Thursday, April 14, 2005
Monday, April 11, 2005
Sevenfold, dude... sevenfold.
Isn't it weird how tragedies become more blogworthy than good stuff? Like how I never mentioned getting a mini iPod for my birthday? Or that I even had a birthday party in the first place? Well, its just as well since I am now an ex-owner of a pink mini iPod I secretly called Hamster.
Spent an unfruitful day with my mom today- going to many places but not getting much done. The last stop of the day before college in the evening was One Utama where I placed my ratty red haversack in the boot to keep it out of sight. Dinner, then bought the mini iPod casing (no three-pack rubber casing anymore, guys). Went back to the car, opened the boot and stared at the empty place where a bag containing my laptop, Hamster, Hamster's charger, handphone, the Red Binder that contained my life, my assignment, half a tube of fruit LifeSavers, a buncha new gel ink pens, my house keys and the hunter green corduroy jacket i bought in Phils.
They stole my dreams! All of it! Literally, actually. My dream journal dating back to last year was in the Red Binder. Frankly, I was more concerned about losing the binder than I was my laptop until I remembered my scripts and stories in that thing. The script in itself is probably more valuable than my iPod, old P2 laptop and handphone combined. If I see it on the internet or on TV3 in someone else's name, I'll track the guy down and shoot him in th' foot. Ah well, it can always be rewritten. All is not lost, I suppose.
I had to change the entire set of house padlocks because my house address was in my resume, which was in my laptop. My mother cannot be in logistics to save her life. You know how it is, when you have four similar locks and 16 keys that might or might not fit when you expect it to. We swapped the two 'hot' padlocks for new ones and my mom started getting confused fits. Heh. The missing keys weren't my fault, so she couldn't get too riled up and whale on me. In half and hour, we forgot which padlocks were 'hot' and which were not. Another few fits later and we logically solved it by comparing the rate of tarnish, CSI-style! Although, Griss would've been appalled by our headless-chickens-in-the-yard approach to th' science of tarnish.
Nothing is truly stolen, because I expect sevenfold in return. I'll keep my leather mini iPod casing til I get Hamster The Second back. In fact, sevenfold would probably mean me giving away the casing eventually because it wouldn't fit the iPod I'll be getting. A wifi-enabled laptop that doesn't take 20 minutes to boot up. Seven new scripts that'll pay cash for my first car (with a good alarm system). Oh yeah.
In everything, give thanks...
Spent an unfruitful day with my mom today- going to many places but not getting much done. The last stop of the day before college in the evening was One Utama where I placed my ratty red haversack in the boot to keep it out of sight. Dinner, then bought the mini iPod casing (no three-pack rubber casing anymore, guys). Went back to the car, opened the boot and stared at the empty place where a bag containing my laptop, Hamster, Hamster's charger, handphone, the Red Binder that contained my life, my assignment, half a tube of fruit LifeSavers, a buncha new gel ink pens, my house keys and the hunter green corduroy jacket i bought in Phils.
They stole my dreams! All of it! Literally, actually. My dream journal dating back to last year was in the Red Binder. Frankly, I was more concerned about losing the binder than I was my laptop until I remembered my scripts and stories in that thing. The script in itself is probably more valuable than my iPod, old P2 laptop and handphone combined. If I see it on the internet or on TV3 in someone else's name, I'll track the guy down and shoot him in th' foot. Ah well, it can always be rewritten. All is not lost, I suppose.
I had to change the entire set of house padlocks because my house address was in my resume, which was in my laptop. My mother cannot be in logistics to save her life. You know how it is, when you have four similar locks and 16 keys that might or might not fit when you expect it to. We swapped the two 'hot' padlocks for new ones and my mom started getting confused fits. Heh. The missing keys weren't my fault, so she couldn't get too riled up and whale on me. In half and hour, we forgot which padlocks were 'hot' and which were not. Another few fits later and we logically solved it by comparing the rate of tarnish, CSI-style! Although, Griss would've been appalled by our headless-chickens-in-the-yard approach to th' science of tarnish.
Nothing is truly stolen, because I expect sevenfold in return. I'll keep my leather mini iPod casing til I get Hamster The Second back. In fact, sevenfold would probably mean me giving away the casing eventually because it wouldn't fit the iPod I'll be getting. A wifi-enabled laptop that doesn't take 20 minutes to boot up. Seven new scripts that'll pay cash for my first car (with a good alarm system). Oh yeah.
In everything, give thanks...
Thursday, March 24, 2005
How I Spent My Mission Trip Vacation
(Everyone else copped out of writing by posting a massive amount of pictures, which I can't even load up.)
Well, I got no pictures of my own to show, but I got lots of random stuff captured up in my head. Here goes:
~ being constantly hungry because of the cold air, and subsequently eating the most disgusting amount of fried fatty foods because there simply was nothing else.
~ we really should have a seperate mission trip to impart the Mamak-Lepak culture.
~ shushing everyone all the time til' I was blue in the face. I think I made more noise shushing people than they did talking and slamming doors. Can vomit blood, I tell you.
~whose bright idea was it to have both boys and girls share a floor above American-missionary-from-Heck-with-sleeping-baby-daughter? (ooh, s'like a Malibu Barbie with accessories)
~ Auntie Julie, the local dealer- cornering us with a bag full of garlic pills and vitamin C. Woe to anyone who looked vaguely pale or sounded sniffly.
~ oh, ew- Auntie Julie and Uncle Jose with their sneaking into rooms at night and tying her up with his nimble fingers conversation. TMI. Get it out of my head! Getitoutgetitout!
~ watching Jamie and Esther Tan bimb-bond over eye-curlers and cosmetics seconds before passing the metal detectors and boarding was such a surreal experience.
~ watching Jamiroquai MTVs on Lois' bed early in the morning whilst everyone was still asleep.
~ watching Lois get away with murder and all sorts of things with that cute voice of hers.
~ watching Lois sell/give away an astounding number of CDs in that cute voice of hers. "You want T-shirt? You buy 10 CDs I give you a free shirt." We were out in the cold and smog selling CDs to the people outside. That girl just lights up at the prospect of making money.
~ baiting and teasing Melissa Wong all the time. *ALL* the time, I tell you. There was no rest for either of us. Poor girl.
~ dodging her ThingThing while she waves it around. Disgusting rag.
~ invading Angie's bunk and eating chocolate in it when she couldn't have any.
~ did an award-winning chocolate commercial in front of Angie and Geri. (Sundance, here I come.) "First, there's the crunchy peanuts, right? Its held together by chewy caramel, and then they cover it with, like, creamy milk chocolate. And oh, look- it's crumbling in my mouth. MmmMm. Oh, oops- missed a bit here."
~ I don't even like chocolate that much.
~ thanks for the Bunny Bearista, Nee.
~ I can be such the Bimb. It's like, I can talk with, like, the accent? And, like, end everything with, like, a question mark? Like, oh my gawd? You hafta get me to do it for you someday. Its utterly appalling.
~ giggling like a lunatic with Pastor Carey in the back of a jeepney over something-I-can't-remember-what and then realizing that the exhaust fumes has truly affected all our brains.
~ posing Assilem's 64-joint Spiderman into vulgar and rude positions to cheer her up after a tiring day. It works, what can I tell you?
~ there's nothing like Hot Cup Maggi Noodles after a long, sucky day. There's nothing like eating hot Tomyam noodles in front of people who can't have any because they're singing the next day.
~ watching Andrew Cheong and Eu Jin eat an average of 5 Dunkin Donuts each and subsequently enjoying the giggly, hyper sugar high while we walked SM.
