Monday, February 27, 2006

What Makes a Bad Day

...a heavy dose of mom's early morning lecture...a bad breakfast...an even worse lunch...a headache that keeps acting up every two hours the entire day...a stomach that feels like there are several over-blown balloons in it...a really horrid history-like quiz (and it wasn't even a history class to begin with!)...a bad case of rash that keeps coming and going...not being able to stay alert...dozzing off on the table when you were suppposed to be preparing for a quiz...A POP QUIZ!...having to stay unusually silent during a car ride because you were in no mood to talk (for more reasons than one)...feeling agitated by the morning traffic...the feeling of not being able to do ANYTHING except wanting to jump right back into bed...having more assignments than you can handle...blatantly telling someone you thought he was cute (without thinking first! and then banging yourself for doing that)

The remedy?
ICE-CREAM or a chunky consumption of chocolates. Or, if you're the kind that don't feel sick after having chocolates AND ice-cream, then have 'em both I say! Well, that and catcing up on TV series that you didn't get to watch in real time (ah, the power of downloading). It's a good close to such a god-forsaken day. It is if you're a girl like me anyway...

Sekian, Selamat Malam semua!

Thursday, February 23, 2006

...of Flip-Flops and Remembering...

It's been a really tiring week- and it's about to get worse, what, with me having to hand in three assignments this friday (which is just about less than 48 hours away!).

So, because I was so lazy and tired today and had to go to college just for one miserable class at 4pm and crawl home in the after-work traffic, I couldn't care less how I went to college and what I wore...to the extent that I actually wore this to college- I looked like I was going to the beach and honnestly, if given the choice, I'd have picked the beach without a doubt!:



While I was driving home today I heard Steven Curtis Chapman's song- Remembering you. Untill today, I never really had the chance and time to listen to the words of this song. When I finally listenend to what he was saying (because I literally couldn't move my car for about 5 minutes due to crazy traffic), the words really got to me. I can't say for sure why, but I do know that it has since become one of my personal favorites. So, here it is:

Remembering You

I found You in the most unlikely way
But really it was You who found me
And I found myself in the gifts that You gave
You gave me so much and I

I wish You could stay
but I'll, I'll wait for the day

Chorus
And I watch as the cold winter melts into spring
And I'll be remembering You
Oh and I'll smell the flowers and hear the birds sing
and I'll be remembering You, I'll be remembering You

From the first moment when I heard Your name
Something in my heart came alive
You showed me love and no words could explain
A love with the power to
Open the door
To a world I was made for

The dark night, the hard fight
The long climb up the hill knowing the cost
The brave death, the last breathe
The silence whispering all hope was lost
The thunder, the wonder
A power that brings the dead back to life

I wish You could stay
But I'll wait for the day
And though You've gone away
You come back and

And I'll watch as the sun fills a sky that was dark
And I'll be remembering You
And I'll think of the way that You fill up my heart
And I'll be remembering You

by: Steven Curtis Chapman


*I know I've not posted in almost a week, and I'm sorry. Please be patient. I want to update regularly; I really do. Just that, some things (as well as some other people) have taken precedence in my life at this point in time. =)

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Summer


I was at drama class this morning and we did this excercise where we got into pairs and softly read a piece of prose we picked out. Oh, but before that, we had to lie on our backs and whisper it to ourselves. I like the piece I picked out and the whole time I was saying it to myself, I was thinking of a friend of mine, a childhood friend really. As I was "breathing in the prose, line by line" (in the words of my lectutrer) I was reminded of the simplicity of life back when I was a child. How, everyhing was so unambiguous, so explicit, so...assured. I was reminded of how much fun we use to have literally scrambling hills and returning home with dirt all over us and bruised knees (Yeah, there was a tiny hill at the back of his house and if you walked far enough, it would lead you to a train station- out of no where). We'd play football and use our slippers as goal posts, ride our bikes around the neighbourhood. Sigh...I miss those days where childhood fantasies were not too hard to reach becoz they were not too much to ask. But I guess that's why they're called childhood fantasies, huh? When you're all grown up, fantasies become virtually inaccessible because the 'R' word kicks in- Responsibility. If you're the older sibling in the family and have been constantly scrutinized under the watchful eyes of your parents and the people who surround them, you'll be able to relate.

But, just because I know that I will always be a child at heart, I've got my girl friends to help bring out the "free spirit" in me. I may be 19, but really, I have the sould of a 4 year old (I still love that year of my life...untill today). I believe it's always good to let loose and let the kid in you come out every now and then. To me, that's the only way to stay sane. Well, that and fully relying on God...

