you're not for a day, and you'll see how much you miss yourself.

The Indon construction workers started renovation at full gear yesterday. The tiles on the front porch and the aluminium awning have been removed.


And so my dad, more excited than me...
D: Eh, come over after work to clear your room. Throw out what you don't want anymore, keep what you want in a box or bag and put one side.
Me: What about this weekend? *I'm thinking, WHOA, I am prepared for that, but it's going to be a whole day activity*
D: My workers going to hack up the parquet oredi! You want to do it this weekend ah, then few days wasted you know.
Me: !!!!!!! ...... ok lor.

I did the unspeakable. I am no longer the karang guni woman I used to be. I literally took one look and trash away A LOT of things without the usual wishy-washy-aiyer,dunno this is one useful or not in future hor-indecisive habit. There were also many things I could never possible throw away.

My memories. In the form of ..... AUTOGRAPH books! Wah seh, more pictures soon ok! And lots of photos. Photos of myself ten years ago, slouching in school uniform, looking very 'pitiful'.

I also kept many 'love notes', letters and gifts from guys I never dared to go out with because I was clueless and a katak di bawah tempurung.

And I never realized how clueless I was until I saw this. (WC, see, I kept it!)


I didn't realize a lot of things when I was younger. Including how much effort this took. And I will say it now that I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

This has been my room for 10 over years, where I spent my clueless years, daydreaming, studying, sleeping, painting, drawing and more daydreaming.

That was the desk I hid under, and cried for hours during the times when my mother was this angry unhappy person and took it out on me. Once, I found myself so hurt that I pressed a blade on my wrist. Ah yes... that very desk. And if you look very very closely in 10X zoom, on the wall above the desk, etched are the words "I HATE YOU". Frankly speaking, I forgot what it meant and why I did it. Anyway, my rubbish=5 black trash bags.

They say public toilets in Malaysia are terrible. This is no different.


We're revamping this one, it's the master bathroom.


Master bedroom, in need of a makeover.


It's going to be a lot of hard work. But I have a feeling it's going to be worth it.

Are we Alone?

Quote of the day: If you feel like you have not grown up... so be it.

Last Saturday, my dad moved into his new pad. It's on the third level of a three-level townhouse, 5 minutes to his office now. My mom and dad are equal now, super-officially separated. Both living on their own, in a three-level townhouse. This shall be a post on its own.

I took some pictures, but DAMNIT! It's all gone. Either Daniel or my 7 yr-old cousin must've deleted them.

I feel kinda sad. I feel sad when I see old people living on their own. I just can't take it. Sure, my dad is old, but still young enough to work and live independently, but old enough to deserve a complete family's kind of warmth, you know what I mean. Seriously, it's their own doing that they are where they are right now. Nobody's fault, and everybody's fault. What can I do.

When I first visited my mom's one-bedroom cozy apartment, I never realized she got all the work done on her own, perhaps with the help of her Anata, without telling me anything at all. And because she's a woman and woman are usually better at domestic management of the household, I was relieved. She got it going, and I'm relieved because she is also a happier person now.

My dad, oh, he's the typical alpha male. Or so I thought. I never remember him cooking or cleaning. That is why I had a different reaction of him living on his own in a new place. I was worried. Gradually, I realized he does have his own system of household management. It may not be my way, or should I say the woman's way, but it's still a way. His way. Rugged, chin-chai and fuss-free.

Well, come to think of it, my father-in-law is also living on his own now since the death of my mother-in-law November last year.

Everybody's gotta move on hey.

I realized a possiblity too, and this is going to be a spoiler. Eventually, we'll all end up A-LONE.

Just Grousing

Quote of the day: Instead of getting married again, I’m going to find a woman I don’t like and just give her a house –Rod Stewart

Driving in the city filled with ugly drivers who are not civic-minded and who think only for themselves, have made me cold.

I showed my WTF handsign to one such driver this morning at the Singapore Custom. JJW 9482. I never show handsigns. But this morning, I've had enough.

I really don't mean FUCKYOU. I want to let these f-ers feel bad at least, that is if they have ANY humility in them at all. I want to send a message that it's rude to cut queue and the should be ashamed of themselves.

These queue-cutters are very thick-skinned, and in my experience, they are usually the balding fat cheena uncles and the Young&Dangerous ku-wat-chais. They just want to get there faster. They want to be in the lane that moves faster. Everything want fast fast.