~ walking 'round SM with Andrew 'Gamo' Cheong and eating our way through.
~ sneaking off from the convention centre illicitly with Ken Han to buy Starbucks for Uncle Jose to cheer him up during that sucky second night.
~ cheap Starbucks make for a happy Grac. 'Cause she's cheap.
~ margaritas for lunch and realizing that church guys can't outdrink church girls even if they tried.
~ there are no cows in Baguio. Pigs, chickens, pigs, the occasional prawn... but no cows.
~ not able to sleep, I stood barefoot in the corridor at 3 in the morning and finished writing 'Wonder'. In my boxer shorts and striped sleep shirt.
~ speaking of boxer shorts, it's fun saying: "Yes, I have a hole/slit/flap in the front of my boxer shorts because it facilitates peeing had I a (male body part)." when people ask.
~ I have the best Sunday School group EVER! Give or take a few hiccups, they're so much more than I expected or asked for. Where else but Group 6 would you find a bunch of girls shrugging at the exhaust fumes, heat or cold? Where the words "Breathe only, lar" or "Stuffy meh?" in a matter-of-fact tone of voice became the motto? Where none of them made faces or even bothered to cover their mouths or noses at the fumes? They are such troopers!
~ Andrew Lee, the only guy in my group (not counting ASSilem) is just amazing. I systematically abused him by making him carry stuff all throughout the trip- including my shopping. All I do is to stuff my things into his bag and it dutifully ends up neatly on my bunk. Heh. He just does everything he's told without question.
"Andrew, tell a testimony about your sordid past." I hiss at him when we started to run out of things to teach.
His eyes widen slightly, "Hah?"
"Like how you were bad before you knew Jesus."
"But I was a really good boy!" he protests weakly.
"I know. Just make it up!"
And there but for the grace of God, he went.
It was a pretty good testimony too.
~ the sheer entertainment value of hearing 30 kids go: "Lois! Loooiis!! Baa!" when asked, "Where's Lois? Everyone, call out for the missing Lois Sheep!"
~ Mandy and the most irritating loud quacking noises. If it weren't part of the script and I weren't so impressed at how she was really getting into being a duck, I'd smack her. Thank you Mandy, for playing dead on the dirt courtyard without complaining. She really has to be one of the best troopers ever. She takes care of Tanya when I can't, tells everyone to suck it up and stop complaining. That girl embodies stoicism.
~ I don't look for my sheep. They know my voice and come to me. That's my excuse for being a poor shepherd.
~ "I *like* SM." and "Got strawberry flavor also, right?" Tanya- who would've thought? I'll treasure Mun Yee's reaction to the 'strawberry' comment forever.
~ waking up every morning at 6:50 am sharp. Freaky.
~ waking up swearing profanely every morning thinking its already 10 plus, judging by the sun in the sky.
~ apparently, Ken Han took a bullet for me in Vietnam when we were stationed there with Charlie. The sheer amount of bullets he took for everyone else should've rightly killed him. Wish it did.
~ I know this has been repeated all through cyberspace, but I just have to- "Deeply loved, greatly breast, highly flavored on the Lord!"
~ Lydia, my fellow Nazi encampment-survivor-sister. How we've suffered from the days where we had to drink boot soup and glass bread in Auschwitcz. The long marches through sleet and snow in the ill-fitting aforementioned boiled boots...
~ speaking of survivors, watching Geri do the "I'm a Survivor" dance was simply priceless. And after such a harrowing experience of being stuck with a broken down jeepney. Geri- the Victim Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning! The mountain air made her so hyper, I hardly knew what to make of her.
~ and of course, Ange- the Girl Who Will Never Hit Her Head On The Roof Of A Jeepney Standing Up Straight And/Or Jumping! Ankle Biter Choo!
~ we must also list these down lest we forget- " Precious Yam- the Amazing Bottomless Pit!" and "Melissa Sim- the Only Beauty *haacck coughcough* ".
~ speaking of the the Amazing Bottomless Pit, did you know she wolfed down no less than 4 MacDogs? Oh, sorry- MacDos. It's more marketable without the 'G', isn't it? Mystery meat galore!
~ if you wonder why you have no title, its 'cause you didn't come visit me in my dorm room often enough.
~ sitting in the corridor on the final night playing Bingo and building card houses, trying to keep awake.
~ cringing in the plane on the way home when I finally realised how truly, loudly jakun we are en massse.
Good trip ya'll. Let's do this again soon.
Well, I got no pictures of my own to show, but I got lots of random stuff captured up in my head. Here goes:
~ being constantly hungry because of the cold air, and subsequently eating the most disgusting amount of fried fatty foods because there simply was nothing else.
~ we really should have a seperate mission trip to impart the Mamak-Lepak culture.
~ shushing everyone all the time til' I was blue in the face. I think I made more noise shushing people than they did talking and slamming doors. Can vomit blood, I tell you.
~whose bright idea was it to have both boys and girls share a floor above American-missionary-from-Heck-with-sleeping-baby-daughter? (ooh, s'like a Malibu Barbie with accessories)
~ Auntie Julie, the local dealer- cornering us with a bag full of garlic pills and vitamin C. Woe to anyone who looked vaguely pale or sounded sniffly.
~ oh, ew- Auntie Julie and Uncle Jose with their sneaking into rooms at night and tying her up with his nimble fingers conversation. TMI. Get it out of my head! Getitoutgetitout!
~ watching Jamie and Esther Tan bimb-bond over eye-curlers and cosmetics seconds before passing the metal detectors and boarding was such a surreal experience.
~ watching Jamiroquai MTVs on Lois' bed early in the morning whilst everyone was still asleep.
~ watching Lois get away with murder and all sorts of things with that cute voice of hers.
~ watching Lois sell/give away an astounding number of CDs in that cute voice of hers. "You want T-shirt? You buy 10 CDs I give you a free shirt." We were out in the cold and smog selling CDs to the people outside. That girl just lights up at the prospect of making money.
~ baiting and teasing Melissa Wong all the time. *ALL* the time, I tell you. There was no rest for either of us. Poor girl.
~ dodging her ThingThing while she waves it around. Disgusting rag.
~ invading Angie's bunk and eating chocolate in it when she couldn't have any.
~ did an award-winning chocolate commercial in front of Angie and Geri. (Sundance, here I come.) "First, there's the crunchy peanuts, right? Its held together by chewy caramel, and then they cover it with, like, creamy milk chocolate. And oh, look- it's crumbling in my mouth. MmmMm. Oh, oops- missed a bit here."
~ I don't even like chocolate that much.
~ thanks for the Bunny Bearista, Nee.
~ I can be such the Bimb. It's like, I can talk with, like, the accent? And, like, end everything with, like, a question mark? Like, oh my gawd? You hafta get me to do it for you someday. Its utterly appalling.
~ giggling like a lunatic with Pastor Carey in the back of a jeepney over something-I-can't-remember-what and then realizing that the exhaust fumes has truly affected all our brains.
~ posing Assilem's 64-joint Spiderman into vulgar and rude positions to cheer her up after a tiring day. It works, what can I tell you?
~ there's nothing like Hot Cup Maggi Noodles after a long, sucky day. There's nothing like eating hot Tomyam noodles in front of people who can't have any because they're singing the next day.
~ watching Andrew Cheong and Eu Jin eat an average of 5 Dunkin Donuts each and subsequently enjoying the giggly, hyper sugar high while we walked SM.
~ walking 'round SM with Andrew 'Gamo' Cheong and eating our way through.
