Potato

Apparently, I give off the impression that I'm an anglo-phile in the office.

So much so that my colleagues call me "kang tang" (potato)

So much so that today, a new colleague wanted me to pass something to someone else, and asked if I understood the meaning of "lom bang"

Sheesh!

But my dear Sister-in-law has developed a new term for people like me, who appear very ang-moh pai, but are actually not.

She calls B1.... SWEET POTATO.... wahahahaha....

Toss & Turn

Did something I had to do last night.

And after that, my confidence was shattered. Anxiety, uncertainty, self-doubt led to rage, frustration and insomnia.

But I will bounce back soon enough.

And usher the New Year in with a smile. =)

Bounce Back

While I agree that everyone takes a different period of time to heal, I am a firm believer of bouncing back quickly.

Life is full of opportunities, half-chances - which one needs to be ready to grab. And some of these chances don't knock twice.

Come to realise the lesson learnt, internalise it quickly, come to terms with the issues and move on. Its not easy doing this alone, but having good friends / family who are there to support you do help.

Seek these people out and thank them for reaching out to you. Sometimes, we just don't have enough in us to help ourselves.

When You Hate Your Job

When you have a 'I Hate My Job' day, try this:

On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson

Be very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed.

Change into very comfortable clothing and sit in your favourite chair. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it will not become chipped or broken.

Now the fun part begins.

Take out the literature from the box and read it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement:

'Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson is personally tested and then sanitized. '

Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times,' I am so glad I do not work in the thermometer quality control department at Johnson & Johnson.'

HAVE A NICE DAY AND REMEMBER, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSE WITH A JOB THAT IS MORE OF A PAIN IN THE A** THAN YOURS!

Laugh in the Face of Crisis

Helplessness

I was startled out of bed this morning by a nightmare.

I was taking an English exam in a school classroom. I was seated and felt confident in taking the paper.

But at the last moment before the exam started, someone told me that I was in the wrong seat.

I got up, and ran. Up and down stairs, across corridors, trying to match the seat number listed on my candidate slip to the list of numbers that hung outside every classroom door.

I was panting, and panicking as I watched the clock run down towards to end of the paper.

I ran and ran, increasing in despair as the clock ticked. I still couldn't find my seat!

I finally ran into this teacher along a corridor, she directed me into the classroom where my seat was.

I finally found my seat, sat down, and started writing. Thats when I woke up.

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The emotion that first came over me was one of helplessness. That all the running around was leading me no closer to my destination. That as hard as I tried, I could not find what I was looking for.

Until.

I ran into that teacher. And she led me out of my loop.

That got me thinking about how sometimes, we all need that hand from the outside to pull us out of our loops, our helplessness. And that we sometimes just don't have enough in ourselves to help ourselves.

Whatever Floats My Boat...

Sometimes...

Knowing that I've done enough to affect other people's lives positively makes me feel slightly better about myself.

And for now, its sufficient for me to get by on.

Win a BKT Session!

Have I mentioned that I really do like my bah kut teh? And that I have traveled all over Singapore tasting the various ones?

Here's the contest. If you can identify the 2 separate outlets featured in the photos above? I'll take you out to bah kut teh!

Hints - The first photo is a claypot, black BKT; the second uses charcoal to boil its hot water for tea. Come on, there can't be that many such outlets left!

Have fun guessing! Post answers in comments section. =)

The Right Investment

In spite of all my moody, depressing, emotional crap that I have been posting online... I'm doing fine...

And that's in part because of all my friends who have congregated around and offered support / encouragement.

It just goes to show that I have invested in the right people.

And all that stick I used to receive about me putting them in front of us is rubbish. =)

Realisation II

I'm no longer chasing.

Because.

You belong to someone else.

Stalled

Work motivation engine has stalled...

Need to get it running again... on a Friday afternoon. Urgh.

Sex And The City

I finally watched SATC last night. It was a great movie.

You should stop reading here if you don't want to hear my "ovaries" talking.
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It was a really sweet movie. And having not caught it for so long after its release, I've heard all about the ending from friends who have seen it. And even with that in mind, I thought it was a good movie at the end.

This is not a movie that you should watch alone. Nor is it a movie you should watch when your emotional state is not at its best. If a 45min episode of SATC was too emo for you, imagine sitting through 2.5 hours of it.

What I liked about the movie was that it was so real. And what was happening to the characters is quite true to life. You get to see what the "other" party is thinking / going through - which you don't get a chance to in real life.

For a brief moment, I contemplated doing what Miranda did at 1:51 in the movie. But I shouldn't.... Or should I?

Her Life in Boxes

You count them as they move out of the door.

Her eyes, your heart, moist with regret, helplessness,

There are so many things we wished we could have done,

So many words we had wanted to say,

Too many what-ifs, could haves, should haves,

We count the boxes as the move out of the door.

Out of your life, but not out of your heart,

All that is left, is emptiness, where the boxes used to be.

Her life should not be just a number of boxes.

Reminisce

It would have been 36 months today.

Distractions

Books are a distraction.

Television is a distraction.

Work is a distraction.

Alcohol is a distraction

They take you away to a different place, away from the problem, however briefly.

But why don't we just address the problem?

Maybe its because we just don't have the answers, or because its not within our control, because we cannot bear to solve it, or maybe, just maybe, because the problem seems so insurmountable.

Distractions are necessary.

Cape Number 7

I watched Cape No. 7 last Friday. The plot, is best described if you follow this link. The show is random, and all over the place, but you do walk out of the cinema feeling very satisfied. Its a romantic Taiwanese movie, peppered with the use of the Ming Nan language, so it helps if you understand Hokkien.

Go catch it!

Liberation

It is time to free myself from my emotional prison.