I used to get uptight in the company of such drivers. Now, I am a laidback driver. Because a few more cars ahead of me just means I am at most 5 minutes behind. But I do hate drivers that take advantage of drivers like me, who gives way.

There must be a way to educate road-users. I'm thinking of producing bumper stickers that has courtesy messages. I've never seen one in Malaysia or even Singapore. Perhaps I should suggests to Radio Stations first, because they always have this car decals giveways. Get them to print a line like "QUEUE. You'll still get there"

It's just one of those days you feel like seeing this happen to fugly people.

Countdown

Quote of the day: Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place. –Billy Crystal

I AM counting down to New Year's Day. Because we're moving!

Eleven more weekends for me to use efficiently, not counting the long weekend break I will be taking with the hubbie, to KRRRRAAAABI!

I engaged the services of a feng shui master last Saturday for consultation on house29. He's a nice old chap, not the commercialized ones like Lilian Too et al. He's more like the neighbourhood word-of-mouth kind, recommended by my babysitter. For this kind of network, the 'aunties' know a lot more than you think.

Nothing extravagant, just basic feng shui tips that I learnt from him. All he needed was our birth dates, his compass, 'book' and his good sense. I've always believed that creating good feng shui is based on your 'feel' in the house, the way your furniture is arranged, the colour, the exterior, essentially every object in and around your house. It has gotta 'feel' right. Like a good flow of movement. A good CHI / energy.

Well, it's right. An instinctive eye for interior design counts. But there were many little tips that I could not have possible learnt from books or the internet.

The new home faces the South. It's a good direction for the both of us. And we won't get direct sunlight, which means the home will be cool all day. It's true because I've lived there for more than 10 years. Then I moved to my marital home that faces the West. NEVER buy a home that faces the West because it gets bloody HOT in the evening! It also depends on your house structural design. But nonetheless, we get the heat of the evening sun, so our living and dining room is practically a 'stuffy' sauna, unless it's a rainy or cloudy day.

Place your bed in a way that the bedhead is at the East, means you sleep facing the West. This means the sun rises behind you at the start of each day. Anything 'big', 'rising', mountaineous', 'strong support' behind you is good. But NOT in front of you. This especially is applicable in your office or workplace. Anything big in front of you means obstacles in your work. Make sense?

Keep your bathroom doors closed. This is for health. Leaving your bathroom doors open could 'flush away' your children's and your health. Same thing if your bathroom happens to face the main door. Good things that come in, will end up in the toilet.

Your stove and refrigerator should not be opposite of each other. Stove represents fire and the fridge, water. CLASH.BIG.TIME.

If you have a stairwell, keep it well lit. Chi should flow smoothly to the upper floor. And so that you don't slip and fall. Logik la.

And so the date is set. First day of the first month of the year 2008. New beginning in a new home. Pictures I promise. By the way, as important as it is, good feng shui doesn't guarantee that you'll strike the Toto or something. I believe it just gives you a good feeling about your home and to prevent any untoward events.

Sleeping To Dream

Quote of the day: See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time –Robin Williams

I'm in love. With Jason Mraz's unplugged Sleeping To Dream. What a feel-good-in-love tune.

In one of those social surveys done somewhere, usually in America, they say men are happier. Women USED to be happier.
There are many factors conferring this happy state.

Men, in general are doing things that make them happy. It's no longer work, work, work, bring home the bacon work. Men are improving the quality of their lives by having more time for themselves for hobbies, activities like golf, night golf, 9-hole, 18-hole and golf tournaments. OK la, and other pastimes and sports.

Women, they didn't say women are unhappier la, BUT I think women in general are getting.... more stressed. I'm referring more to working mothers. More women are studying and working as hard, in the workforce and at home. There are more responsibilites to shoulder, more commitments, more traffic to plough through to make it home in time , more chores, more everything. The only thing not getting more is time.

They also say women are now more likely to have one-night-stands, make first moves and affairs. I guess it's like fashion, it's going back to retro style.

Dai siu ye in the making.

Homes and Haircuts

Quote of the day: Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself –Roseanne

This month is a miracle. Instead of my usual edgy grouchy PMS, I had the total opposite. I was in euphoria. Everything was sunshine-good. I was emotionally positive, like I've just fallen in love. Wow, what a feeling. Now, I have to reproduce this bed-of-roses formula next month and the next, and the next. If only I knew how to!