~ sneaking off from the convention centre illicitly with Ken Han to buy Starbucks for Uncle Jose to cheer him up during that sucky second night.
~ cheap Starbucks make for a happy Grac. 'Cause she's cheap.
~ margaritas for lunch and realizing that church guys can't outdrink church girls even if they tried.
~ there are no cows in Baguio. Pigs, chickens, pigs, the occasional prawn... but no cows.
~ not able to sleep, I stood barefoot in the corridor at 3 in the morning and finished writing 'Wonder'. In my boxer shorts and striped sleep shirt.
~ speaking of boxer shorts, it's fun saying: "Yes, I have a hole/slit/flap in the front of my boxer shorts because it facilitates peeing had I a (male body part)." when people ask.
~ I have the best Sunday School group EVER! Give or take a few hiccups, they're so much more than I expected or asked for. Where else but Group 6 would you find a bunch of girls shrugging at the exhaust fumes, heat or cold? Where the words "Breathe only, lar" or "Stuffy meh?" in a matter-of-fact tone of voice became the motto? Where none of them made faces or even bothered to cover their mouths or noses at the fumes? They are such troopers!
~ Andrew Lee, the only guy in my group (not counting ASSilem) is just amazing. I systematically abused him by making him carry stuff all throughout the trip- including my shopping. All I do is to stuff my things into his bag and it dutifully ends up neatly on my bunk. Heh. He just does everything he's told without question.
"Andrew, tell a testimony about your sordid past." I hiss at him when we started to run out of things to teach.
His eyes widen slightly, "Hah?"
"Like how you were bad before you knew Jesus."
"But I was a really good boy!" he protests weakly.
"I know. Just make it up!"
And there but for the grace of God, he went.
It was a pretty good testimony too.
~ the sheer entertainment value of hearing 30 kids go: "Lois! Loooiis!! Baa!" when asked, "Where's Lois? Everyone, call out for the missing Lois Sheep!"
~ Mandy and the most irritating loud quacking noises. If it weren't part of the script and I weren't so impressed at how she was really getting into being a duck, I'd smack her. Thank you Mandy, for playing dead on the dirt courtyard without complaining. She really has to be one of the best troopers ever. She takes care of Tanya when I can't, tells everyone to suck it up and stop complaining. That girl embodies stoicism.
~ I don't look for my sheep. They know my voice and come to me. That's my excuse for being a poor shepherd.
~ "I *like* SM." and "Got strawberry flavor also, right?" Tanya- who would've thought? I'll treasure Mun Yee's reaction to the 'strawberry' comment forever.
~ waking up every morning at 6:50 am sharp. Freaky.
~ waking up swearing profanely every morning thinking its already 10 plus, judging by the sun in the sky.
~ apparently, Ken Han took a bullet for me in Vietnam when we were stationed there with Charlie. The sheer amount of bullets he took for everyone else should've rightly killed him. Wish it did.
~ I know this has been repeated all through cyberspace, but I just have to- "Deeply loved, greatly breast, highly flavored on the Lord!"
~ Lydia, my fellow Nazi encampment-survivor-sister. How we've suffered from the days where we had to drink boot soup and glass bread in Auschwitcz. The long marches through sleet and snow in the ill-fitting aforementioned boiled boots...
~ speaking of survivors, watching Geri do the "I'm a Survivor" dance was simply priceless. And after such a harrowing experience of being stuck with a broken down jeepney. Geri- the Victim Of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning! The mountain air made her so hyper, I hardly knew what to make of her.
~ and of course, Ange- the Girl Who Will Never Hit Her Head On The Roof Of A Jeepney Standing Up Straight And/Or Jumping! Ankle Biter Choo!
~ we must also list these down lest we forget- "
~ speaking of the the Amazing Bottomless Pit, did you know she wolfed down no less than 4 MacDogs? Oh, sorry- MacDos. It's more marketable without the 'G', isn't it? Mystery meat galore!
~ if you wonder why you have no title, its 'cause you didn't come visit me in my dorm room often enough.
~ sitting in the corridor on the final night playing Bingo and building card houses, trying to keep awake.
~ cringing in the plane on the way home when I finally realised how truly, loudly jakun we are en massse.
Good trip ya'll. Let's do this again soon.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Weekend Postcards
Friday Evening : "We're lost, man!"
Sungai Wang with ASSilem while she whined constantly about two things. The amount of ah-lians there and how Soul Plane sucked. Okay, its Sungai Wang. Duh. (Sorry, Ange). And she complained about Soul Plane as many times as there are DVD shops in Sungai Wang. It was half-amusing seeing how she'd walk into a new area of the complex, look around bewilderedly by twisting her entire body (much like how a puppy would chase its tail) and exclaim "We're so lost, man." Heh. Dude, I grew up in the Golden Triangle. We'd never get lost even if we tried.
We went back to my place at 9:20 p.m. on Friday night and saw that my mom wasn't even home yet. Prime of our lives on a weekend night and we were home even before my mother. Such losers, we are.
Saturday : The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful.
It was a nice day. Properly warm and breezy without overheating. A quiet, sleepy day good for reading Mark Twain in a park and listening to Jamie Cullum. But I wouldn't know about all that- I was in church.
It was such a packed and hectic day. Had so many things to do all at once. Attend the skit practice, music practice, make sure they don't kill the new song, teach Kingdom Grace, talk to newcomers, talk to Uncle Pat, discuss CHAMPS stuff with three different people... eurgh!
I just shut down and decided to spend the time I didn't have laughing at/with Lyd, Daniel and Ken Han. I truly have no sense of time or priorities.
Passed the day in such a dizzy blur. But it was over at long last and I came back to an empty house (Mom in Penang, Taiko in Mont Kiara), the house phone was broken so no one could even check up on me. I was home alone, watching Firefly episodes and busy putting off CHAMPS preparation. IMed with Mel, Lyd, Lois, Deids, Andy, Krys, Geri, Maddog til 5 in the morning.
Went home at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night and my mother was living it up in a 5-star hotel by the beach. Prime of my life on a weekend night, with no one checking up on me and I was home. Such a loser, I am.
Sunday Morning : Shiny Dinosaur Stickers To You
Sara is so cute. Joey is adorable. Samuel is endearingly super blur. But to have them all coloring at the same table at the same time is just overwhelmingly delightful. I couldn't resist temptation and snuck upstairs to visit the Mini-CHAMPS (as I term the three-to-sixes). Rachel is such a big girl now, she didn't need anyone holding her hand anymore. I sat with the tiny babies and proclaimed each piece "SO nice!" because of a particular color or technique they used (Sara uses lots of pink and Joey scrawled on her paper with a blunt pencil). After patting Ally on the head and telling her how impressed I was that she could write her own name and complimented her Shiny Dinosaur Sticker, I did the Shiny Sticker thing with her. You take the sticker and move it about so the light reflects off it, making it twinkle. The third time I did the "Ooh, shiny/twinkle" thing, I stopped halfway because I realised Lyd was doing it with me, our hands freezing in the 'twinkle' pose as we eye each other bemusedly. Its a dumb thing to do, really- cause they're not really paying attention to you at all. I asked Sara if I could leave and kissed her goodbye when I got her nod of approval. Made suitably impressed sounds about her paper flower as I left, "VERY nice. Its red color like your shirt." and complimented a group of dismissing kids on their Shiny Animal Stickers.
As I make my way downstairs, my mental gears shift drastically and painfully as I yell at a bunch of 11-year old hooligans for running down the stairs. "Walk fast. Don't run!" and "Aren't you s'posed to be in class?"
