Saturday, August 20, 2011

I'm outta here for now

Great; just as when I thought the Spanish-Chinese lessons could be started, this had to happen to me.

For some reason, my modem decided to crash on me this morning and, yes, everything - including the main plug - was switched off. That is the weird thing; if there is no electric current, how can the modem be spoiled?

With that being said, we're toying with the idea of buying a new modem as a spare as it will take about two weeks for this one to be repaired. Because of Mama Carrie's nature of work, she requires daily access to the Internet. And no, she's not doing any sort of online business.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Time Management


Taken during our previous trip to Empire Gallery.

Wouldn’t it be great to take a day off from our busy schedules and take a deep breath?

It does not need to be said, but everyone seems to be torn into pieces of work stress. In this age of time, there are more and more cases of people being down with avoidable illnesses. A little stress is good for the body, but too much stress wrecks havoc on the body as it sends a signal to the brain to release countless amounts of cortisol.

Appreciate life while you can, people. You don’t want to be filled with regrets when it’s beyond the point of no return, do you?

Here are some tips you could try:

1) If you ever find yourself in a stressful situation, leave the scene to take a breather, if possible.

2) Exercise! Not only does it help to relieve stress, it also helps to keep you healthy and raises your metabolism rate.

3) Comedy films or reality programs. Mama Carrie swears that the latter works for her whenever she’s stressed. Me, I prefer to listen to music at a loud volume.

4) Write your feelings on paper and shred or burn it once you’re done.

5) Rock climbing.

6) Listen to soothing music.



7) Learn to prioritize. Stress can stem from the lack of time management.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Camera clicks and flashes

True enough; my thoughts were right. My face had already turned sour by the time I knelt down to say the Thanksgiving before Mass.

The Carries said that Confirmation will never be held on the Easter Vigil or Day Mass because there are just too many people and children embracing the Catholic faith on that day. Okay. That, I can understand, but wearing a veil with a white dress? I'm sorry to say that the wearers all resembled wedding brides.

If that wasn't enough, my eyes rolled in horror when out of the corner of my eyes, a lady of about twenty-five turned up in a tight-fitting yellow short dress and killer heels that, in my honest opinion, was suited more for a party goer, not a Church parishioners. Miss, really?

With the middle rows being taken up by them, we had to seat far, far behind. Although I could barely hear what the Celebrant was saying after the Communion prayer, I had grasp enough words to know what was going on. The contents of the speech left me scowling in silence.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

(Un)lucky day

“请问,我这样去这个地方?"
"Excuse me, how do I get to this place?"

We were browsing the shops in the shopping mall when I noticed Mama Carrie. The friend that I was with excused herself.



In another scene, I opened my eyes and felt that my head was spinning in circles. I leaned against the wall and noticed that someone next to me, unconscious. It was the friend (who happened to be a colleague of mine) that was with me earlier in the day. I wouldn't be surprised if we were drugged with chloroform.

The next thing I knew, I was seated in the middle of the living hall - below the ceiling fan - with the mastermind in front of me. To my right was his accomplice seated on the floor, watching my body language.

I stared at the floor as the man spoke, demanding that I transfer the house ownership to him and he would pay me a sum of amount as restitution. As much as he had tried to convince me, I knew that the last part was a bluff.

"If you so want me to sign over the ownership of the house, then let me call my banker. No matter what, I want to make sure that I'm not giving it to you at a price that is below the market value."

I had never intended to sell my properties and was not going to let him get his way without giving him some hard time. The house was located in an affluent neighborhood that fronted the beach. Although I had already known the market value, I needed an excuse to call someone for help.

It worked and the mastermind untied my hands, allowing me to use my cell phone. Seeing my opportunity, I made sure that I stalled the time while I texted my boss for help and gave him our current location.

I knew that I probably busted our only chance at survival when the mastermind snatched my cell and switched it off before dragging me back to the living hall. He laid a pen in front of me and forced me to sign over the transfer of ownership. Stalling for time, I refused and resisted with all my strength.

Agitated at my unwillingness to cooperate, the mastermind got fed up and laid a hand on me. The impact was so powerful that I lost consciousness. By the time I had regained consciousness, our back-up team had barged in and arrested the man and his accomplice before rescuing us.

I recollected my thoughts as the EMT examined me for injuries. When the paramedic gave me the green light, the friend walked towards me and we exchanged a hug, relieved that both of us were alive and unscathed.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Cloudy Thoughts


Credits to From Here to Eternity

I'm enamored by the beauty of the ring. It looks beautiful enough to be my engagement ring, but that's for the Future One to decide.

If you ask me about it, a lot can happen in the next decade or so.

You must be wondering why I'm writing such a cryptic post. Well, I suddenly remembered of a conversation that we had years earlier. It left me stunned to my core and the other party, a little disappointed but accepting - I guess.

