Grampa is here

No one told me that grampa is coming to town, until I called my mum tonight and was told that he is here in town, at my cousin's place, with my aunt and uncle. I was delighted, but was pissed that no one bothered to tell me. Uncle's reason - you would have found out from your mum anyways.

That aside (family...grrr!), I quickly made my trip down to my cousin's place (lucky thing I had a cancelled dinner date) to see him, and he is as healthy as ever. And he is 96. Probably has more energy than I ever have. Still have not managed to learn his secrets. Tongkat ali? Don't think so!

I love my grampa.

On to cancelled dinner date. I have to ventilate. Should I tolerate this thing when it happens again for the umpteenth time? What is it with Virgo men that they cannot tell you in your face that they don't want to go out with you right from the beginning, and rather they make your hopes go soaring, only to douse it at the very last moment (worse still, sometimes they just let you stand in the cold). Not one Virgoan, but three already. All the same. Anyways, I gave him a chance to make a come back, and he blew it on the first try. That is it. This baby is done with that one. You can kiss my tushie goodbye.

Things That Make You Go "Huh?"

A nice day of a leisurely visit to the Museum, with four meals to go along, and nice company (thatnks Nikki et al), today was. Haven't been to the place for a long while, and I had forgotten how nice and peaceful the place was, dredging up memories from years past when the place was my everyday affair as I slaved there for the peanut that the paid me. Good experience though, worth dredging up again. Of course nice co-workers, who still remain as friends to these days, hence the special treatments I get everytime I go there - discounted entrance fee ("he is my brother" and I look like the moon and she looks like the sun), discounted merchandise at the shop ("ring him up under my staff ID"), free latte and baklava at the restaurant ("nevermind la..you haven't been here for sooo long"), a tour of the never-open-to-public VVIP lounge, patron's lounge, director's offices, and soon-to-be-open patron's library ("what do you think of the beams, they are sooo ugly"), and again discounts at the shop ("don't close the register yet, he wants to loook at the chinese calligraphy!"). I felt so warm and fuzzy after (and I wonder why I ever left? Simple, money :) ).

The "huh" things happened during the visits (no, haven't forgotten about the title yet):

Huh No 1: A phone call came when I was peering at the mughal painting that costs half of my salary at the shop. My client from the just finished project called to check on some system thingy, and I told her that I was on vacation and was at the museum, hoping she was going to cut the call short. And she blurted out "oh, you are taking your children out for a museum tour?". Huh?

Huh No 2: Chatting away with my museum friends at the restaurant over latte and baklava in that white, very white space of a place, lulled by the also white noise of the afternoon, feeling contented and happy, when Hal motioned to Mid, complete with that sly conspiratorial smile, and said "aren't you going to tell him what my friend said the other day?" and Mid said "oh yeah, Hal's friend said that I didn't know that Mid is married. Boy, I have a very young husband!". This was when we went to Hal's housewarming party together. I too, had to say boy... Nikki almost drank his latte through his nose! Double huh!

Huh No 3: So many cute people around today. Nikki also pointed out the same thing too. That waiter at the Museum restaurant, what's his name again? Syed? Wowwee... (Nikki, he is MINE!) That maintenance worker in the lift. The guy in the blue shirt at GEM...(Nikki, if I have to kill you I have to kill you for that one, and I saw him first!). Now, are there that many good-looking people, or have we been too long cooped up, or are we just plain desperate? And that includes Nikki too. Desperate I mean. Another huh!

Now, for a hmmmm experience instead, go to http://www.iamm.org.my/ to experience the experience I experienced today (the museum's that is).

My New Year Wish List

Dear God and whoever else who listens,

Here is my wish list for year 2006 (and I used to think that year 2000 coming was unimaginably far far away):

1. For me to have more money to buy my parents more comfort, for mum to have better treatment for her ailments

2. For me to have more money to pay off my debts (house, house, car, credit cards, credit cards, credit cards..)

3. For me to have more money to start saving

4. For me to have more money to go visit bf in Dubai and stay there for a long while

5. For me to have a better paying job which doesn't make me work for 3/4 of my waking time, which will give me more money to achieve 1 - 4

6. For me to have a better paying job which doesn't make me work for 3/4 of my waking time, which will give me more time to achieve 4

7. For me to have a better paying job which doesn't make me work for 3/4 of my waking time, which will allow me to have more time to spend with my parents

8. For my family to be happy and to appreciate the family as it is - as individual members with different characters who are forced by the sheer fact that they are born from the same womb to live together, peacefully

9. For me to be happy and content and at peace with myself

10. For my friends Gav, Jip, Hasx, Kel, Dol, Yat and anybody else that I forget to mention their names (my Academy Award speech) to be happy and content and at peace with themselves

11. World peace, with no sad stories

12. World peace, with no traffic jams

Happy New Year. May God bless all.

p/s and yes, I want to try to make it to the Holy Land, although I hate to put it in the list yet....