First time on the job as main teacher for th' 7-10 kids. Oh, the pressure. Because I'd been busy the past few weeks, I hadn't managed to sit and observe other classes to get a feel of it. So I strode into pre-service Prayer Time with faux confidence, flashing my charming grin and ruffling hair as I pass an astounding turnout of kids. Almost 20 of them in a class where they'd voluntarily worship, pray and share testimonies. I'd never have had done anything of that sort when I was their age. Heck, I still wouldn't do anything of that sort now.
Two eager, chubby little Indian boys were fussing over the microphone in the front, explaining to me how the wires were tangled up and there wasn't any sound coming out from the speakers. I indulge them a little while by leaving the 'technical problem' in their 'capable hands' while I got to know the rest of the class.
"So, what happens now?" I ask them. "What do you usually do now?"
They all explain the worship-prayer-testimony thing. I was impressed, and told them as much. My Youth cell-group doesn't even do that.
"Teacher! I can lead worship! I always lead worship." The 10-year old little Indian boy exclaims in a loud voice, picking up the songbook and dragging his chair to the front of the room already. We sing 5 songs, all once each. I think its adorable how he peeks up at me toward the end of each song to see if he can get away with one more.
Teacher Carol comes up to me after the last song and tells me that the main service has started and that we usually release them 5 minutes before. Oops. I have no sense of time whatsoever. I'm really still in the FST zone (First-Service Time). Shift lag (like jet lag, 'cept without th' plane).
Okay, so I wrap up quickly, telling 'em that we were outta time and I dismissed them with a quick prayer. As I was doing this a really skinny boy started collected the songbooks and stacked them nicely, returning it to- well, whereever it came from.
It was so surreal, this dedication and devotion. 'This class'll be a piece of cake' I thought.
So, when they all crowded around me as I tried herding them next door for class I smiled kindly and took a minute we didn't have to listen to 'em.
"Teacher, where's my coupon?"
"Teacher, I get three coupons because I worship lead just now!"
"I pack the songbooks- I'm supposed to get two coupons."
"Teacher, can I have my coupon now, my mother is going home already."
Little mercenaries.
P.S.- 'Coordinator' is a fancy name for 'person-who-packs-up-everything-after-everyone-goes-home'.
Sunday Evening : Mocha Glaze, Banana Choc and Raspberry Doughnuts.
Eating three Dunkin' Donuts when you haven't had anything else all day is a really bad idea.
Mom is still living it up in Penang. No word yet from her. Maybe she found some dashing tourist and they're partying. Maybe she's stuck in her hotel room watching nature documentaries on Channel 4. She's still living it up more than I am.
Taiko and girlfriend has taken over the living room and blasting some TVB show about concubines and 'palace intrigue'. 30 CDs- 30 episodes each 40 minutes long.
Prime of my life on a Sunday evening and I'm home with a sugar high and little else. *sigh* That's me.
Sungai Wang with ASSilem while she whined constantly about two things. The amount of ah-lians there and how Soul Plane sucked. Okay, its Sungai Wang. Duh. (Sorry, Ange). And she complained about Soul Plane as many times as there are DVD shops in Sungai Wang. It was half-amusing seeing how she'd walk into a new area of the complex, look around bewilderedly by twisting her entire body (much like how a puppy would chase its tail) and exclaim "We're so lost, man." Heh. Dude, I grew up in the Golden Triangle. We'd never get lost even if we tried.
We went back to my place at 9:20 p.m. on Friday night and saw that my mom wasn't even home yet. Prime of our lives on a weekend night and we were home even before my mother. Such losers, we are.
Saturday : The Weather Is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful.
It was a nice day. Properly warm and breezy without overheating. A quiet, sleepy day good for reading Mark Twain in a park and listening to Jamie Cullum. But I wouldn't know about all that- I was in church.
It was such a packed and hectic day. Had so many things to do all at once. Attend the skit practice, music practice, make sure they don't kill the new song, teach Kingdom Grace, talk to newcomers, talk to Uncle Pat, discuss CHAMPS stuff with three different people... eurgh!
I just shut down and decided to spend the time I didn't have laughing at/with Lyd, Daniel and Ken Han. I truly have no sense of time or priorities.
Passed the day in such a dizzy blur. But it was over at long last and I came back to an empty house (Mom in Penang, Taiko in Mont Kiara), the house phone was broken so no one could even check up on me. I was home alone, watching Firefly episodes and busy putting off CHAMPS preparation. IMed with Mel, Lyd, Lois, Deids, Andy, Krys, Geri, Maddog til 5 in the morning.
Went home at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night and my mother was living it up in a 5-star hotel by the beach. Prime of my life on a weekend night, with no one checking up on me and I was home. Such a loser, I am.
Sunday Morning : Shiny Dinosaur Stickers To You
Sara is so cute. Joey is adorable. Samuel is endearingly super blur. But to have them all coloring at the same table at the same time is just overwhelmingly delightful. I couldn't resist temptation and snuck upstairs to visit the Mini-CHAMPS (as I term the three-to-sixes). Rachel is such a big girl now, she didn't need anyone holding her hand anymore. I sat with the tiny babies and proclaimed each piece "SO nice!" because of a particular color or technique they used (Sara uses lots of pink and Joey scrawled on her paper with a blunt pencil). After patting Ally on the head and telling her how impressed I was that she could write her own name and complimented her Shiny Dinosaur Sticker, I did the Shiny Sticker thing with her. You take the sticker and move it about so the light reflects off it, making it twinkle. The third time I did the "Ooh, shiny/twinkle" thing, I stopped halfway because I realised Lyd was doing it with me, our hands freezing in the 'twinkle' pose as we eye each other bemusedly. Its a dumb thing to do, really- cause they're not really paying attention to you at all. I asked Sara if I could leave and kissed her goodbye when I got her nod of approval. Made suitably impressed sounds about her paper flower as I left, "VERY nice. Its red color like your shirt." and complimented a group of dismissing kids on their Shiny Animal Stickers.
As I make my way downstairs, my mental gears shift drastically and painfully as I yell at a bunch of 11-year old hooligans for running down the stairs. "Walk fast. Don't run!" and "Aren't you s'posed to be in class?"
First time on the job as main teacher for th' 7-10 kids. Oh, the pressure. Because I'd been busy the past few weeks, I hadn't managed to sit and observe other classes to get a feel of it. So I strode into pre-service Prayer Time with faux confidence, flashing my charming grin and ruffling hair as I pass an astounding turnout of kids. Almost 20 of them in a class where they'd voluntarily worship, pray and share testimonies. I'd never have had done anything of that sort when I was their age. Heck, I still wouldn't do anything of that sort now.
Two eager, chubby little Indian boys were fussing over the microphone in the front, explaining to me how the wires were tangled up and there wasn't any sound coming out from the speakers. I indulge them a little while by leaving the 'technical problem' in their 'capable hands' while I got to know the rest of the class.
"So, what happens now?" I ask them. "What do you usually do now?"
They all explain the worship-prayer-testimony thing. I was impressed, and told them as much. My Youth cell-group doesn't even do that.
"Teacher! I can lead worship! I always lead worship." The 10-year old little Indian boy exclaims in a loud voice, picking up the songbook and dragging his chair to the front of the room already. We sing 5 songs, all once each. I think its adorable how he peeks up at me toward the end of each song to see if he can get away with one more.
Teacher Carol comes up to me after the last song and tells me that the main service has started and that we usually release them 5 minutes before. Oops. I have no sense of time whatsoever. I'm really still in the FST zone (First-Service Time). Shift lag (like jet lag, 'cept without th' plane).
