Reality bites...the inconvenient truth

I'm not a zombie movie fan but I remembered 5 years ago, when I watched "28 Days Later", I enjoyed it with no expectation.

5 years/260 weeks/1825 days later, I can't say the same for its sequel "28 Weeks Later". Apart from the jarring noise and the wobbly camera shots (to create havoc in the movie I believe), I guess I felt really uncomfortable because it was too close to home. The underlying message of terrorism, diseases, etc. The idea of a SARS recurrence, much more rampant..."if containment does not work, extermination..."

How the world is changing already...for the worse.

Stranger Than Fiction

Take it literally. It's the title of the DVD I caught over the weekend. I told :B 'not to waste another weekend not renting it'.

It's one of those unique and charismatic shows I haven't seen in a long time. I'm glad I got past my disinclination when I saw Will Ferrell on the cover. That curly hair guy who's always goofin' around in his comedies to the point of irritation. In this movie, he was truly an actor.

Give it a go!

PTM

M and I are taking half-day leave to attend Becks' annual parent-teacher meeting at her school today.

Last year wasn't all fine and dandy so I hope this year, after 12 months, the little girl whom I believed is chirpy most of the time and have blossomed emotionally and mentally would be perceived the same way by her teachers.

After that, M and I are hoping to catch 28 Weeks Later on the big screen *yea*. We are choosing that over SpiderMan 3 *double yea (for me)*. Till later.

Whisky

Not the hard liquor but a 3-month old Golden Retriever puppy which I held in my arms for 2 full minutes on Sunday.

"Nanny" just earned the reputation of being crazy by buying one for over $2,000, stocking up food which totalled over $1,000, all in her 5-room HDB unit. If you had followed my blog, you'll know she is working from home now. So afraid she may end up talking to the walls, plants and curtains, she got this going-to-grow-into-a-big-dog-covered-in-thick-rich-fur as her companion.

BIG mistake (but I dare not tell her).

Sugar & Spice...and all things nice

A few weeks ago, we saw a nice red car with Hello Kitty heads imprinted on the body of it zipping on the road. The steering wheel was also covered with 'furry pink stuff' which would surely leave no sweaty palms sticking to the otherwise usual leather...and I thought the car definitely belonged to a female.

Of course that was true otherwise I would be blogging about it sooner than now. But it hit me - surely there is one normal adult male in this world who fancies Hello Kitty. Or are they all closet ones???

I could be wrong but I think it's easier being a girl. No inhibitions. People won't judge or laugh at you if you express outwardly you are a Hello Kitty lover and you like everything about you to be pink and flowery. We can keep our hair long and wear pretty Evita Peroni accessories. We can be bitchy and blame it on PMS (perpetually!).

Mini-Farewell Dinner

It was the 8 of us only, including the MD. Dinner was in a nice cozy Italian restaurant - Pasta Brava - tucked away from the busy streets of the business district.

Actually Italian food is quite gross...spaghetti submerged in squid ink, veal shank with its bone marrow (I was told people would dig and dig the piece of mushy flesh in the centre for calcium...like how much would that give you unless you consume it every single day but that would mean you'll have to earn the pay of an MNC CEO or worse, confine the spaces of so many lambs and kill them with no conscience).

In spite of myself, I did enjoy having this last cozy meal with my MD whom I have worked for for the past 4 years. He's a retiring old man whose face lights up whenever he talks about golf and Italian food. We took several photos with him and ended the night with memories which we hope he can keep for a long time.

New Era Kiddies' Songs?

I heard Becks sing to the chorus of The Fray's How to Save a Life last night. Whatever happened to "London Bridge is falling down"??????????????

Retirement Planning

I'm sure there are many ways and instruments designed to help one save for one's retirement. But not having lunch out and instead consuming bread every working day for this reason is INSANE.

This person is a colleague in her early 30s and has a young child. I'd say to save a lot more, she might as well not have any kid. :P

*I'm no devil's advocate*

The One

I heard that Mong has a good friend in school already. Whenever class is dismissed, he'll wave specifically to him, say 'bye' and 'see you tomorrow' enthusiastically. It's just adorable thinking about it (sadly I haven't witnessed any moment before; my maid was the one who reported it to me).

When you are 3, what is it that makes the other the one friend for you?

15 May: I found out that his name is "Perry". :)

Surprise from Pete...

Fast-talking Peter, my ole friend from college is getting married on 5 August! When I saw his sms at 5am extending his invitation to dinner (while checking the time when I woke up from my 100th dream), I thought he was joking.

