Monday, June 26, 2006

Passion of the Game...Not just the players!

This, the world cup season, has almost everyone enthralled and glued to their couches in front of the TV, catching the action on the field. Then there's the group that we don't normally think of. No, I don't mean the staunch fans in the stands...

Watch this video and you will understand. The passion they have....is really something!

Tip: Let the video load first before you watch the clip...there's better enjoyment that way =D

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Ramblings

Just realised that for this month, I think it's one of the least times that I've blogged. Too busy I guess..lazy too I think..So many things happening but somehow nothing's been taken down..Resulting in a loss of those events due to my short term memory -.-''

It's the wee hours of the nite, and it's raining now. A moderate drizzle coupled with a nice breeze. I smell the rain and it's heavenly. Very refreshing, tinged with a scent of the morning grass. I guess I'm in one of "those" moods now. I have an urge to switch off the lights in my room and turn on my table lamp. But I guess that's silly...it would be too dark for me to notice any insect or creature crawling through the window. It would be too dark for me to see that mini windmill at my window turn. Oh well...

I wish I could go out there and take some shots too. But it's so dark outside, I bet there's nothing my non-professional dig cam can capture.

I've opened my window real widely just so that I can let the breeze in, smell the rain/breeze and most importantly, see my windmill turn. You see, I totally abhor and detest (ok I freak out) at insects in my room..especially those potent ones (aka, lizards/roaches). So I rarely open my room's window coz I always have the inkling these are waiting to creep in. Has happened couple of times before. And I totally cannot risk them coming into my room and creating a hideout and making a nest amongst my stuff. The rare times I do open the window is times like now..when there's the rain I love. So that I could look out and let my windmill get that much-needed exercise =D

Ok, enuff rambling about nonsense...Heee. I met up with Fen just now and wanted to persuade her to sign up and attend a course with myself and Hui...But alas. I guess I've 1) over-rated myself 2) too green to handle her 3) disappointed myself totally. I'm rather despondent now...='(

Today was rather eventful...In the sense that I had many invitations to hang out and do stuff...but I ended up spending the nite thru wf Fen. Charis, Shirlyn etc had steamboat dinner at Bugis; Amy did movies wf her fren...but timing was all wrong. I ended up not meeting anyone but hanging out wf Fen only.

Next week looks promising too (social wise, not work). Already have some tentative plans line-uped. Confirmed or not, we'll see again nx week.

Ok, I'm just yaddling for nothing. Ok, this is irritating...I was trying to put up a pic of my windmill...and nothing showed up after I've apparently uploaded it! *frustrated* I give up...damn!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

My Dad!

It's Father's Day today...so how did you spend this day? Or did you not even know it was Father's Day? =P

Well, I thought I would want to dedicate this entry to my dad. I've realised that I've only mentioned my parents in passing every now and then. Probably can expound a little more on him. Not that you would care of coz. Well, I just want to talk about him, can? *grin*

Was even contemplating putting his pics up, but I thought the better of it. Heh...As of this moment, I don't think I'm ready to "expose" my family...not my parents at least. Myself, my nieces - yes...case-by-case basis for the rest. Anyways, I've digressed.

My dad is a really kind person...Super-duper kind, I may even add. Especially towards my mom. I've never met any man/father like him, who gives in sooooo much to my mom. Well, needless to say, my mom has him wrapped around her little finger. Ha...not in the bad way. In the sense that my dad just doesn't see the point of upsetting her and gives her her way, nearly everytime. Certainly not me. And there are times that I just can't stand my mom "bullying" my dad. Of coz, there were times when she went overboard. Her nagging and all...And yet, my dad typically just "in a ear, out the other". Hehe.

Whatever my mom wants, wherever she wants to go, whatever she wants to do...anything at all, my dad will go all out of his way to get/do it for her. Seriously. Driving her to different shopping centres just so that she can get whatever she wants, doing shopping with her (I don't mean marketing; shopping as in shopping for clothes), working longer hours just so that she can rest more if she were tired...so many instances. And yes, he does shopping for general groceries for the family too. From bread for breakfast, to the topping up of soft drinks in the fridge, snacks in the cabinet, fruits, coffee, tea, rice...anything at all. And guys, he has no qualms buying female essentials (aka, sanitary pads) when the "general stocks" reduce. No complaints, nothing. He is a real mild-mannered and calm person, that he rarely blows his top. Really rarely.