Okay, so I wrap up quickly, telling 'em that we were outta time and I dismissed them with a quick prayer. As I was doing this a really skinny boy started collected the songbooks and stacked them nicely, returning it to- well, whereever it came from.
It was so surreal, this dedication and devotion. 'This class'll be a piece of cake' I thought.
So, when they all crowded around me as I tried herding them next door for class I smiled kindly and took a minute we didn't have to listen to 'em.
"Teacher, where's my coupon?"
"Teacher, I get three coupons because I worship lead just now!"
"I pack the songbooks- I'm supposed to get two coupons."
"Teacher, can I have my coupon now, my mother is going home already."
Little mercenaries.
P.S.- 'Coordinator' is a fancy name for 'person-who-packs-up-everything-after-everyone-goes-home'.
Sunday Evening : Mocha Glaze, Banana Choc and Raspberry Doughnuts.
Eating three Dunkin' Donuts when you haven't had anything else all day is a really bad idea.
Mom is still living it up in Penang. No word yet from her. Maybe she found some dashing tourist and they're partying. Maybe she's stuck in her hotel room watching nature documentaries on Channel 4. She's still living it up more than I am.
Taiko and girlfriend has taken over the living room and blasting some TVB show about concubines and 'palace intrigue'. 30 CDs- 30 episodes each 40 minutes long.
Prime of my life on a Sunday evening and I'm home with a sugar high and little else. *sigh* That's me.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Lessons 4 & 5 Double Feature
Late Night Double Feature Special!
(Two brand new entries courtesy of MIA guilt)
Lesson Four: Mind Reading 101 or “That cheating b*tch!”
I’m busy, but yet the universe conspires against me by having Red call me at yet another odd hour asking me if I’m free. No, dude- I’m not, but I love you too much to say so. She asks only if it’s a long call and she needs someone to talk her out of a problem.
“How’d you know?”
“I’m your best friend, I know everything. Say it…” I prompt.
“Grace knows everything,” she recites in a monotone.
“That’s right. And don’t you forget it.”
“It’s her boyfriend, isn’t it?”
“How’d you-? Never mind.”
“Did you do something wrong?”
“I might’ve yelled a bit.”
“There you go. Have you apologized?”
“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”
“That doesn’t matter. She’s not going to stop being a pain until you make amends. If you yelled at me, I would’ve taken a gun to your stupid head.”
“Fine.” See? Red is so well-trained.
Hmm, this won’t really solve the issue. “This won’t really solve the issue.” I tell her.
The Issue: Boyfriend-slash-almost-fiancee is a jealous pr*ck who thinks with his you-know-what and can’t keep his girlfriend happy. Red gets pissed off that her housemate-slash-best-friend is in such a rotten, unhappy relationship. Aforementioned boyfriend makes life difficult for girlfriend by painting Red (pun unintended) in a bad light.
“I want to kill him.” I forgot who said this, but it doesn’t matter because we both agree wholeheartedly.
“Have you tried playing nice with him?” Red swears. Okay, that’s a big NO on the playing nice. Ever.
We discuss various pranks that I’ve always wanted to try but never had a enemy to try them on. It’s all talk, but it seems to make us both feel marginally better. Red sounds less tense and I hear the sweet sound of laughter. My job is done.
“You feel better now?”
“I guess.”
“She’s your best friend. You can’t stay mad at her forever. Besides you’re angry at the situation. Not at her. She doesn’t deserve all this crap you’re piling on her.”
“I know.”
“I gotta go.”
Red grumbles good naturedly about how I never call or write and its all a one-sided relationship with us. Too bad. I’m not the best correspondent in the world. My theory is just cause I don’t write don’t mean I love ‘em any less. And I don’t do phones very well. Everyone knows this.
“Okay, take care. Go do something stupid.”
“Bye, bud. I will.”
My left ear is burning from keeping the phone cradled against it for too long. I sleep well, knowing Red is safe and happy that night.
-----------------------------------
My best friend has another best friend. Why does it feel sometimes like she’s cheating on me? On the other hand, I’m so incredibly glad she has someone else to be there for her since I cannot be. Staying in a foreign, non-English speaking land can be scary and depressing and I’m just relieved that Red is taken care of well by her other best friend.
Y’know, we try to be all supportive and “Oh, and how is she?” but it all ends up making me sound like a jealous girlfriend. Or how I feel a sense of guilty glee when Red calls me up to tell about how she and housemate-slash-best-friend are going through some trouble. I totally understand th’ frustration and the near-constant problems- when you live in close quarters like that in a foreign country, you’re bound to chaff and start resenting each other. So I advise as only I can- “Look out for number one, bud. You’re the most important thing ever.” or “Go get yourself a boyfriend, for goodness’ sakes!” plus the all-important “So, still a virgin?”; “You smoke now?” and “Jumped off a bridge yet?” Just checking, y’know.
At the end of the day, I feel slightly sorry for Red’s housemate-slash-best-friend. She doesn’t have someone else to lean on and complain to. No one to tell her to hang on and don’t die. (I’d offer, but there’d be conflict of interest and all.) Red is all she has and I make sure that th’ lil dumbass sticks by her like glue. My best friend is blur and requires a slap upside the head sometimes to play nice and be good.
I miss her. Can’t wait til’ she comes back for a visit.
======================================
Lesson Five: I Got More Than One Best Friend? or “Whoa! Look up at that sky!” or “F*ck you lar!”
I could feel the salt in the air, making me stickier than I already was. I love the sea, but I’m really a city girl at heart. Its totally dark out here and I can’t see where the ocean stopped and the sky began. The night sky is covered with bright stars in constellations I can’t ever see in the city, what with all th’ danged light pollution. Even though half the sky was cloaked in heavy grey clouds, whatever little bit of it that we could see was liberally scattered with stars. It’s like grey fleece on diamond-encrusted black velvet. Can’t help it, night skies haul out th’ poet in me.
“There’s Orion’s Belt,” I point out.
She tilts her head back and gives an impressed ‘oo’ at the sky, “Cool.”
“And that there below it,” I gesture intellectually, “That’s Orion’s Boxer Shorts.”
It takes very little to make Ange laugh. Old jokes, new jokes, lame ones, insulting ones… it’s all fair game. We talk some more about inconsequential things, topics we’ll forget in th’ morning, yet with good feelings that’ll stick around for life.
“Oo, look at that sky!” Light winds whipping around us had pushed away the clouds, revealing more of the sky.
I ‘oo’ in appreciation as well. Both our heads are tilted back at a dangerous angle that would threaten to choke us with our own spittle if we were prone to salivating heavily.
The log we were sitting on has to be th’ most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of introducing to my backside- and my mom used to whack the living heck out of it. “My ass hurts.” I have th’ most brilliant contributions to the conversation sometimes.
We look around and spot two white deckchairs just behind us. I refrain from swearing, “We so stupid.” I proclaim. Very little to make her laugh, really.
We giggle as we drag the chairs to where we were sitting and throw ourselves on it with abandon. Okay, so we dusted it off for sand and gingerly lowered ourselves onto the rickety retractable plastic recliners. As soon as we’re comfortably staring out at the sea and sky, Ange declares once again about how great the sky looks. We discuss the pros and cons of mountain houses versus beach houses. I opt for mountain, since I’m a much more jeans/jacket kinda girl. Besides, if I need a beach house I’ll just bum out at everybody else’s since you all prefer the sea to the hills.
“Whoa, lookit that sky!” She says for th’ Nth time.
