Saturday, March 24, 2012

In which I may have to go missing for awhile

the power of water ;)
I'm having a major computer problem. Due to old age (and probably an abusive owner), my laptop suddenly didn't want to work anymore. Turns out, the laptop itself is still fine, but the cable that supplies the electricity and the port that receives it don't see eye to eye anymore. In order to use it as I am using it now, the power connection is pushed to the side with my water bottle. 

Even with external help, the power gets cut off accidentally - for instance if I hit the "delete" key a bit more enthusiastically than I should, or if I'm trying to use the USB port which is situated a bit too close for comfort. The worst part of it all? I have to use it on the floor, which is not very comfortable. 

So, until I find a solution to this problem, I might as well announce that I may not be around here for awhile (although I'll have to try to sneak in typing stuff elsewhere and just posting it up here)

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Rag Doll on a String

SPOILER ALERT: If you've never bungee jumped before, but have intentions of doing so, I'd advise against reading this post because it may spoil the whole experience for you. Don't get me wrong - it's one of the best things I ever did, but reading this post may spoil the element of surprise.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You're seated on the platform, while a man, sort of youngish, binds your ankles together. His attempts at small talk is greeted with distracted replies as your heart starts beating wildly upon hearing the screams of the people who jumped from the other platform just beside you not two seconds ago.

You realise at this point that there is no turning back and just hope that you don't smash your face against a rock or any of the bridge's imposing beams. Of course you could just calmly walk away from it all and have regrets for the rest of your life as you account the story of how you almost did it but chickened out at the last minute while you sip a latte with your friends. You shake that thought away as you hobble to the edge of the ledge. 

Every inch of your being screams "are you crazy?" and "don't do this!", but you've made up your mind, so scream or no scream you grin at the cameras like an idiot as your friends cheer you from a distance, step off the ledge and the rest, as they say, is history.

Silence envelopes you as the forces of gravity has it's way with you. There is a tug, and you bounce, do a pirouette in the emptiness and slowly settle in with one final tug, hanging upside down, exhilarated and filled with adrenaline as the blood finally decides to go with the flow and rush to your head. In the final confusing moments you spot the pole you're supposed to grab that will eventually lead you to the solid ground where you belong.
Getting untied from the ropes and the harness is a less than graceful affair. Aside from giving a total stranger an awkward hug as you try to maneouver yourself from the pole to the boat, you are expected to give one final smile to the camera. You're in such a daze that you just do what you're told, resulting in a somewhat comical shot (at least mine was, since I stopped being a natural in front of the camera after I turned 6)

You shakily get off the boat onto solid ground, your knees thinking they're Elvis as you make your way up the stairs to watch other people get their adrenaline fix.

Note: March 17 2011, 3-ish pm, New Zealand time. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

The "To Do" List

If I had the time to make a "To Do" list,
I can bet it would be 2 miles long.
Everything is shrouded in a mist,
And to be honest, I'd rather write a song.

Scattered on "Post its" on the desktop,
In font size eight.
You could jump, skip and hop,
The burden will still be of the same weight.

Maybe it's time to make a list again,
And happily cross out each line.
Then perhaps I could board a train,
And everything will be fine!


Thursday, March 08, 2012

Ghosts of Birthdays Past

It was late afternoon on the 8th of March 1980 and a woman in labour was wheeled into an empty waiting room for no apparent reason. A few minutes later, a little baby girl was born in that empty waiting room while her family was anxiously waiting for them elsewhere. That baby was me. While all this drama was in progress, somewhere out there on a radio playing in someone's house, or in a car, or even a restaurant, one of the many radio stations would have been playing the song "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"

Many years later... 

So, I finally hit thirty two. I kinda think this needs some getting used to.

Thirty was something I looked forward to, thirty one was fine as well, because it meant I had already firmly set foot into my thirties, but thirty two seems pretty mundane. It's like turning twenty two after the anticipation of turning twenty one is over (And yes, in case you're wondering, being twenty two was one of the dullest things I ever had to endure) 

As a birthday post this year, I thought it would be interesting (for me) to take a trip and revisit old birthdays.

2011 - I turned thirty one very quietly, while I at work. Came back home to pack stuff for a vacation that I was due to leave for on the 11th. Did a fair bit of reflection, though with intentions on 'taking the leap', which I didn't. Had a small celebration  with my vacation buddies a week later, though.

2010 - Turned thirty, which was a big thing, and something I looked forward to because I kind of felt depressed a lot throughout my twenties. 

2009 - I spent the day cooking with my sister for an accidental birthday party. We were supposed to have a family gathering/birthday party for a cousin that turned 21 in February, but for some reason, the cousin was reluctant to join the party we tried planning for her and it ended up being an accidental birthday bash for me and an aunt who is also a March baby. Food was good, and it was one of the best birthdays ever. 

2008 - Voted in the general elections which fell on the same day. I spent my birthday night clicking refresh on a particular news site to find out the election results.

2007 - Had a bad attack of the migraine, ended up in a very long meeting and finally came home at 11pm. I got this laptop I'm typing this post on that very day, a sort of birthday present to myself.

