Scares

I had two scares within the last week.

1.
The first one was when I went back to Penang for a company event. My colleagues and I had stayed in a hotel by the sea. A day after the event I got a call. It seemed that one of the rooms we were staying in had been occupied by someone who was now quarantined for H1N1.

My mind went into a melodramatic overdrive. As I was telling my mother that I may have been exposed to the virus, and therefore, so has the rest of the family, I imagined lying in the hospital with high fever and at the verge of death. I had phantom tickles in my throat the whole day.

But thank God, two days later I found out that the person who had been quarantined had come out negative for H1N1. Phew...

2.
The second one was when I was driving alone along a road near Seksyen 16. Traffic was at a stallstill so I had time to glance around and observe. As I was looking through my rearview mirror, I noticed two guys on a motorcycle stopping abruptly next to a car a few cars behind mine. They were garbed in oversized coveralls. Then, in split second, the guy at the back stood, crashed the window of the car, reached in, and grabbed out a big black bag. Then they zoomed off.

It was shocking. I thought of pushing my passenger side door open and letting the motorcycle ram into it as they rode past me. But it happened too fast and all I could do was lean over to look at the bike's number plate. Alas, the robbers were smart enough to have bent the plate to partially obscure the numbers.

I glanced around, my hands shaking from the shock. Nobody had reacted. The victim's car moved along without stopping so there was nothing I could do but make sure my own bag was well hidden, my door was locked and my baseball bat-like steering lock was within reach. I also prayed for my own safety and the victim's - whoever she was.

I will buy you a garden...

Recently I discovered not one but two gardens smacked in the hustle and bustle of the city. One is at the rooftop of 1 Utama, aptly called the Secret Garden. And the other is the Lake Gardens' Butterfly Park. Needless to say, I went trigger happy.

A crappy project

That sums up the project that came plopped on my desk. It's not just an ordinary project, it's a crappy one. Oh, I'm not being mean. It really is about crap. It's about constipated crap, watery crap, diarrhea-ric crap...

If you've just eaten and are adverse to gross stuff, read no further.

Anyway, the whole editorial department went into a frenzy trying to find pictures of well, crap, for this assignment. Tried googling it. Had to crack our brains thinking up all different variations of the word: poo, stools, feces, shit, dung. Even tried defecate, diarrhea, etc.

In the end, we thought it might just be easier if we grabbed someone's child and wait for him to defecate to take photos of his erm, by-product. As for the different types (constipate vs watery), we'll have to depend on Photoshop for that. How very interesting.

Like I said, it was a crappy project.

Petals on a gerbera

Just an excuse to blog

I haven't been blogging a while. I guess when you are a full-time writer, the last thing you would want to do during your free time is to write. But I think the main reason is because I don't have a computer at home anymore (my PC dieded on me, sniff) and I don't have time when at work.

I am waiting for a new laptop. Yes, waiting for it to fall on my lap (pun unintended). We shall wait and see.

And speaking of new techie gadgets, I just got myself a digital camera. It's my very first! Imagine, I had been using those old-fashioned cameras - with films! People used to laugh at me. This new cammie is a pretty standard one, not those cool DSLRs that give you giant biceps after carrying them for a full hour. Still, I like it because it's dark red and has large enough buttons for my chubby fingers.

I would love to take artsy-fartsy pictures showing the most ordinary stuff in different light or angle. And gorgeous breathtaking sceneries or sunsets that make you stop in the middle of the street and get knocked down by oncoming traffic. The trick is to bring my camera everywhere I go to be able to catch the sights when I see them.

But for now I will have to be contended to just snap photos of people in ninja gears or bright orange undies worn outside and stuffed with a mobile phone...

25 things you don't need to know about me...

This appeared in FB recently, but since it took me ages to finish writing it, I thought I shouldn't just let it rot in FB. So I'm letting it rot in here as well. ;P And I have made a few minor changes.

25 things you don't need to know about me...

1. I appear quiet when with strangers but once you get to know me, I can be very chatty.

2. I set my clocks and watches 10 min faster because I like to be early or at least on time. I feel stressed if I am late. I feel superior when I am early, muahaha.

3. I love to sing - but dislike karaoke because English songs tend to feature ladies in bikinis strolling down the beach.