“If you’re going to say that all the time, I’m not staying at your beach house next time.”
She chuckles and we lapse back into inconsequential chatter.
Four minutes later, “Wow! Look up at the sky!”
“Yes, Angeline. The sky. It’s up there. Oo.”
She laughs and I roll my eyes. It’s going to be a long night.
It was a beautiful sky, really.
Isn’t it funny how you’re always the same person with everyone, yet you evoke different reactions in different people?
Typical conversation between me and Ange.
Me: You look nice today. Hair?
Ange: Yeah, I'm thinking of getting it cut/permed/shaved (whatever suits her fancy at the moment)
Me and Partner-In-Crime ASSilem.
Me : You look nice today. Hair?
PIC : F*ck you lar!
My personal favorite- this must’ve happened a dozen times, at least.
“Hey! Take a pic with your 5 megapixel Grand Vision camera.”
“SIX megapixels!”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
Pause.
“So?”
She looks up sheepishly “Wait, it’s charging.”
“Never mind. Mich, take a pic with your good Canon camera.”
“F*ck you lar!”
I love how I can say just one word or make a weird face and she gets so riled up about it to the point of swearing loudly at me and embarrassing herself in public while I look like the picture of a delicately affronted angel.
--------------------------------------------
Dude- I have more than one best friend. When did that happen? Oh, right- ‘bout th’ time my best friend got herself another best friend.I don’t recall the exact moment I had even the slightest inclination to add names onto my ‘best friend list’ which was, for a long while, populated by one person alone. But it must’ve been right about the time I realized that there was hardly anything Mel could say that would offend me. Or perhaps when Ange and I talked about our mothers’ respective menopausal symptoms.
I don’t call many people ‘friends’ easily. I believe it’s more than a word to politely categorize acquaintances who actually know your name. Does this particular guy in Friendster with 2000 friends actually know them all? I find it an insult to people like me who carefully choose friends to spend time with. Every single one of you- I make an effort to remember that you’re allergic to soy yet okay with tau foo fa, or that you wanna be a director, or that you’re really trying hard to finish War And Peace. I know what makes you laugh and what to say to cheer you up. We would always have an inside joke or quip that no one else understands. There’s only a preciously small amount of silent moments in a day and I try to spend it on you. Thanks for being my friend.
It’s all worth it.
(Two brand new entries courtesy of MIA guilt)
Lesson Four: Mind Reading 101 or “That cheating b*tch!”
I’m busy, but yet the universe conspires against me by having Red call me at yet another odd hour asking me if I’m free. No, dude- I’m not, but I love you too much to say so. She asks only if it’s a long call and she needs someone to talk her out of a problem.
“How’d you know?”
“I’m your best friend, I know everything. Say it…” I prompt.
“Grace knows everything,” she recites in a monotone.
“That’s right. And don’t you forget it.”
“It’s her boyfriend, isn’t it?”
“How’d you-? Never mind.”
“Did you do something wrong?”
“I might’ve yelled a bit.”
“There you go. Have you apologized?”
“Hey! I didn’t do anything wrong, okay?”
“That doesn’t matter. She’s not going to stop being a pain until you make amends. If you yelled at me, I would’ve taken a gun to your stupid head.”
“Fine.” See? Red is so well-trained.
Hmm, this won’t really solve the issue. “This won’t really solve the issue.” I tell her.
The Issue: Boyfriend-slash-almost-fiancee is a jealous pr*ck who thinks with his you-know-what and can’t keep his girlfriend happy. Red gets pissed off that her housemate-slash-best-friend is in such a rotten, unhappy relationship. Aforementioned boyfriend makes life difficult for girlfriend by painting Red (pun unintended) in a bad light.
“I want to kill him.” I forgot who said this, but it doesn’t matter because we both agree wholeheartedly.
“Have you tried playing nice with him?” Red swears. Okay, that’s a big NO on the playing nice. Ever.
We discuss various pranks that I’ve always wanted to try but never had a enemy to try them on. It’s all talk, but it seems to make us both feel marginally better. Red sounds less tense and I hear the sweet sound of laughter. My job is done.
“You feel better now?”
“I guess.”
“She’s your best friend. You can’t stay mad at her forever. Besides you’re angry at the situation. Not at her. She doesn’t deserve all this crap you’re piling on her.”
“I know.”
“I gotta go.”
Red grumbles good naturedly about how I never call or write and its all a one-sided relationship with us. Too bad. I’m not the best correspondent in the world. My theory is just cause I don’t write don’t mean I love ‘em any less. And I don’t do phones very well. Everyone knows this.
“Okay, take care. Go do something stupid.”
“Bye, bud. I will.”
My left ear is burning from keeping the phone cradled against it for too long. I sleep well, knowing Red is safe and happy that night.
-----------------------------------
My best friend has another best friend. Why does it feel sometimes like she’s cheating on me? On the other hand, I’m so incredibly glad she has someone else to be there for her since I cannot be. Staying in a foreign, non-English speaking land can be scary and depressing and I’m just relieved that Red is taken care of well by her other best friend.
Y’know, we try to be all supportive and “Oh, and how is she?” but it all ends up making me sound like a jealous girlfriend. Or how I feel a sense of guilty glee when Red calls me up to tell about how she and housemate-slash-best-friend are going through some trouble. I totally understand th’ frustration and the near-constant problems- when you live in close quarters like that in a foreign country, you’re bound to chaff and start resenting each other. So I advise as only I can- “Look out for number one, bud. You’re the most important thing ever.” or “Go get yourself a boyfriend, for goodness’ sakes!” plus the all-important “So, still a virgin?”; “You smoke now?” and “Jumped off a bridge yet?” Just checking, y’know.
At the end of the day, I feel slightly sorry for Red’s housemate-slash-best-friend. She doesn’t have someone else to lean on and complain to. No one to tell her to hang on and don’t die. (I’d offer, but there’d be conflict of interest and all.) Red is all she has and I make sure that th’ lil dumbass sticks by her like glue. My best friend is blur and requires a slap upside the head sometimes to play nice and be good.
I miss her. Can’t wait til’ she comes back for a visit.
======================================
Lesson Five: I Got More Than One Best Friend? or “Whoa! Look up at that sky!” or “F*ck you lar!”
I could feel the salt in the air, making me stickier than I already was. I love the sea, but I’m really a city girl at heart. Its totally dark out here and I can’t see where the ocean stopped and the sky began. The night sky is covered with bright stars in constellations I can’t ever see in the city, what with all th’ danged light pollution. Even though half the sky was cloaked in heavy grey clouds, whatever little bit of it that we could see was liberally scattered with stars. It’s like grey fleece on diamond-encrusted black velvet. Can’t help it, night skies haul out th’ poet in me.
“There’s Orion’s Belt,” I point out.
She tilts her head back and gives an impressed ‘oo’ at the sky, “Cool.”
“And that there below it,” I gesture intellectually, “That’s Orion’s Boxer Shorts.”
It takes very little to make Ange laugh. Old jokes, new jokes, lame ones, insulting ones… it’s all fair game. We talk some more about inconsequential things, topics we’ll forget in th’ morning, yet with good feelings that’ll stick around for life.
“Oo, look at that sky!” Light winds whipping around us had pushed away the clouds, revealing more of the sky.
I ‘oo’ in appreciation as well. Both our heads are tilted back at a dangerous angle that would threaten to choke us with our own spittle if we were prone to salivating heavily.
The log we were sitting on has to be th’ most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of introducing to my backside- and my mom used to whack the living heck out of it. “My ass hurts.” I have th’ most brilliant contributions to the conversation sometimes.