Clawed on the butt...

...by an ugly tomcat!

Hammie did his usual door thing again - running outside when I opened the door to let my visiting friend out, only to encounter a big ugly tomcat outside the door hissing at him. And Hammie being Hammie just walked straight into the ugly guy, without knowing that the guy wanted to claw him. And yours truly, being the protective parent he is, picked him up and tried to bring him inside, only to be jumped by the tomcat and clawed. On the butt and thigh! So pain!

The stupid cat practically stuck itself on my butt and would not let go until my friend helped! I didn't event know what struck me! Had blood practically oozing from my butt. And there I was trying to clean my butt, ain't easy, I can tell you that, and then I heard this loud thump from the back balcony and this loud cat-fight! The tomcat leapt onto the back roof when he saw Hammie appear at the back balcony, and there were really fighting. And I wouldn't even call it a catfight - it was horrendous. And moi, the inexperienced parent ran haplessly to the balcony (of course I grabbed a towel first.. he he) and tried to stop them by poking at them with the handle of the broom, while trying very hard to not be embarassed (all I could think of was my downstairs neighbour and how he would be bitching for a week for the disturbance on his roof, bad neighbour me), but I only managed to aggravate them more.

Neighbours started to come out (and imagine me in my towel with my cute little belly, not...) and the maid next door told me to pour water on the two fighting cats. That worked. Only that both of them jumped downstairs into my neighbours backyard, which I have no access to from outside, and I had to go and knock on my downstairs' neighbours' door to go and check on Hammie, which thankfully by then was done with the fighting and was just holding fort at one corner of the yard. (I forgot to mention that I had of course by then put on a tshirt and trackpants). What a commotion. What an embarrassment to the neighbours. I think I have to go buy them a cake tomorrow.

Hammie survived his first fight. Of course he looked like he was dragged through the mud when I picked him up, with cuts all over, and probably is emotionally scarred (is there a feline psychologist somewhere?) but he has proven himself to be a man-cat. But once is enough, for me at least. So malu!

Oggi-astic!

I can't even remember when was the last time I had a fantastic dinner with good company, good food, good ambience. Those with bf don't count, of course. I had one tonight. Team Gemini, as we are called at the client site, finally managed to perform magic and miracles and managed to bring the project to completion, right on the dot as planned. Of course the pains that we went through, if I have to list them will take a few months to compose, but we did it. No one thought it was possible. So I decided to treat the team (well, there are 3 of us, if you can call that a team) to a nice dinner, and I made them choose the place. I have to admit that I did nudge them a bit towards Oggi, as it has been a long time since I last went there, and I know I will not part with my mullah if I have to pay for the dinner myself (did I remember to mention that I decided to treat them using the company's money? :) ).

It was nice. Really nice. The team has always worked well together, despite our little tiffs and differences, but those are work-related. We have lunch almost everyday together, that kind of things. So to have this dinner as a celebration was like having dinner with good friends. We were just being silly and goofy, and enjoying every minute of it, talking nonsense. SM who is always so proper loosened up and after a glass of wine was acting slightly silly and funny. Well, nice silly and funny. MH dressed up, complete with a wrap, and lipstick! I wasn't the one drinking, but was tipsy with joy. Wanted to stay stomach, and it came out as stummy. :P

Of course, we had to order extra dessert! I just hope that my boss will not jump out of his chair when he sees the bill.. he he.

I need to do this again, soon. On company's account that is. :)

Music of My Heart

I am listening to Paul Mauriat and Richard Clayderman, so that should give you a clue to the mood that I am in. During normal times I would not have made a public announcement about this (okay, so I am a closet Clayderman fan, but it's good for times like these, try it) but this isn't exactly normal times, so I am forgiven.

I am not exactly functioning in the way that I should (the way I am is another thing), feeding on my ga ga mood, not quite here and not quite there. Definitely not in equilibrium. You see, it is very hard to be in equilibrium when someone keeps walking in and out of your life every other day. And I thought I got rid of him by sending him off to Dubai. Back he comes again. Not that I am not grateful (I definitely am! :) ), but the after effect is paralysing. I lose my sense of balance, I feel like I am on a see-saw, or is it a rollercoaster? Especially when he keeps appearing in town every other day. Iks.

I need to straighten my head. Enough of this Mauriat-Clayderman coup!

Oh yeah, Hammie too seems to have gone over the edge, he has been making slutty noises.

Awrait! :)

Hasioux's handiwork, he plastic-surgeried yours truly into this.. he he!























And this...

And a couple more that I can't post here for the fear that this site will turn porno.. :)

You are so talented, mon ami!