4. I love Pride and Prejudice, the novel and the series. Not the one starring Keira Knightley but the BBC version with Colin Firth as Darcy. I like the wet t-shirt part. ;P

5. My favourite authors are all dead.

6. I'm not a fan of chicklits. I feel like I lose a few IQ points after reading a few pages. Not like I have much to begin with already.

7. I don't watch TV these days, though I used to be a couch potato.

8. I used to watch and love a few obscure TV shows: WonderFalls, Tru Calling etc. I wish they had lasted more than a season or two.

9. I can't stand cigarette smoke.

10. I dreamt of living in a little cottage with a lovely garden and a brooke running nearby. (Yes, very English. I think I was influenced by Enid Blyton and Anne of Green Gables.)

11. I love windy days. Especially when I am standing by the beach.

12. I like it when the leaves fall off trees during a windy day and it feels like autumn.

13. I used to have a dog named Wendy, which is hardly a name for a dog, but the previous owner named her that, so... (Later in life I met another dog named Wend-di but that is another story.)

14. I am allergic to paracetamol. I'll sneeze and cough non-stop with my eyes getting all watery.

15. I sneeze when I am exposed to a sudden change in temperature.

16. I sneeze when I pluck my eyebrows. (Go figure.)

17. I don't like bossy people.

18. I am obsessive about brushing my teeth after meals.

19. I used to wear braces.

20. I can read upside down words or their mirror images easily.

21. I used to be a huge fan of computer role-playing games, like Neverwinter Nights, Planescape Torment, Baldur's Gate and Star Wars:KOTOR.

22. I am semi-addicted to Gmail and Facebook.

23. I have several nicknames, some of them unprintable.

24. I like bittersweet chocolates.

25. I love God.

A title is supposed to be short and sweet, and to the point, not a blinkin' essay in its own right, but some people don't seem to understand that.

Enough said.

Sit not with mockers

There's one (or more) in every office. The sourfaced pessimist with bitterness dripping from his every word. The one who feels like he has scored when he makes you feel like you have made the biggest mistake in taking up this job. You can picture him snickering and rubbing his hands in glee when he sees your confidence falter and your little bubble burst - or shrink a wee bit smaller.

But then there are also those little rays of positivity who nudge you on with encouragement. The ones who believe in you. And the one who moves you forward with wise words:

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. - Psalms 1:1-2

And for those lovely people I am thankful.

Complaining about not complaining

Sometimes people tend to think the worst of things.

I found that sometimes they tend to interpret the things I say and turn it into something vile. It's annoying.

Like for example:

It's been raining. I am trudging along a soggy patch in a field. I bump into a friend. "It's so muddy," I said. Trust me I am just stating a fact. A neutral fact. Nothing more.

And what I get is an admonishment for complaining. It's like an uncalled for slap in the face.

The question is, was I complaining?

If I was, I would not be just commenting, "It's muddy". I may have added a harsh word or two and glared at the mud with such intensity it would turn solid again.


Example number two:

A friend is commenting on girls who wear heels. Why do they prefer to wear heels instead of flats?

I suggest simply, because they're short.

You're so bad, he says.

What is so bad about that? Just because I am tall and I am saying others are short, am I making fun of them? What is wrong with being short? What if I prefer to be short? Better centre of gravity. And you can wear high heels without towering over guys. ;P

Does saying certain word immediately mean you are complaining or being unkind?

Don't be so fast in jumping to conclusion.

Be positive mar...

Grateful

I started my new job 2 weeks ago and I have many things to be grateful for. The list may seem trivial to most people, but to me, it means quite a lot, especially after 4 and a half years of working as a embryologist.

Here are some of the stuff I am thankful for:

My very own workstation, with my very own laptop and my very own cushy high-backed swivel chair, and my very own telephone extension. In my previous place, all 10 of us had to share 3 PCs, 3 telephone lines (with just 1 passcode).

And I get to be pleased with my cool work shoes and work bag. In the previous place we had to wear ah pek slippers and loose-fitting pajamas, and nobody cared to look at your bags.

Last but definitely NOT the least, I get to keep foodstuff and drinks on my desk! No more hassle of putting on a labcoat, walking through long corridors and past at least 5 doorways and down at least one flight of staircase to be able to eat and drink. Woohoo! Sigh, I like keeping myself hydrated. :)

And did I mention that the management is superb?