But anyway, yeah, I really do miss the time I spent together. We've not seen each other in about 10 months and prior to that, our last encounter was NINE year ago! So, you can imagine the expressions on our faces when we saw each other for the firt time in nine years! I mean, we were two little people who were always playing video games (too bad his playstation only arrived long after I moved), jumping into those little kiddie pools that you could fold up and put away when not in use, and we'd strum our little badminton raquets and pretend they were guitars...lolz....It's amazing what puberty can do to a person! Just thinking about it makes me wish I was five again. Oh well, we gotta grow up some time.
Anyway, this is the prose that rekindled those sweet memories. I took it off Fiction Press (yeah, I don't have a knack for writing):

SUMMER
We were summer children, you and I. It was our element. We would climb hills together, feeling the wind through hair that was never brushed. Scrambling up trees with dirty nails that I bit and you let grow like claws. Jumping into the ocean on sunny days with tattered jeans on, not caring about the mess. Hoarding money and then spending it on ice-cream at some tiny store, laughing as we shared a cone, sweat and cream and roses dripping off our faces. We were the wild horses that could never, would never, be tamed.
-SaturnOolaa, Summer-

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

...of Weddings, Sarees and Errands

It's about 9a.m. and here I am, sipping my morning cup of Ovaltine (because I'm not a coffee person) and checking my mails...
Gosh, it's been one heck of a tirng weekend, or rather weekendS! It's supposed to be the best time of the year to get married for the Hindus, I'm not sure why. But I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say it's got something to do with the allignment of the stars, moon and planets. Anyway, in this past weeks alone there have been about 4 couples tying the knot and two of those nuptuals were by my twin cousins- to two other people, of course =)- which explains the infrequency of my blogging. I've been busy traveling from Penang and back, all because they decided to have the wedding there (also the result of culture and tradition).

It's been very strenuous, but very exciting and 'wunnerful' nonetheless. I mean, for one, it's the first (and probably the only) wedding where it was a double celebration and secondly, it's cause it was my first attempt at wearing a saree at an event. But really, the wedding itself was very intriguing and... beautiful. Yeah, that's the word- beautiful. The idea of two people vowing to have and to hold each other from that day forward, in sickness and in health, and everything else they promise to do till death do 'em part. Sometimes I wonder why people put themselves through such commitment. Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong believer in the santity of the institution of marriage and hope to someday tie the knot myself, but I can't help but wonder how some people actually still try and make it work even through the toughest of times, when there seems to be no way out of the problem. I guess that's the wonder/beauty of a marriage with God and love at the center of it huh? You know one of the things I really love to see are old couples still together and still very much in love after so many years. My parents celebrated their 20th anniversary just recently. Well, it wasn't much of a celebration with daddy working abroad and all, but I often find myself asking what is it that makes it work for them...Their answer? Well, all I usually get is a sigh and then followed by a half-smile (or sometimes no reaction whatsoever). Whatever that means!

Oh, and in the spirit of all you fellas getting all valentine-y, I just wanna say that... I loathe this day, simply because of how commercial it has become. I don't see why people like to 'shower' their boyfriend/girlfriend with just too many chocolates and red roses, all because they think that if they don't their significant other will think less of them. And how about the singletons? Some of them get all depressed and emotional cause there isn't this significant other to spend the day with, no one to take them out to a fancy dinner and play footsie under the table with. I came across this funny nick on one of my friend's MSN. It said, "St. Valentine got his head chopped off for his struggle for justice, so stop being self-absorbed about being single, you losers!" So, to all the single people who get a little more depressed whenever you see a couple being affectionate, GET OVER YOURSELVES! Take it from me, one single person to another, there are plenty of things that you can do, and you don't have to be romantically involved with someone in order to do those things. That said, go out and have some fun and celebrate being single! Maybe you're just not ready for a relationship =) There, my two cents worth =)

Now, I've gotta go run my errands for the week; since I don't have class on Tuesdays, I've declared this day as a day to run my errands and do the things I don't get to usually do on weekdays. So, if you're thinking of having brnch/lunch/dinner dates with me, Tuesdays would be fantastic day, not that I think of spending time with my loved ones as an errand. Just that, on Tuesdays, I'm liberated from the many hours of boring classes, bad traffic and never being able to sit down and just have lunch with a couple of buddies without having to do something else simultaneoulsy. In other words, I'm free ;)

With that, I'm off to do the first two things on my list- cleanning up my room and the car! It's a mess!!! In the mean time, tell me what you think about this- it's an assignment I just handed in; it's a new and improved version of one of my high school magazine covers.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Kleenex- My New Best Friend...

