Absence of light

Whilst I stepped into Samuel & Kevin at 22:11 last night to check out a particular pair of bermudas (and not forgetting to gaze at charming Vic Chou.. *silly grin*), poof! The lights went out! No, there was no way I could snitch the huge posters as there were still dim sources of light around. Kidding.

I soon figured power failed the whole of Bishan, except for the pasar malam aka night market, near the Central, that runs on generators. I ended my shopping trip obligingly, made a beeline to the interchange and hopped on the feeder bus filled with passengers chattering about the apparent topic - which districts were also having a power failure and the likely cause of it. Amusing.

With the street lamps out, I was thankful for the moonlight, headlights of bypassing automobiles and this mega hovering light - with compliments from the construction site next to my block - that shone the path in front of my footsteps. Tizane, I left the cool mini flashlight you gave me (argh, with my house keys!) in the office. For safety's sake, my siblings kindly came to escort me from ground level up the pitch dark flights back home. Surprisingly, climbing nine levels ain't exhausting at all and I don't seem to be suffering from night blindness anymore. Hallelujah!

Back home, my bro captured the contrasting night scene from his bedroom window - the unaffected, towering executive condominium and the dull blocks silhouetted against a dusky skyline. He named the shot "unfair". Creative.

Kelly - the 'K' of my DKnY kids - was happy that I could do my panda eyes some justice by sleeping early. There is really nothing I can do sans power. But to her disappointment, the estate was lit up once again in less than 30 minutes and an immediate uproar of jubilation filled the air. My neigbors cheered as if England or France won the Euro 2004, which we all know it will not happen. And so, the normal night activities continued thereafter. Thanks be to the Creator of light!

'Unfair'



Presto!

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." - Ps 119:105

Fatty dipping

I feel like Shallow Hal's object of affection. Remember the hilarious scene when she dived into the pool? Ha.

During my secondary school days, I was intensively training out in the sun at least twice a week, as a netball school team player. Since then, I have not commit to any serious, regular exercise. Sinful. So now I choose to dip regularly after an extremely long break... It feels great to be back in real action again, and with the bonus of having Younice's fun company at times - yea, that's the 'Y' of my DKnY kids.

Swimming is therapeutic and improves the cardiovascular endurance. Though I ain't wading by the sandy coast off Pranburi, Thailand, the sound of water, surrounding palm trees and setting sun relaxes and temporarily gratifies one's desire for the real deal.

I am simply enjoying the whole experience and I will drop ya a note when Rosemary leaves. Till then, fats be with you, and keep shaking!

My DKNY kids

The story began when my dad started engaging a tutor for me when I was at a tender age of 6. Well, you know parents are almost always overly anxious about the first child and my dad probably believed that it is important to start being diligent with learning, even as a pre-schooler. And most would force it upon their kids that they should be right-handed but mine readily accepted that I am a leftie - with pride that I take after my grandpa, whom I would often melancholically miss even though what's left are blurred memories of the short 3 years I spent in his adoration.

Back to my lady tutor, I call her 'Auntie Layhong'. She bought me my first Oxford dictionary, cultivated my attitude of learning and zeal for reading. I owe my second and third positions in class to her.

Besides the tuition hours, we would go for a swim, spend time in the community library, and trot to places of interest around the island together with other tuition kids she had. It's like having another parent and I count it bliss 'cos I never once recollect a trace of impatience or frustration on her cheerful countenance. She's like family and my granny always enjoyed having her around.

She was (and still is) a full-time nurse by day and a homemaker by night after her matrimony. Regretfully, tutoring had to cease in less than 3 years after her first child came into the world. It seemed pretty hard on her to juggle the various commitments especially after she expected her second one... Patience was seeping out of her each day as much care and attention was required of her to build her own family.

Looking beyond my usual mountainous pile of homework, I knew I would miss her. I changed a few tutors thereafter over the span of 2 years and my parents eventually gave up engaging one for me. Somehow, my results and commitment in studying took a nosedive. Bleah.

Despite her quitting as my tutor, she faithfully penned her love in cards and letters for the past 17 years - she will always send her regards to my granny and remember my birthday without fail. Just before CNY this year, she called me out of the blue to say that she's just at my doorstep... It's a pity that I was away at work, but I was definitely happy to hear from her!

I got acquainted with her 3 good-natured kids - aged 17, 16 & 10 - and we became friends within an amazingly short period of time. Ha, apparently, our age gap ain't a big deal at all! They are now attending church together with me and I get real excited sharing about them with my pals... I am extremely grateful to their wonderful mom for everything she has done for me all these years and how more friendships sprouted from ours... And here's an interesting revelation about the names of these dear ones - Darren, Kelly and Younice - wow, which forms the acronym 'DKNY'! Hmmm, has it ever crossed any of their minds I wonder?

And so the friendships continue to grow and bloom... :)

Mouth wide shut

Having been crippled by the inability to articulate for days, I feel I've been freed from behind the silence bars! A tremendously bad throat infection demands for a course of amoxicillin and lots of rest. Well, I obediently swallowed the prescribed drugs but 'rested' in front of my Lifebook, watching the whole of '流星花园' Part 1 tirelessly! Needless to say, the evidence of late nights beneath my eyes never had a chance to subside...