My dad is also super duper hardworking. He doesn't have to work now, since all of us are working and we do live comfortably. But still, he "piah" so hard that sometimes, I'm ashamed of myself. Seriously. In a nutshell, his work schedule everyday (and I do mean Monday to Sunday) is: Wakes up at 4 in the morning, by 5, he is out of the house to go over to the workplace. My uncle (mom's brother) has entrusted him with one of the many shopfaces that he owns, so basically he has to ensure things run smoothly, from the staff to the accounts. He doesn't have to, but he takes it upon himself to see that everything is without hitches. He is there all the way till about 3.30 in the afternoon, when the afternoon people, including my mom, comes over at about 2pm (sort of like a shift). He goes home to catch a rest, and naps from about 4 to 5.30, when he wakes up again to get dinner, and yeah, he's back to the workplace by 6pm for the evening peak hour. There, he will stay till he does the closing at about 1030. Then he reaches home at 11. By the time he showers and watches some tv and all, it's already midnite when he goes to bed. Gosh...I don't think anyone works that hard these days now, rite?

I do feel heart pain for him and his punishing schedule, but when we implore him to rest more, sleep longer or things like that, he will decline. Partly coz he isn't comfortable with leaving things to the hands of others, and also, he finds it boring after a while if he "rests too long". Sometimes my mom can be so insensitive, that she doesn't realise how tired he can get. That's when we come in and remind her...though sometimes to no avail. Sigh.

Of coz, I'm not saying he's a saint. He does have his flaws too. For one, he spends alot on buying lottery. Haha...I guess that, to him, is one of his few forms of relaxation. In his own words, he describes himself as a "professional". Indeed he is. For one, he spends so much money on lottery, that when weird combinations of a certain number comes up, he strikes too. And apart from a fix set of numbers that he always bet on, he also places bets on any numbers that ignite a sense of inspiration in him, in an instance. Haha...Good thing is, he knows his limit. Then again, I rather he not bet or anything. Oh well...

He doesn't stinge on money. He is such a generous soul that he has no problem footing the bill or buying stuff for people. Sure, who doesn't like money, but he never allow money to come between people, or to cause rifts. And in fact, it's not just money. Material things too. I guess his mindset is one of what we describe: Can't lose what you never had. AKA; you come into this world with nothing, and you will leave with nothing too. Sensible. Everyone knows that, but not many appreciates what it truly means and practices that.

I used to think that I got my sweet tooth from my mom. Now I know I have been wrong. Daddy dearest loves to eat sweet stuff too. He likes soft drinks, cakes & stuff...& loves ice-cream (cornetto). My family's three-tier fridge has no lack of foodstuff, especially cornettos. My dad "replenishes" cornettos by the boxes, in different flavours too! Haha...On an average of seven nights a week, he has a cornetto about five to six days, really. That day, he even told me how he has found a great deal for cornettos. Currently the Esso station where he pumps petrol at is having a cheap sale for cornettos; far cheaper than what he got for at Shop&Save or any other supermarkets. I didn't even know that...Heee. Oh but me my my bro were just discussing about how his tummy is showing more evidently now. My dad is a little man (I'm short, and for a guy, he is too); and because of the immense effort and energy that he exerts, he doesn't have an ounce of fat on him. Ok, perhaps that was a little too exaggerated. But he really is thin. =)

He enjoys watching soccer, and for someone who spends most of his time working, he knows the players from various teams. From Premier League to the World Cup. Needless to say, he's having a while of a time now, which I'm partly glad yet worried about. He gets to watch some top-notch show of dribbling footwork, but that would mean he's sacrifcing his sleep time. There!