His (many) past relationships haven't worked out and several times when it was going quite well, he would pull the plug citing 'lack of commitment' because the then-girlfriend would be hinting heavily to apply for a flat. And I would like to admit in this blog that there was a fleeting moment I thought he could be a closet gay.

I haven't spoken or met him for some time so I guess there's plenty of catching up.

Not so nuts about nuts

I realise something - while I really love chocolate with nuts, especially the big chunky and fresh almond ones, I really hate peanut butter with nuts.

I feel nauseous just biting through the sandwich now.

Go Organic Go...NOT!

A colleague has been going organic for the past 2 months and she convinced me with results of better health record (no MC), clearer complexion, 'cleaner and more output on a regular basis' (hmmm...), etc so I tried just now.

And the verdict? Just let me stick to my 'carnivorous' ways....

The Latest...(from Becks)

Miffy: Wah, so smelly.
Becks: Who farted? (by now, this is not a quotable quote. She's said it many times over the past months.)
Miffy: Exactly!
Becks: The smell will go away so don't worry Mummy.
Miffy: True true... (impressed that she is mastering the art of consolation)
Becks: But where does it go to?

Again I shouldn't go into jargon...Physics jargon...about diffusion and its definition of migration of air molecules...

New MD

Finally, a formal introduction over lunch to our new Managing Director who will be coming on board end of this month. Some of us are apprehensive regarding the possibility of change in our current working life (read: good & easy). No use speculating though.

It is cringy to witness how some of my colleagues appear to have geared up to get into his good books.

I was just there for the food man. Good ole Cantonese food...dig that lotus soup!

Sun & Moon

Becks' latest: "Why do the sun and moon not appear at the same time?"

Now how do I explain without getting into all that Geography jargon which I learnt in Sec 3? :P

Next...

No big deal I know but I still deserve a pat on the back for having finished a book in less than 1 month.

"Perfect Match" turned out to contain 2 twists and a controversial ending. I find myself wishing there is a local group which I can join and discuss with people who have read (and enjoyed) the same materials. Who the hell decides what books to read for Literature anyways???? No wonder I dropped the subject by the time I was 15 before a grade lower than C hit on my report card.

I'm onto my next one from today!

Love

Becks: Do you love me?
Miffy: YES OF COURSE! Can't you tell from my regular daily hugs?
Becks: Do you love Travis?
Miffy: YES!
Becks: Do you love Gong gong?
Miffy: Yes, definitely too.
Becks: But I haven't seen you hug him before.
Miffy: .........
Miffy (a few seconds later): Love is expressed in different ways. There are also different kinds of love.

Becks' beloved Gong gong is my dad. How do I tell her that sometimes I wish love can be expressed in the same way, the most simple way but it would probably need the life outta me to do it?

Being Asian. Sigh.

The Door In the Floor

There was a little boy who hadn't known if he wanted to be born. His mommy didn't know if she wanted him to be born either. They lived in a cabin in the woods in an island with a lake and there was no one else around. And in the cabin, there was a door in the floor.

The little boy was afraid of what was under the door in the floor and the mother was afraid too. Once, long ago, other children had come to visit the cabin for Christmas but the children had opened the door in the floor and had disappeared down the hole. The mommy tried to look for the children but when she opened the door in the floor, she heard such an awful sound that her hair turned completely white like the hair of a ghost. And the mommy had also seen some things, things so horrible you can't imagine them and so the mommy wondered if she wanted to have a little boy, especially because of everything that might be under the door in the floor.

And then she thought "Why not? I'll just tell him not to open door in the floor."

Yet the little boy still didn't know if he wanted to be born into a world where there was a door in the floor. But there were some beautiful things in the woods, on the island and the lake.

"Why not take a chance?" he thought.

And so the little boy was born and he was happy, and his mommy was happy again too. Although she told the boy, at least once everyay, "Don't ever, not ever, never never never open the door in the floor."

But of course he was only a little boy. If you were that little boy, wouldn't you want to open the door in the floor?

- "The Door In the Floor" movie adapted from the novel "A Widow for One Year" by John Irving.
(This is definitely the next book I'm reading)

4th

Mom told me my cousin is expecting her 4th baby. The same cousin who just had twins not long ago. My first exclamation:

"What for????"

30th (part 2)

I have to add: on the night of 30 Apr, 'tis the 3rd time the freakin flu bug struck me in 6 weeks!
:(