LITERAL TRANSLATION




After welcoming Pei Hua back to Singapore 2 Sundays ago, we went to Ting Rui's house at Bedok.

And I chanced upon this.


Had wanted to take a better picture from a better angle. But an old uncle sitting nearby commented to his friend, "Wah... Xiao Mei zai pai wo!". I was astonished, but more of embarrassed. I turned to Dorothy, who was standing beside me and waiting while I took this snapshot. "Did you hear that?" I whispered. She nodded. We giggled.

Please, uncle, I'm NOT.


Anyway, hand chicken, anyone?

OF LITTLE WISHES AND HOPES


This Wednesday evening, I went out with my younger brother to Vivocity. We have plans to catch What Happens in Vegas at 4.25pm. It's been ages since he last been to a movie. We reached early at 3.30pm, and headed straight to GV Vivocity to collect our pre-booked tickets. With approximately an hour break in between, we had a quick lunch at Burger King.


It was his first time eating at BK.
I recommended TenderGrill. He likes it.




GV Vivovity.



The movie is a really entertaining one. It had me in stitches half the time. And yes, after watching What Happens in Vegas, it makes me feel sooo enticed to throw caution to the wind and do something totally crazy and drastic. Something that'll POP! the eyes out of everyones' sockets. On second thought, however, my better senses prevail.

Happy endings ONLY happen in fairytales, and oh yes, out of movie scripts. It's one thing to do something ridiculously crazy and have things unexpectedly worked out in the end; and it's ABSOLUTELY YET ANOTHER to do the same ridiculously crazy thing and having it NOT work out in the end; and having to bear the consequences, aftermath, damages, ridicule, anger, and regrets. In summary, it's just not worth the trouble.

Unfortunately, like most homo sapiens on Earth, I only live once. And unfortunately, some mistakes are just too costly to be made. Such as our personal salvation, for example. Or a wrong marriage to the wrong person, for another. Thus - evil as this may sound, but I sincerely mean no malice - I am often secretly pleased in my heart when I hear things such as, "so-and-so has broken up", "they're no longer together", or "I am/she is/he is/that person is no longer attached".

"This is actually good news in disguise!" My head voice rejoices silently and celebrates discreetly.


Afterall, if something is just not meant to be, then it is always good to draw a close. The earlier the better, as a matter of fact.

I might regret saying this some months or years down the road, but ending a relationship - for whichever reasons - would, I guess, make me feel grateful and thankful. It SIMPLY means that he is just not the one. Oh, he might have been a good choice, but my Father knows that he is not the BEST choice. And it makes me feel assured, because ending a relationship simply means that I'm not settling for the second best. Ending a relationship also simply means that He has someone else in mind who suits me better.

Afterall, I only have one life to live. And some mistakes are just plain too costly to be made.





The movie ended at 6.30pm. We adjourned to the "balcony" after that. The view is so breathtaking! I had originally wanted to find a nice spot, sit back, relax, and hold some meaningful conversations while basking in the tranquil scenery; with the setting sun drape as the background. But Lady Luck was not on my side that day. It rained pretty heavily early in the afternoon, and the floor was pretty wet.



I had a wonderful time overall. And I believe my brother had, too. At his tender age, it takes little efforts and time (and money) to keep him happy. It's easy to add some "colours" to his life. At the end of the day, he enjoys himself; and me on the other hand, feel satisfied at my role as the elder sister.

Little wishes and hopes are easy to be met for kids his age. That is, before his dreams start involving bigger gadgets, flashier cars, fatter paychecks, roomier apartments, exotic countries, and sexy women.

I DO WANT TO GET MARRIED.


I just received an email notification from my insurance company ABC about this new, current promotion. If I were to give birth anytime between 1st March 2008 to 28th February 2009 at "XXX" Hospital, my new-born would be entitled to a 6-months insurance coverage, free of charge.


Sigh, I want to have my own children too. Loads of them. But I'm not yet married, how to zuo ren?


Anyway, my Father really answers. He not only knows what I want, but most importantly, what I need. With the investment-linked policy that I had taken up a year earlier adding on to my daily expenses (which already covers everything from public transportation, to food, to drinks, to printing services in campus, to purchasing of books, to shopping, to entertainment etc etc etc), my "allocated" allowance is barely substantial. It's just enough to meet ends meet; month by month. No surplus.