I especially enjoy his dry humour. Which sometimes give way to cold humour too. Haha...For instance, he would turn off the volume of the TV with a world cup match showing, and make up imaginary conversation based on the expressions and mouthing of the players/coaches/referee. *heh* He especially enjoys "disturbing" my mom, who doesn't have a clue at all. At times, his face doesn't change when he jokes and twists the facts. And my mom would be totally taken in. Nothing harmful of coz. My mom once remarked that she enjoys seeing my dad make us laugh. Big hearty laughter. =D

From chauffer to family grocery-man, to family handyman, my dad is everything and anything. There's nothing too difficult or too out-of-the-way for him. He does small paint jobs around the house when the toilet pipes' paint peeled; he fixed the hose when it came loose; he climbed up to the ceiling fan to clean the plates; he climbed up to change the bulb for the lights around the house when they fused; he sacrifices his rest time to wash the walls around the house during our once-a-year spring cleaning (just coz my mom is a cleanliness freak...wahaha)...so many instances that I can never possibly finish. Yah, makes me wonder why my bro isn't even half of him. -.-''

I think I got my lazy genes from my mom, and I attribute my sometimes lack-of-logic from her genes too *hehe* I'm not putting my mom down; she has her flaws, but she has her good points too, definitely. But that's another story. But I think I did get good genes from my dad. He's wise, street-smart, with no lack of logical & common sense (I do need that at times =P). Thankfully I inherit the necessary good stuff. Hahaha...

Now, experts say that when we marry, we tend to choose our partners like our parents inherently (girls choose someone like their dad and sons choose someone like their mom). If that were the case....good luck to my bro. Wahaha! Seriously, I certainly wouldn't mind my husband to be just like my dad in terms of personality, character, etc. THat would be good news! Keeping my fingers cross then. =)

I'm glad to have my father. When we were young, ours was the typically chinese family, albeit traditional. The father was supposedly the imposing figure, no expression or laughter. A faraway figure of authority and disciplinarian. As we grew older, it was more and more detached from that stereotype.

I must add that actually, even as we were young, my dad may have been "faraway" from us (emotionally); but he was never the disciplinarian. My mom was the one (and a terribly strict, fierce, imposing, over-protective one, who was constantly afraid that we would mix with wrong company and grow up all wrong). But we did find my dad a little unapproachable. We rarely saw him coz he came home late from work almost everyday and even then, we didn't really talk to him too. It was only after we were all grown up (me, the youngest, being in JC or Uni alredy), that we drew closer as a family. I'm certainly glad for that. =)

If I had to describe my dad using an anecdote or situation or whatever, it would have to be his unselfish love.

I read this before, and I think I posted this up sometime ago too.

A child was asked to describe what love is, and this was what he came up with (can't remember totally, but the gist of it):

"Love is when my grandfather massages my grandmother when her arms and legs hurts, even though he has rheumatism in his hands."

This anecdote is so apt, it seemed to be created just for my dad...Well almost. You see, my mom's legs hurts every now and then coz she's flat-footed and cannot stand for long. Coupled with mild rheumatism, she needs someone to massage medication on her legs for her (she finds it hard to bend). My dad does it for her, just the way she wants it, without complaints. And he does his best, not just to get-it-over-and-done-with sort. He even puts on socks for my mom after that to ensure that the medication stays on and is best effected. My dad doesn't hurt in the arms/hands, but the thing is, his legs has an ailment too. He had an operation couple of years ago to remove some sort of growth (not sure what...stones or something) at his knee. He recovered from that, but now his calf is suffering. Calves actually (both legs). He's the kind who would rarely voice his pain/suffering, so my guess is, most of the time, he just kept quiet. When we asked, he would assure us that he's recovering.

Of coz, all of us are really worried that he may be over-exhausting himself...unnecessarily too. Just a couple of weeks ago, he told my second sis that he was experiencing pain in his chest, over where the heart is. Because he's already on medication for high blood pressure, we had a fright and told him to go to the doc. True enuff, doc said he needed to rest more.

It sure feels weird that now that we are all grown up, our parents become old and it would be a case of reverse roles. We would be the ones takin care of them as they age and we pull in the dough now. My dad is in his fifties now, but it's still kinda hard for me to imagine him old and white-haired..feeble and weak. Especially when he used to rescue me from cockroaches and lizards and whatever unwelcome "guests" at home. Hopefully I would have found a new knight to rescue me from such pests by the time my dad isn't as flexible or fast. My gallant dad once swopped up a cockroach with his bare hands, and went on to pluck off its head using the other hand. Gross I know, but that's what made me love my dad more. And yes, I don't have sympathy for that roach *grin*

Ok, this has been a long report on my dad, but seriously, this short entry is only a summary. Took me quite awhile to complete this, when I'm supposed to have either slept early or finish my work. I've done neither. And now I'm drowsy. Hopefully I can wake on time tomoro for work. Tons of crap to return to -.-''

Sunday, June 11, 2006

The Sick Entry

Yeah I know...I don't usually MIA for so long a stretch. Life went on more or less the same...nothing unusual or special happened. Well, except for those usual mundane stuff.