...in the most unwanted way!

I've caught the flu, or rather IT has caught me- the kind that comes along with festive packages; the result of effortlessly downing too many oranges and too much cold drinks. Sadly for me, I didn't get any ang pows to make this worth the while...and so now I am, in the words of someone who's always saying this whenever she falls ill (or something along these lines): "I'm a threat to the ecosystem" due to my very heavy consumption of Kleenex. I hate this flu bug! I hope it does not escelate (or however you spell it) to its horrible other best friends- the cough, the cold and the sore throat. If it does, then I shall be in big, BIG trouble. When I'm down with those horrid "friends" I don't sleep much (apart from my already deprived beauty sleep); When that happens, I don't think straight, I can't see straight, I can't walk straight and this ultimately leads to me not speaking straight (if the condition is severe enough). An that, as we all know it, is not good. As proof, I've been sitting at my computer for the last few hours trying to look for a prose and I STILL can't find one! IT has clouded my thoughts, I tell you- totally blurred my mind!

I was flipping channels (becoz I really couldn't do anything else besides plonk myslef on the couch next to good 'ol Kleenex) when I came across this soap on MTV- Laguna Beach (I'm not an avid MTV watcher). I don't know if it's the frustration of not being able to do anything else, but I think that show totally KILLS and corrupts the English language! I mean really, They like, speak using the word "like" in like, every sentence practically after like, every other, like, word! Like, how irritating is that?! I believe I've made my point: the word "like" has lost its meaning. Obviously, that show only caught my attention for about two minutes...

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Six Months and Counting...


-A view of Auckland City-

Random-ness

A couple of weeks ago, I started out these two entries but didn't quite come around writing an end for them. No, it wasn't the result of my procrastination or laziness (well, not this time anyway); I left them hanging because I didn't know waht else to say- and I still don't! But I shall publish them nonetheless, so here goes...

1. ...of Shoe-Shopping and Frustration...
I wish there was a guide to buying footwear- a guide that has dips on where to get the kind of footwear I want and like! I came here with the intention of totally dissing foot wear companies in this country due to my immense frustration of not being able to find a pair of heels that I like. But hours of walking in the mall, bruising my feet and several second opinions later (from my cousin who came a long), I finally ( after what really seemed like eternity-please excuse the chiche) got myself something that satisfied me- the kind that was worth paying for. I was like, “Yes, there IS a shoe god!” And that somewhat calmed me down...

For those of you who know me well enough, you'll know that shopping? That 'aint my thing. And you'll also know that shoe-shopping? That really 'aint my thing! I hardly wear heels, as it is; I only have one pair of off-white heels which I can call my own. So, what's a girl like me doing shopping for shoes anyway? Well see, the thing is, I needed to get something to go along with this saree I have to wear to a wedding (which by the way, is my fist attempt and so not me!) and I decided that the old pair had to go...it was waaaay too old and tattered.

2. "Thank You"
What exactly does this phrase mean to you? Is it merely a way of showing gratitude when someone does something for you? Or do you think there's more to it than that?

Like when the guy at the toll-gate collects your fare; do you go the extra mile and say "thank you" because you think he must be bored to death just sitting there watching his life past by just like the cars he sees so you fell the least you can do is thank him for being there? Or like the bus/cab driver who takes you to wherever it is you want to go; do you thank him because he got you there in one place? Despite the fact you might have paid for the ride? How about the lecturers we thank for various reasons (like postponing a deadline) Or like when you get your allowance? Or like when someone sent you a text message via SMS and that totally made your day? Or the more obvious ones like when sombody helped you carry something...or when a dear friend stuck around trying to comfort you when you lost your car keys and didn't know what else to do but cry because you got the shelling of your life from mom...or when you get a hug and in politeness, you thank them. Ok yeah, I agree, the hugging thing may be a bit weird but people do that.

Just recently, I think I finally realize the emormity of the phrase; how it can really make someone's day...or sometimes even upset people. I know what your thinking- how can you upset someone by saying "thank you"? Well, I found out that you can, but I won't elaborate how. But yeah, I now realize that I should perhaps be a little more careful when I use that phrase.

So, for taking the time to read my nonsensical ramblings, I "Thank You" =)*no pun intended, I promise*