And this month, due to unforeseen circumstances, I've got to pay SGD$600+++ for taking a module during Special Term. Luckily I had been giving tuition while studying for the past year, and thus, the amount that I've set aside for "rainy days" are just comfortably enough to offset this module fees. But, of course, after NUS has deducted the amount from my account later this week, money would be very tight for about 2 months until August arrives - that is, the start of a new academic year, when the next allowance payout comes in.

Foreseeing this, I started looking for a tuition assignment to take up of late. As I am quite reluctant to forfeit 50% of my pay as commission to any tuition agencies, I did not look around for tuition assignments with much enthusiasm. All I did was to half-heartedly reply some emails sent by the tuition agencies just to "try my luck". But time was getting tight. I started feeling burdened (about time, too). I prayed. The same day but 3 hours later, came Kelvin Lim. And came a tuition assignment lobang. And I'm happy, because it's my pet subject. In addition, the "student" is in the same course which I graduated from. Of course, it's been 3 years since I graduated, and it's definitely challenging to teach tertiary education. But, luckily, I don't have a habit of discarding old lecture notes. Oh well, so far so good. All I need to do is put in the extra effort and "refresh" my memory before each tuition session. And yes, I'll teach to the best of my ability, and yes, I'm enjoying it.

BEAUTIFULLY UNPREDICTABLE


Life is sometimes so unpredictable. The twists in life, and the irony of it all. The way how some things turn out; it's absolutely amazing, totally unexpected, and undeniably beautiful. This is how people self-discover and grow. The path of self-discovery. We learn new things everyday.


Dorothy loves her ikan bilis. I don't. So I always throw them at her to her.
She eats egg yolks. I don't. So I always throw them to her too.
She adores sharks' fin soup. For reason(s) I have yet to fathom, I hate it to the very core since the beginning of my existence, and always end up generously "donating" my bowl of sharks' fin soup to the lucky person sitting beside me during banquet dinners.
She eats hor fun. I loathe it (because the sticky texture never fails to make me feel like I'm eating MUCUS), and would rather stubbornly skip my meal than to force-feed myself a plate of hor fun.
She only eats certain rice dumplings (ba zhang). I eat ALL kinds of variety. As long as it is ba zhang, it will go into my mouth.
She doesn't like carrot, garlic, and onion. I swear by garlic bread, ginger shoots, and onion rings.
She can't handle spicy food. She can't even take a hint of it. Meanwhile, I absolutely adore - and have a rather remarkable tolerance for - spiciness.
She loves sour food. I can't even handle harmless oranges.
She doesn't like kangkong. It's my FAVOURITE veggie. Of course, stir-fried kangkong with SAMBAL CHILLI!
I have a long-standing enmity with cats. She doesn't. I dislike cats a great deal. She's neutral about them.
Her secondary love language is words of affirmation. In contrast, along with receiving gifts, it ranks the lowest in my list.

Our only similarity? We have an odd habit of drinking using 2 straws.



In a way, she reminds me of Xu Bin.

If you're reading, surely you don't need me to remind you that we're as different as night and day. Personality. Mind set. Upbringing. Growing environment. Way of thinking. Manner of organizing things. Way of looking at things.


Through Denise, you came to the cell a couple of months after I did. The first time I saw you, I thought of it as CMI. A gone case of friendship-forging.

You were - and still are - cheery, jovial, buoyant, hyper, gregarious, jaunty, sprightly, mirthful, insouciant, vivacious, free-spirited, spontaneous, happy-go-lucky. Me? I was simply whatever you are NOT.
Even though you have your own quiet moments, you're still very much the sanguine. Me? I am more of a melancholic-phlegmatic at heart.
You smile and put on a sunny proposition, regardless of whether you're truly happy or otherwise. Me? My moods are - more often than not - splashed blatantly all over my face, like an open book, transparent for most - if not, all - to see.
You know my likes and dislikes. To my knowledge, you're the only one who remembers that I get easily pissed off at having my cheeks touched, my hair tugged, or being called "Lin". Me? I would not have noticed that you trimmed your hair or are wearing a recently-purchased blouse if you had not pointed it out blantly.
Complete opposites. Ice and fire. Winter and summer. Land and sea. Water and oil. Day and night. Black and white.
You're the sun, and I'm the moon. You're the fork, and I'm the spoon.