2001 - Turned 21 in university, where madness prevails at midnight. In the midst of studying feverishly for an exam, a friend barged into my room and told me the moon looked beautiful that night. I tried looking out the window but couldn't see a thing. She said I had to go outside to actually see it. I followed her out like a robot, only to have a pail of cold water thrown over me amidst shouts of "Happy Birthday". This was the year I had three different birthday celebrations with friends. My parents on the other hand, completely ignored the fact that I'm not a fan of jewellery made of gold went ahead and bought me a gold pendant in the shape of a key. I know this sounds ungrateful and all, but seriously, just because it's a common gift other parents gave their 21 year old offspring, it doesn't mean I'm going to like it or even wear it for that matter.

1999 - The first birthday I had away from the comforts of my own home. This was also the year I realised that a lot of people really made a big deal of birthdays, unlike my family where birthdays was just another reason to get our cake fix without too much guilt. Three March babies shared a cake, and then the non-birthday babies decided that they'd give us glossy hair and (ahem) shiny skin by smothering cream from the cake all over us. We looked like we had escaped from a Hallo'ween party.

 1990's - There would always be a cake every year.

1984 - The very first birthday and birthday party I can remember. When my mom told me it was my birthday that day, I was under the impression that you only have birthdays once in a lifetime (I was barely four - still had a few more hours,  so I think I can be forgiven for having such a strange thought) I got lots of toys that year, the one I remember most being the train set, which my grandfather and uncle taught me how to assemble. The train actually had 'smoke' come out of it's chimney as it chugged merrily on the tracks. Fun times.

1981 - I turn one. I don't remember anything from this, but there are lots of photos of me and a bear that was twice my size. The whole atmosphere of the party had a somewhat seventies feel to it. I kind of bet being one years old and all, I probably would have hardly enjoyed the cake.

Saturday, March 03, 2012

iKreativ - an Award and Random Things

Jaya J of Pickles n' Tickles has recently awarded this old blog with a Kreativ Blogger award. A great big thanks to her :)

It's been awhile since I've seen awards flying around the blogosphere like they are now, so this is really good news, I reckon. Maybe blogging is NOT dying a slow death as I thought it was just slightly over a year ago.

However, being given an award comes with some really serious responsibilities, one of them being volunteering random information about yourself - 10 to be precise. Secondly, like all good things, they need to be passed around to 6 others. 

The 10 Random Facts

1.  Memory Charms:
My memory works in the weirdest way ever. I remember most people's birthdays, I remember bits and pieces of conversations, what they wore the last time I saw them, and some other rather unnerving things which no one else pays attention to which makes me look like a big time stalker. I also used to remember telephone numbers until I got my cellphone. On the other hand, I am capable of totally forgetting to do certain important things like passing on a phone message.

2. Prone to Accidents
Well, sometimes, maybe. I have absentmindedly walked out of a bus that was moving (albeit ever so slightly), fallen into drains as I was reading something while walking, got pulled down by a 15 kg bag and fractured a bone in the process. 

3. On Fruit:
I don't eat fruits, except for watermelons. I can't stand the smell of certain fruits, and the taste of many others, among them my mortal enemy, the durian. In fact, I'd actually run away from people as they are enjoying this fruit, as it happens to be the favourite fruit among many Malaysians and South East Asians alike. 

4. The Big Language Barrier
I grew up speaking English as a first language at home, then started on the Malaysian language in preschool. Somehow, I rarely had people speaking in my mother tongue with me, and never caught up with it. In school, I enrolled for class, and managed to remember all the curvy lines that form the script, but I still couldn't speak the language properly. I still can't and when I actually do speak the language to one or two people... I end up speaking it really slowly with an English accent, but I can read the words and don't know what they mean. Bummer!

5. Four-eyes
I started using glasses since the age of 7. Since then I've broken a few, lost one in a bus and even temporarily misplaced another for two weeks (I had a spare, so I wasn't completely blind) Besides being short-sighted, I apparently have really bad astigmatism, which makes finding a good pair of contact lenses a bit troublesome (not good for night driving, I've been told)

6. The Environment and Writing
My love for the environment began in 1992 when I sat by the window of a school and wrote an essay titled Why I Love Trees. I won first prize, and the prize was this awesome environmental book "Tomorrow's Earth" by David Bellamy. Winning this contest made me think that I can write, and here we are. ;)

7. The Coffee Addict
I can't help it.

8. Haikus and other poetry
I used to write haikus and other poetry (if they can be called poetry) quite a bit in the recent past. Haven't done them in awhile. Perhaps I should begin again. 

9. H20 related idiosyncracies
I noticed this a few years ago, and came to the conclusion that the colour of the drinking water bottle seriously effects how willing I am to drink out of it. Blue or green bottles work well with me while I had a hard enough time trying to convince myself to drink out of a red bottle. 

10. Tall kids don't really end up being tall adults
As a kid, I was rather tall for my age, but I slowly ended up being of average height by my mid/late teens. People who saw me last back in primary school (circa 1992) express surprise when they see me now. "I thought you'd be bigger" they tell me

And now for the victims: 
I don't always obey rules on memes or awards, but I think I might for this case. However, as I actually read plenty of blogs and they're all awesome in their own ways (see sidebar, and that doesn't include bookmarked blogs and those who are in my reader or those I simply stalk), picking 6 will be tough. Therefore, I decided I'll narrow down the list to the following criteria: 
a. Currently active
b. Have not received the same award from the same blogger who tagged me

3 Secret Agent Woman

Special mention, just because I have to break a few rules here and there ;)

I am Such a Derp (he actually likes awards and stuff - but who doesn't)

IT's THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

Time for the Annual Appraisal again.  It's a cloudy Sunday afternoon, and I had just finished giving scores to my subordinates on their ...