Let's see...I shall attempt to recount each upsetting/sad/happy/funny/whatever that I can recall incident...allow me to bore you with this entry *grin* I just want to grumble ok...*humpt*

I fell ill about two weeks ago, thanks to that virus generously contributed by Cindy. Ha...She fell ill first with stomach flu, but I believe there was a bigger mutant virus going round. By the end of that week, she seemed to be on the way to recovery. And then I caught it from her. It was Friday, and I was supposed to join the office peeps to celebrate Tricia's bday after I'm done with Attic Cafe. But thank God, they were ready to leave just as I was done. Initially I was rather sore about it, that they didn't wait for me. But by then, I wasn't exactly clear-headed anymore. Somehow I managed to stumble home and it was downhill all the way.

I foraged for medicine, tried self-medicating, only to realise to my horror that my trusty fever medicine was gone. Zilch! I took another type and tried to sleep. Couldn't of course...had the chills, running high on fever, ultra bad cough, flu and fill-in-with-whatever-you-can-think-of illness...

But what made it worse that the effects of the medicine was supposed to last 6hrs, but by the 2nd hour, the fever crept back. That night, I was delirious, and I believed I overdosed on that fever medicine. Through the night, I kept ingesting the medicine whenever the effect went off in the 2hr. Dangerous, I know. To make things worse, I could barely wake up on Sat, that by the time I woke up, it was noon time, clinic was closed. Both my usual family docs. I didn't think it would escalate, so I decided to wait till Sun (rather than go on to another doc) to see my family doc if necesary. I huddled in bed, cowering (from the chills) under my thick quilt without the fan/aircon on...But I just couldn't perspire! By night time, my fever was running so high I think it ran off-course. I was so delirious, I couldn't get up at all. To make things worse, I was the only one at home. And seriously, I began to feel really frighten. Never before have I fell ill to that extent. I was totally delirious, and felt so helpless and alone then.

Anyways, I managed to see the doc only on Monday, and took MC that day. I was actually given a two-day MC, but I went back to work on Tues. My backlog was piling sky-high. It was actually a mistake, seriously. I wasn't well yet, and I ended up running a high fever in office, coupled with all the other ailments. Coming to think of it, I was almost like better off dead. Ha! And guess what, I was issued some very strong, but equally expensive antibiotics - a whopping $30 for 10 pills! The medical bills that trip whipped the wind out of me. Anyways, I went back to the doc again on Weds in the morning, and was given yet another two days of MC..but I went back to work after the trip to the clinic. This time, I was issued an even stronger antibiotics - imagine, a little pill of 385g dosage each time, twice a day. Previously was 200g dosage each time, and that was pretty strong already. Expensive again of course. Damn...just when I'm so ultra broke this month that I had to fall ill...so costly at that...gosh...

This time, the doc told me to return for another consultation that Friday. And if I were not well by then, he would issue me marching orders to the hospital *gasp* Sounds serious man! Never before have I fell THAT ill...on that scale. Fever lasting more than a week! Makes me wonder now what potent mutated viral thingy that was...*ponders*

Anyways, I'm alive and kicking and well now...and have generously passed on the virus to the next person too, just as Cindy did...muahahaha! Isabel got some phelgm that took awhile to clear, but nothing serious...Eve came down with a bad flu, Charis fever, Moses fever and some others...Worst was Cindy I guess...the virus in her body never did clear out, and she fell ill all over again..as it is, she still is ill now, though recovering.

The sometimes-warped me do enjoy falling ill every now and then (though based on that definition, I didn't really have that privilege), coz I get to be pampered and showered with worried people around me...but then the virus this time was really frightening...

*shudders*

Ok, I think this entry is too chong-hei alredy. I still have stuff to rush, clothes to pack, study table to tidy...gotta pen off now. Till the next entry then.