***

A colleague's housewarming party in the East.


We had steamboat dinner! Paul and I ate peacefully. Daniel didn't want us anymore because he had other friends and a truckload of toys to play with. It's a paradise! Oh ya, new haircut/shave. So National Service.


I'm more inspired and motivated to renovate my house29 now. It's a wreck! Infested with termites! Your feet will turn BLACK after walking a few steps. As in charchoal BLACK! If you want to dye your hair ebony black, don't bother going to the salon. Come to my house29! Sweep your hair 3 times around the living room and there you have it!! I'm usually a reuse & recycling person, but this time I'm not going to be Miss Save The Earth. Everything in that house HAS to go. To prevent myself from being karang guni auntie (I Am one), I shall blindfold myself and trash everything away.

Frontyard of house29.


It's a mess!

I can't wait to see the end result. So fun, this will be like a mini not-so-Extreme Makeover, the Home Edition. Yay!

A Small Town's Charm

I was in Sungai Siput, a small town off Ipoh, for 4 days over the weekend. It's kinda felt like a semi-vacation, because I could take naps every afternoon with Daniel, and (main reason) I didn't have to do the laundry or any cleaning because we were the guests in the home of Paul's uncle. The same house we stayed at during the CNY this year.

How much does it cost to build a bungalow like this in Sungai Siput and Ipoh?



Enough garden space for two adult dogs and two puppies to roam about, enough porch space for 3 cars, 8 bedrooms where an average size of a room is enough for 5 king-sized beds.



Land+house=RM400,000. That's freaking cheap for a freaking big house! It's almost like an inn!

But the house is not what makes the home. It's the family. This is one amazingly dynamic household. Everyone in the family is always doing something whether it's cooking, helping out in the kitchen, peeling something somewhere, plucking out the weeds, watering the plants, playing with the dogs, feeding the dogs, washing the car, just keep going but it doesn't make you feel tired watching them because they do it so naturally, with ease, like it's part of their everyday routine. How do they do it! Everyone has a role. Here's the best part, the amazing people here includes the men. YES. The father, the two filial grown-up sons. I am utterly impressed. The Domestic King and Princes.

This is where most of the hustle and bustle take place. Outside the kitchen where there are the traditional charcoal stoves for brewing huge pots of red bean soup, whatever soup to feed 50 people.

Aunt-in-law. THE superwoman who can cook any Chinese dish you name.


I couldn't help but wonder why I feel this way. Is it because I was brought up in an environment opposite of that? My dad never cooks or clean effectively. And now, my husband, although I would say he's much better, but still not up to expectations. So, from the point of view from someone who is surrounded by male chauvinist influences all her life, I just have to make this a big deal.

Another advantage of having a big family is having less stress as your wedding approaches. All you need is to settle your gowns and your make-up. The other traditional what-nots are usually taken care of by the older more traditional folks. Sadly, I didn't have that luxury.

The wedding dinner was held in a hall with no walls. It reminds me of my school hall. No air-conditioning. The ambience was certainly no Shangri-La, but the atmosphere was lively and warm. Everything just fell into place and it warms your heart. Like the wild laughter we had when Daniel and his 6 year old cousin unexpectedly walked onto the stage to sing karaoke. That took us by surprise. We thought he'd be embarrased but he felt as confident as a peacock standing beside his cousin, holding the mike, dancing a little and not feeling an ounce of fear or embarrassment as the crowd roared with laughter. They're like brothers going through thick and thin! It's such an amazing bond no one could explain. Daniel was just like Ah Koon's shadow the first day they met.



What a charm. That big house is going to to be filled with good memories and lots of love. And it'll be nice to visit now and then.

More photos...
The dog called Only, because he was he only one left in the pound to adopt. Only is a very lucky dog now, with all that space to run in.

Daniel took this photo.

More dogs...



Recently, he developed his trademark camera hand-pose. It's a variation from the typical Asian act-cute show-TWO finger pose. I remember it was the IN pose when you have a fun group photos taken. Then it kinda fades off. Well, not anymore folks! Daniel has brought the finger-pose rave back! Everybody is acting cute now!





Y'ALL SHAKE YOUR TAIL FEATHER IN DA HOUSE.. UHHUH UHHUH