And yes, I was honestly not the least surprised when you shared a year ago that for the initial few months, you were so unsure and afraid of speaking to me, as I was just sooo quiet. You thought that I was such a tough nut to crack, and that it's sooo very rare that the sanguine you finds it so hard to approach someone else. Admittedly, on my part, I felt very much the same way too. If someone were to reveal that 1 year on, you and me would be good friends, I would have snorted and guffawed in sheer disbelief. If someone were to declare that - once given the chance to get together in private - we would click like magic, I would have died of laughter.


Our first breakthrough came about 1 year after you came in. It was 2 years ago. I was working temp at StarHub offices at Cuppage in Orchard, while waiting for my first semester in Uni to commence. One fine day, you took a step of faith. You suggested fellowshipping together, and proposed eating together at the Noodle Hut at Vivocity. As a way of congratulating my acceptance into Uni, you wanted to treat me to a meal. I was apprehensive. Going out with you ALONE? Would we have enough things to talk about? Would it be awkward? In the end, somehow, I decided to go with it nonetheless. The decision surprised even me myself. I'm certain that it was definitely not me. It must have been the H.S., I guess. Either that, or it must have been the free meal.


It was a hot, sunny afternoon. I remember it well, because I was sitting with my back facing the window, and the sun rays were brutally hitting on my back without mercy as I devoured my F.O.C. Crabmeat Noodle. We ate, and man! how we talked! It was magic!

We chatted, we conversed, we communicated, and we connected. Our conversations were nothing silly or crappy, but more of about serious stuffs. We shared, we exchanged, we sparred, we compared, we reviewed, and we learned. Most importantly, it was 50percent of talking, and 50percent of listening - both ways. We learned more about things. We learned more about looking from different perspectives. We learned more about Him. We learned from each other, and of course, we learned about each other. And before we knew it, more than 3 hours had passed. We spent about 4 hours over a simple meal! But we were not satisfied, we even adjourned down to Bugis Street on a futile shopping hunt for boots.


From that day on, our friendship jumpstarted. It skyrocketed and reached a new height - one that has never been attained before.

That day, I was awed.
I could not believe I've found a friend in you. And I did not die laughing.


Even though it's been years since we last spent time together, and even though time has drifted us a little apart, it is always refreshing meeting up with you; even if it's for a short while. It's always a delight. Like me popping by your cell before service for a quick chat. Or you popping by my cell before service for a quick catching-up.
But it's always a tad restricting, impersonal, and superficial; with the time limit to the start of the service, and with all the people buzzing in and out of the background; hence the resultant lack of privacy. And yes, I can't wait to see you again sometime next week! Even though the level of intimacy in our friendship has stagnated over the past few months or 1year, let's work it up again. Like that magical day at Noodle Hut at Vivocity.

HEY, GIRLS!!!


Curvy? Slim waist, big hips? Pear-figure? Bottom-heavy?

No worries.

LEARNING THINGS


Just the other day, I was lying on my bed, angel-spreaded. I was a little tired, but not to the extent of exhaustion. It just feels so nice and cozy to just simply lay in the warm comforts of my springy bed and defy something great and phenomenal called gravity. I laid on my back, looking up straight to the ceiling.

I was thinking of nothing in particular. Just taking a rest, while the face of the Earth continues its activities. Accompanying me was the constant tick-tock-tick-tock of my bedroom clock.



And I realized that, in the past 5 years since my family has moved here to this new apartment, never once had I changed the batteries in the clock.

No, not that I own some magical clock. Neither does that it operates by solar power.




My parents must have been changing the batteries for me. Climbing onto a chair. Taking down the clock. Changing its batteries. And finally putting it back.

Even though nowadays, I've adopted the habit of checking for time on my watch or mobile phone; rather than the clock. I seldom even look at the clock, as it tends to be neither very accurate nor reliable - especially at times when it's running low in battery energy. Thus, when the batteries run out of energy, I hardly bother to purchase a new pair and get the clock up and running again. But I deliberated against taking that useless clock down, because its frame is simple and uncomplicated. With its silver-plated frame, the clock - as a whole - looks sophisticated and elegant and thus, it adds a touch of class to my room.