Friday, August 12, 2011

What does it mean, anyway?

"Hey, where are you?"
"I'm on my way."

I don't remember what I was doing, but I saw that lots of people had turned up for the event. In the midst of the crowd, I spotted Leigh, who was engaged in banter with her friend. I doubt she had noticed me.

While waiting for him, I made my way to the first floor, where it was quieter. As I made my way into the hall, I noticed that there were people helping each other to carry boxes after boxes of goodies.



It was during sunrise that I found myself on the road, driving and appreciating the morning silence. I could see the street lights being switched off by the maintenance department of the municipal council as the sun made its appearance.

Behind me was the red Ford Focus that was being driven by him. I had peeked at my rear view mirror and noticed that he was leaning his head on one hand and manevouring the steering wheel with the other hand. I could see that, although his concentration was on the road, he was thinking about something.

Somewhere along the way, it was just me on the empty, silent road to nowhere.

Monday, August 8, 2011

It brings a smile to my face



For those moments when I have been down,
You were there to console me
To cheer me up

For those moments when I needed a listening ear,
You were there to lend me a ear
You listened attentively to every word that I said

You can sense the change in atmosphere
You can read my mind
All without me actually saying it in words

You worry when I'm stressed
When I'm having too much work on my hands
You'd ask me to take it easy and relax
Smell the fresh, spring flowers in my garden

Whenever we find the chance to talk,
Hours and hours seem to pass us by
We racked up a lot of hours
During the final few online conversations

I miss the time
That we spent together
Browsing the shops,
Over scoops of ice-cream and laughter

I know it resembles a song lyric, but, on a night like this, I'm more in the mood for a poetry.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Hello again, my friend!

Oh, great! The third consecutive dream. I can't say that I'm exasperated by it, but it temporarily wrecked my sleeping hours.



My friend - I'm not going to be specific; you do the guessing - and his girlfriend flew down to visit me.

Making up to a promise that I had made, I brought them to Sunway Pyramid to catch a meal. As we were walking around the complex, she mentioned that she wanted to stop by the store called Banana Republic. I replied that I'll have to check with either the information counter or the directory board as I wasn't sure.

There was indeed a Banana Republic store in the building and, while they were in the store, I decided that it was time to leave the lovebirds alone and found myself straying into a shop selling kitchenware - yes, the porcelain white plates caught my attention.

It was such a surprise that the shop was playing this song on its speakers.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Welcome home!

Image is credited to New Zealand Pictures.

As Mama Carrie drove along the road and passed by many, many familiar buildings - like Mercy and Auckland City Hospitals, we were struck by nostalgia.

Not sure of my next trip here, I dug my cell phone out and started taking pictures.

After we had arrived at the grocery store, we searched the aisles for our favorite brands to buy and bring home (yes, we're just visitors), but I could only find Waitrose Biscuits.

Once we were done with the shopping, Mama Carrie stopped by a beach-fronting hotel to visit a friend, who was staying there. He had also flew in for a brief holiday.

While the two adults were having a conversation, I tried to make my balcony to take the beautiful pictures of the beach, but found my legs giving way.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

A dream that left me with a raised eyebrow



Because it was my turn to be the shopkeeper, I leaned against my chair and watched the traffic outside our shop. Parked directly in front of our shop were two cars. One was Toyota Alphard, which belonged to my older cousin, Roland, and the other was a mere Toyota Vios, which belonged to me.

"Roy!" I yelled when I noticed that the Alphard was missing from its parking spot. "Roland's car is missing!"

I could see that Roy's color faded into a shade of grayish white, signalling a sense of worry.

"Oh my God! I have to tell him!" he said before rushing off.

As Roy disappeared upstairs, I noticed that Roland's Alphard had made its return and was at the opposite store.

I went with another cousin of ours, Lily, to have a chat with the shop manager and showed proof that the car belonged to our family. The shop manager looked at the proof and agreed to return the car to Roland once he confirmed that it was really his.

"Roland!" I called as I made my way upstairs. "I found your car."

There was a sense of relief in Roland's eyes as he asked. "Where is it?"

"It's at the opposite shop. The opposite lady wants to confirm that the car is really yours before she agrees to return it to you."

"Come."

In reality, with the exception of Lily (she's my aunt), Roland and Roy are both my paternal cousins.

In another scene, I was waiting for my folks in Starbucks that was near my dentist. I wasn't feeling very well because the dentist had extracted two infected wisdom teeth and the fact that my parents were late made me boil even hotter.



"You're late!" I barked when they eventually arrived.

"Sorry, Ci." My Mom had apologized. "Traffic congestion."

Mama Carrie has never called me by that. In fact, that's a nickname given by Sam and Leigh. My molar tooth was extracted instead in reality. There is however a Starbucks within walking distance from the dentist.
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