We look around and spot two white deckchairs just behind us. I refrain from swearing, “We so stupid.” I proclaim. Very little to make her laugh, really.
We giggle as we drag the chairs to where we were sitting and throw ourselves on it with abandon. Okay, so we dusted it off for sand and gingerly lowered ourselves onto the rickety retractable plastic recliners. As soon as we’re comfortably staring out at the sea and sky, Ange declares once again about how great the sky looks. We discuss the pros and cons of mountain houses versus beach houses. I opt for mountain, since I’m a much more jeans/jacket kinda girl. Besides, if I need a beach house I’ll just bum out at everybody else’s since you all prefer the sea to the hills.
“Whoa, lookit that sky!” She says for th’ Nth time.
“If you’re going to say that all the time, I’m not staying at your beach house next time.”
She chuckles and we lapse back into inconsequential chatter.
Four minutes later, “Wow! Look up at the sky!”
“Yes, Angeline. The sky. It’s up there. Oo.”
She laughs and I roll my eyes. It’s going to be a long night.
It was a beautiful sky, really.
Isn’t it funny how you’re always the same person with everyone, yet you evoke different reactions in different people?
Typical conversation between me and Ange.
Me: You look nice today. Hair?
Ange: Yeah, I'm thinking of getting it cut/permed/shaved (whatever suits her fancy at the moment)
Me and Partner-In-Crime ASSilem.
Me : You look nice today. Hair?
PIC : F*ck you lar!
My personal favorite- this must’ve happened a dozen times, at least.
“Hey! Take a pic with your 5 megapixel Grand Vision camera.”
“SIX megapixels!”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
Pause.
“So?”
She looks up sheepishly “Wait, it’s charging.”
“Never mind. Mich, take a pic with your good Canon camera.”
“F*ck you lar!”
I love how I can say just one word or make a weird face and she gets so riled up about it to the point of swearing loudly at me and embarrassing herself in public while I look like the picture of a delicately affronted angel.
--------------------------------------------
Dude- I have more than one best friend. When did that happen? Oh, right- ‘bout th’ time my best friend got herself another best friend.
I don’t call many people ‘friends’ easily. I believe it’s more than a word to politely categorize acquaintances who actually know your name. Does this particular guy in Friendster with 2000 friends actually know them all? I find it an insult to people like me who carefully choose friends to spend time with. Every single one of you- I make an effort to remember that you’re allergic to soy yet okay with tau foo fa, or that you wanna be a director, or that you’re really trying hard to finish War And Peace. I know what makes you laugh and what to say to cheer you up. We would always have an inside joke or quip that no one else understands. There’s only a preciously small amount of silent moments in a day and I try to spend it on you. Thanks for being my friend.
It’s all worth it.
Lessons 3
Lesson Three: Respecting Differences or “Manga Is NOT Crap!!”
“Hey! I found this way cool comic. It’s called ‘Strangers In Paradise’.” I enthuse, sticking an issue of it into Red’s face.
She frowns and picks it up, “’S black an’ white.”
“Yeah, isn’t it cool?”
“Whatzit about?”
“Uh…” You really can’t tell people what SIP is about. You’ve gotta read it to love it.
“If ye can’t tell me about it in 25 words or less, then it’s not worth a look.”
“Oh, as if you can tell me about your Manga crap in ‘25 words or less’…” I mimic.
“Manga is NOT crap!”
“Hmmph, your Rae Ayanami with her stupid blue hair and bright brown eyes.” I love tweaking her with this- she never fails to yell back.
“It’s RED!”
“Sure looks bright brown to me…” I mutter.
“It’s red, okay? It says that she has red eyes.” She flips through a well-worn issue of Evangelion to show me some kanji I don’t understand.
I grab the book and flip to the first page which has a colour picture of Ayanami. “Does this look red to you?”
“Yes.”
“Well it looks bright brown to me. Them Manga artists must be colour blind or something.”
“They’re not, you are!”
“Musta run outta red and ended up putting brown for her eyes and told th’ whole world she has red eyes.” I continue.
“Arfgh!” Red swears at me under her breath. She says that I’m th’ only person in the world she curses vulgarly at. I’m honored.
“I’m sorry? Did you say something?”
Red huffs and grabs my SIP comic, thumbing through it quickly “No fight scenes.” She counts off tonelessly “No car chases, no bulky men in spandex, no cute guys with long floppy hair, no shapely babes… you call this a comic book?”
I rub my temple with my middle finger towards her and raise an eyebrow, “It’s art. It’s tastefully done drama in pictures. Just because some of us enjoy a little culture now and then”
“The only culture you get is by eating yogurt.” I slap my head. That was sooo lame.
“Don’t diss my comics, ‘kay?”
“So you don’t diss mine!”
“Fine!” We yell in each other’s faces.
Silence. “I still think Ayanami’s eyes are brown.” I just can’t resist it.
“It’s RED!” And get a slap upside my head for my efforts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I learnt early in life that just because I don’t fancy something means that it’s stupid and not worth my time. My mom hates the Simpsons, and I do mean hate. I try to remind her all th’ time that she’s in th’ minority- still, her thoughts on the show is akin to a vile racist slur. How to convince her that people might give her dirty looks for her thoughts?
Sub-lesson two: Even though th’ word ‘crap’ and ‘shit’ can probably describe almost anything (ie: diving crap, “all that college shit”, etc.) its not wise to use it on things people like. As simple and harmless as it sounds to you, people prolly get a lot of grief for th’ thing they love, like “x-files crap”. Yeah. Besides, oversensitive people- *ahem* Red *ahhhemm khaakk snort* might be offended and we wouldn’t want that, would we?
Just a ramble about something I miss th’ most, folks… someone to argue with. Ahhhhh- those were th’ days.
(Note: The above conversation actually happens almost all th’ time. If you ever go to Red’s page, remember to mention Ayanami’s ‘bright brown’ eyes in her profile pic.)
“Hey! I found this way cool comic. It’s called ‘Strangers In Paradise’.” I enthuse, sticking an issue of it into Red’s face.
She frowns and picks it up, “’S black an’ white.”
“Yeah, isn’t it cool?”
“Whatzit about?”
“Uh…” You really can’t tell people what SIP is about. You’ve gotta read it to love it.
“If ye can’t tell me about it in 25 words or less, then it’s not worth a look.”
“Oh, as if you can tell me about your Manga crap in ‘25 words or less’…” I mimic.
“Manga is NOT crap!”
“Hmmph, your Rae Ayanami with her stupid blue hair and bright brown eyes.” I love tweaking her with this- she never fails to yell back.
“It’s RED!”
“Sure looks bright brown to me…” I mutter.
“It’s red, okay? It says that she has red eyes.” She flips through a well-worn issue of Evangelion to show me some kanji I don’t understand.
I grab the book and flip to the first page which has a colour picture of Ayanami. “Does this look red to you?”
“Yes.”
“Well it looks bright brown to me. Them Manga artists must be colour blind or something.”
“They’re not, you are!”
“Musta run outta red and ended up putting brown for her eyes and told th’ whole world she has red eyes.” I continue.
“Arfgh!” Red swears at me under her breath. She says that I’m th’ only person in the world she curses vulgarly at. I’m honored.
“I’m sorry? Did you say something?”
Red huffs and grabs my SIP comic, thumbing through it quickly “No fight scenes.” She counts off tonelessly “No car chases, no bulky men in spandex, no cute guys with long floppy hair, no shapely babes… you call this a comic book?”