But neither of my parents know how useless that looks-good-but-not-so-good-to-use clock is. They just change the batteries for me accordingly. Faithfully. Dutifully. Silently. And the clock resumes its usual tick-tocking once again.




Sometimes, we don't have to look too far just to find love. Love is all around.
So often, if only people would slow down their hectic pace of life in exchange for a moment of solitude, we'll discover and learn so much more things in the latter.
Instead of dwelling in self-pity or focusing our eyes on what we don't have in life or working our ass off just to lay our hands on the latest IT gadget, we'll realized that love is - more often than not - just right under our nose.
And at the end of the day, this is all that truly matters. It is the one and only thing that really matters.



Because, in life, love is one of the most ultimate and important things.

And because, in this race of life, love ultimately prevails and wins over everything.

THE LAST TIME THAT I...


My last sip of coffee, thus far, is on last Thursday the 8th.

IT'S! BEEN! ONE! WHOLE! WEEK!


*preens* *beams*


Coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee...

AS I'M TYPING...


I'm missing and yearning for caffeine. Very badly.

I've only had 2 miserable cups/glasses of coffee in the span of the past 7 days; past 1 week.
Man, I power anot, you tell me?!


Sigh... I really wish for another serving now.


P.S. Update: From Milo, it has changed to Black Rice Cereal Beverage.


Coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee... coffee...

FEELING DEPRIVED


Mom has been rather weird lately, getting increasingly health-conscious. She loves to cook broccoli and carrots on Saturdays and Sundays (the only days when she's at home to cook dinner), hailing its health benefits. A few months ago, she introduced brown rice into the family dinner menu. Just the other day, because of the recent humid weather, she bought barley drinks, claiming that it's "cooling" for the body. Sitting in our refrigerator, currently, are also two 1.5L of Oat Milk from Magnolia. Gone too, is my favourite coffee, to make way for instant Milo sachets instead.


Not that I'm complaining, anyway.
I've always been more of a hypochondriac, afterall.
Brown rice. Broccoli. Celery. Wheat. Oat. Wholemeal bread. Milk. Bring it on!



It's no secret - to anyone who knows me well enough - that coffee is my best friend. Literally. Instead of replenishing my body with pure, pristine H2O, my hands would wander ever so naturally to the particular drawer containing - to my extreme delight - the much-beloved coffee sachets. On any typical day, it is not uncommon to consume an average of 3 cups. Of course, in the face of exams, the statistic easily goes up to 6 cups per day. Coffee keeps me company as I study.

It's not healthy, I know, I know. But try as I might, kicking off the addictive lure of caffeine eludes me like a plague. Previously, I had tried - in vain - to replace the daily doses of coffee with a healthier alternative of milk formulas. Chocolate-flavoured, even, to make it more enticing to the taste buds. But my hands always seem to possess a life of its own, and would rather stealthily reach out for the coffee sachets than the tin of calcium-fortified, low-fat Anlene. I only lasted 3 months at most, before reverting helplessly back to the caffeine-vein demoness that I was and always has been.



Now that no one in the family is re-stocking the already-depleted coffee supply, it seems so much easier to kick off the habit. Afterall, there is no temptation in the first place. I could search the whole house and find not even one grain of aromatic coffee powder.

And now I'm happy. Because my body seems to have adapted to taking Milo as a replacement for the usual doses of caffeine. Sure, the occasional urge for coffee is still there. It rears its ugly head once in a while, but at least it's manageable - for the time being, that is.


The bad thing is, having no coffee to drink, I'm now sort of addicted to Milo; and am drinking it with the same fervency and frequency as I did with coffee. And it is still the studying period; my last paper will only end tomorrow. After I'm done with CM3232 (Physical Chemistry of Solid State & Interfaces) tomorrow, I'm a liberated woman lady. And I'll work hard to keep it to 3 cups of Milo per day.



Hope I won't pile on the weight.
Stupid Milo.

HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LIKE STAYING HERE?






The simple, tranquil beauty of wulu-ness nothingness.