Yet, it was doubtlessly bliss to hibernate during those days of medical leave and shut-mouth, except maybe for that one necessary hour back at work. Ironically, I was rather happy to shut my gabs and many times a smile or a nod seems sufficient for basic communication.

I thought to myself - which will be worse - not being able to talk, see or hear? I conclude that none of the options above will be tolerable as long as I live! It is then I saw the beauty of God's creation, and begin to re-appreciate the goodness of life and the nitty-gritties around me, which often go unnoticed. Should I lose the ability of speech, I would miss sharing the Word of God, talking to myself audibly and singing. I would dread to continue thinking of the tragic possibilities of 'if I am not able to ________, what will I do/be?'

Silence, though does not seem to contribute any positive factor to effective communication on the surface, invokes more thoughts, contemplation and eventually prayer. I'm sure you've heard the expression that God gave us 1 mouth and 2 ears for a reason. So shouldn't we listen twice as much as we speak? "Be swift to hear, slow to speak.." - James 1:19

A page of my mind

I was just looking through the previous posts and apparently, there's no regular style or frequency as to how I blog. Different thoughts, feelings and situations deserve to be written in the style deemed fit by the author and it's really up to individuals. Some blog a couple of times a day, some daily, some weekly and anything beyond that is not quite right unless it's a topical blog. Keep your blogs fresh, people! In fact, blogging helps aspiring writers, journalists, columnists or editors - erm, like me. Though I don't really have any mega dream or ambition I've been dying to fulfill since young, I most desire to write non-fiction, most probably something encouraging and faith-inspiring.

The unbelievable fact is, I'm now reading 'Emma' by Jane Austen. Yes, I'm reading fiction and I know that may cause a couple of you to raise your eyebrows, not because I don't read but because I read non-fiction more than anything else. That explains why I couldn't get use to reading a book like 'Emma' but surprisingly, I'm beginning to enjoy Austen's style of writing and her way of telling stories through the intriguing dialogues especially that of the protagonist, Emma herself, and her beau, even though her seemingly endless sentences - with multiple commas, semi-colons, hyphens and whatnot - have caused my brain wires to entangle at certain points. As you can see, I'm beginning to write under Austen's influence, but you must pardon me! should I misuse punctuations. See what I mean? Ha.. Well, I'm only through to Volume 1, Chapter 12, folks. Till then!

Coughing my lungs out

I've been waking up with a sore and parched throat for the past 4 days, and I'll cough as soon as I start talking and last night, I actually coughed till my head throbbed with pain! And at the same time, my nose is either blocked or leaking.. I'm sick of being sick! On top of the don't-seem-to-be-working medication for throat inflammation, gallons of water don't seem to help a wee bit. Well, perhaps to make up for the water loss through my frequent leakage.. *clears throat* ...from my breathing channels, of course. And I'm gradually losing the ability to project my voice i.e. I'm losing my voice! Ha, so here I am, making up for the loss of verbal communication, channeling the energy to blog... But then again, I'm not quite a woman of many words, don't you agree? Ha.

As a matter of fact, I was supposed to be communicating with people throughout my service ushering duty, which is the second half of Sat, and I can't imagine how torturous it would have been if I was unable to talk properly! Ha, once again I acted by faith and talked as if I was healed! Needless to say, God once again did a miracle for me and most things went on smoothly. Thank you, Jesus! And to all the ill people out there, get well soon!

"O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me." - Psalm 30:2

LOTR galore

June marks the end of the long-awaited 'The Lord of the Rings' (LOTR) exhibition at the Singapore Science Centre. For big-time procrastinators and busy beings like me, the exhibition has been extended till midnight, and I've finally stepped in on the very last day with enjoyable company, at the point in which the touring exhibition is moving out of Asia, to Boston, in a few hours' time.

Needless to say, there was a awesome display of costumes, jewelry (Galadriel's Ring makes me yearn for power! muahahahhh..), armor, weapons, life-like models, make-up and special effects 'how-tos', etc. Most video interviews (you'll see how the actors actually look like in real life) and shots made available for interactive viewing at the exhibit are also available in the DVD Extended Versions for the trilogy. Though it was not exceedingly grand as I've pictured and hoped it to be, I'm happy that I've finally made it! Short of the ability to purchase the gorgeous Evenstar (worth S$140), I suppose the 20% discount off my entry ticket is a comfort - well, maybe an ounce of it.

The next best thing is to watch the trilogy (Extended versions, of course!) on a gigantic screen with your friends, at one go. Yes, that'll be a total of 10 hours, sirs and madams. But I'll only be out of my mind if I'm sucked into reading the whole set of literature. I actually know some folks who do. LOTR is made astonishingly possible by Author, Tolkien and Director, Peter Jackson & his huge team of dream-makers, for all to enjoy this fascinating tale of how power corrupts and how genuine character and bravery prevail. Both thumbs up!