I rub my temple with my middle finger towards her and raise an eyebrow, “It’s art. It’s tastefully done drama in pictures. Just because some of us enjoy a little culture now and then”
“The only culture you get is by eating yogurt.” I slap my head. That was sooo lame.
“Don’t diss my comics, ‘kay?”
“So you don’t diss mine!”
“Fine!” We yell in each other’s faces.
Silence. “I still think Ayanami’s eyes are brown.” I just can’t resist it.
“It’s RED!” And get a slap upside my head for my efforts.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I learnt early in life that just because I don’t fancy something means that it’s stupid and not worth my time. My mom hates the Simpsons, and I do mean hate. I try to remind her all th’ time that she’s in th’ minority- still, her thoughts on the show is akin to a vile racist slur. How to convince her that people might give her dirty looks for her thoughts?
Sub-lesson two: Even though th’ word ‘crap’ and ‘shit’ can probably describe almost anything (ie: diving crap, “all that college shit”, etc.) its not wise to use it on things people like. As simple and harmless as it sounds to you, people prolly get a lot of grief for th’ thing they love, like “x-files crap”. Yeah. Besides, oversensitive people- *ahem* Red *ahhhemm khaakk snort* might be offended and we wouldn’t want that, would we?
Just a ramble about something I miss th’ most, folks… someone to argue with. Ahhhhh- those were th’ days.
(Note: The above conversation actually happens almost all th’ time. If you ever go to Red’s page, remember to mention Ayanami’s ‘bright brown’ eyes in her profile pic.)
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Lessons I Learnt From My Best Friend 2
Lesson Two: The Great Debate- Star Trek or Star Wars? Or “NO! Mine Is Better, You Jerk!!”
(Another segment courtesy of Antfood)
We don’t get into fights over this, but things can get rather heated at times. Maybe it’s a good thing we only debate about this over th’ phone because I’d phaser her dead otherwise. LOL- imagine this:-
“Star Wars is better.” Waves hand in Jedi mind control motion.
“No, Star Trek is better.”
”Star Wars IS better.” Waves hand again.
”No way, Star Trek!”
”Star Wars!” Begins to lose cool Jedi façade.
”Sheeeyah, ‘Luuke, da farce is wif youuu’” I mimic. “Star Trek is wayyyy better”
”Yeah right! Utopia? I’m s’posed to believe our future’s all perfect an’ clean?”
”Why not?! At least it’s more believable than ‘a galaxy far, far away’!”
”My aliens are cooler”
Silence. She’s right, of course. Star Wars have way cooler aliens. For some reason TPTB at Paramount decided that every ST alien seem humanoid. The only thing that sets all aliens apart is the bumpy noses an’ foreheads, and the occasional blue skin.
I don’t give up easily. “At least mine’s scientifically realistic”
”Yeah? How?” Red doesn’t really watch Star Trek. “Earl Grey- hot.” I hate that line. Tea drinkers on space shows are such wusses. Thank God for Kathryn Janeway.
”Hey! Replicators are a possibility! A lotta medical/ scientific breakthroughs now have similar features to that in Star Trek!”
”Ooh- wave a magic wand and all is healed.”
”Oh, and a dip in th’ Bacta tank does the same thing?”
”Ay! Don’t knock Bactine!!”
”Bacta is not Bactine!” I yell “Where th’ heck did you get that idea?”
We’re at a standoff. This is getting ridiculous.
”Star Wars was directed by Lucas. What was yours? Gene Raspberry?”
”Roddenberry.”
”Rodentberry”
”Stop it.”
”Loganberry”
”I’m serious”
”Blueberry.”
*bzzzraaappp* I phaser her into a pile of fine ash before she can pull out her light sabre.
:-D Okay, so our conversations aren’t always like that, but th’ gist is there. I love ST and she loves SW. I watch and read up on Star Wars for her sake and she pretends to like Star Trek for mine. Yeah- she pretends to watch ST: Voyager since Kathryn Janeway’s a lot more masculine than Captain Picard. LOL.
Giving in to someone is never easy, especially when you know you’re right. ;-) I can choose to have an interest in th’ things she loves best just so that we can have one more thing to argue incessantly about. I’m more liable to keep stubbornly plodding along, but Red’s a little more gracious than I am. The words “FINE! You’re right.” will be th’ end of any argument we have. I’m still learning…
Here's one for us, bestest bud- 'FIREFLY'. Oh yeah. C'n you spell C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E?
(Disclaimer: No light-sabre carrying, pretend-Jedi knight was harmed in the writing of this blog. :-D No, Red doesn’t tweak me like that… I do. That’s my job- I irritate her whenever I have th’ chance. I think she likes it.)
(Another segment courtesy of Antfood)
We don’t get into fights over this, but things can get rather heated at times. Maybe it’s a good thing we only debate about this over th’ phone because I’d phaser her dead otherwise. LOL- imagine this:-
“Star Wars is better.” Waves hand in Jedi mind control motion.
“No, Star Trek is better.”
”Star Wars IS better.” Waves hand again.
”No way, Star Trek!”
”Star Wars!” Begins to lose cool Jedi façade.
”Sheeeyah, ‘Luuke, da farce is wif youuu’” I mimic. “Star Trek is wayyyy better”
”Yeah right! Utopia? I’m s’posed to believe our future’s all perfect an’ clean?”
”Why not?! At least it’s more believable than ‘a galaxy far, far away’!”
”My aliens are cooler”
Silence. She’s right, of course. Star Wars have way cooler aliens. For some reason TPTB at Paramount decided that every ST alien seem humanoid. The only thing that sets all aliens apart is the bumpy noses an’ foreheads, and the occasional blue skin.
I don’t give up easily. “At least mine’s scientifically realistic”
”Yeah? How?” Red doesn’t really watch Star Trek. “Earl Grey- hot.” I hate that line. Tea drinkers on space shows are such wusses. Thank God for Kathryn Janeway.
”Hey! Replicators are a possibility! A lotta medical/ scientific breakthroughs now have similar features to that in Star Trek!”
”Ooh- wave a magic wand and all is healed.”
”Oh, and a dip in th’ Bacta tank does the same thing?”
”Ay! Don’t knock Bactine!!”
”Bacta is not Bactine!” I yell “Where th’ heck did you get that idea?”
We’re at a standoff. This is getting ridiculous.
”Star Wars was directed by Lucas. What was yours? Gene Raspberry?”
”Roddenberry.”
”Rodentberry”
”Stop it.”
”Loganberry”
”I’m serious”
”Blueberry.”
*bzzzraaappp* I phaser her into a pile of fine ash before she can pull out her light sabre.
:-D Okay, so our conversations aren’t always like that, but th’ gist is there. I love ST and she loves SW. I watch and read up on Star Wars for her sake and she pretends to like Star Trek for mine. Yeah- she pretends to watch ST: Voyager since Kathryn Janeway’s a lot more masculine than Captain Picard. LOL.
Giving in to someone is never easy, especially when you know you’re right. ;-) I can choose to have an interest in th’ things she loves best just so that we can have one more thing to argue incessantly about. I’m more liable to keep stubbornly plodding along, but Red’s a little more gracious than I am. The words “FINE! You’re right.” will be th’ end of any argument we have. I’m still learning…
Here's one for us, bestest bud- 'FIREFLY'. Oh yeah. C'n you spell C-O-M-P-R-O-M-I-S-E?
(Disclaimer: No light-sabre carrying, pretend-Jedi knight was harmed in the writing of this blog. :-D No, Red doesn’t tweak me like that… I do. That’s my job- I irritate her whenever I have th’ chance. I think she likes it.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)