The Surprisingly Sappy Sisters

Seriously. Me and sis. We don't do mushy mushy stuff. We're even awkward giving each other hugs. It's not like we don't love each other. We do. In a weird understated kind of way. We're just not very good at showing affection. Hah! So it was weird that after a 4-day trip sending younger sis back to KL plus a short family trip to Melaka thrown in together that I came home feeling what I'm feeling right now.

And it's not just me okay! :( 

We sad face together-gether.

Betul-betul sungguh tak sangka.

*sigh*

That little space she occupied on my table while she was home for the past 

three months is now empty. T__T I remembered how I complained she was invading 

my space back then. And I must say looking at the photo now, that's a tiny little space 

I managed to offer. =P 

The only thing she left me with?

One used game cash card. 

That tiny bottle of hand sanitiser was mine to begin with anyway. 

*sigh*

Oh adik.

Meet My Oldest Friend

I knew him since day one.

He was right beside me even when I was still in my stroller with 

my pacifier in my mouth. I bet I even offered my pacifier to him but obviously 

he's so not interested... in the pacifier of course.

Because I was pretty sure he was very much interested in me.

Since he kept telling me to hug him.

Though obviously I was clueless since I had no ideas what are words back then.

I mean, I barely managed "papa" at that age.

And nope, I'm not talking about my dad here.

.

.

.

I'm talking about my Hug-Your-Bear.

A bear as old as me and probably the only bear that has no given name.

(I called the one on the right "Patches". He's also the youngest bear I own.)

Well, I had Hug-Your-Bear when I was still a baby. 

I'm pretty sure I was not knowledgeable enough back then to give him a name.

All mom did was kept telling me to "Hug you bear, Jo! Hug you bear." 

*hugs*

27 years later and he's still here with me.

And honestly, I probably love him more today 

then I was when I was a baby, kid, teenager, etc.

It's pretty awesome don't you think?

To still have your very first bear with you.

*hearts*

I think it's awesome.

One of These Things is Not Like the Others...

*sings*

One of these things is not the same.

Can you tell which thing is not like the others?

Can you tell which thing is not the same?

*grins*

Threw them pillows aside to take off my bedsheet and saw this instead.

Mind you, that cutesy blue rabbit print pillow case is sort of like my "smelly" which I'm sure everyone has. Right? Right? Don't even try to deny it. It's not smelly in the sense of it being stinky, it's smelly in the sense of me hugging it to sleep every night and practically breathing off it. :P

Now what's the bolster for then?

*shrugs*

Its role is to lay at the side of the wall to prevent me from knocking myself 'blue-black' against the wall.

See! Every pillow and bolster has an important part to play.

*points to the standing red pillow*

That is what I lay my head on.

*points to big flat red pillow on top of the bolster*

And that is what my legs are laid on.

Yes. Yes. There's a pillow for my legs.

And that red piece of cloth right in front of the picture. Well that's my blanket. Oh and if you're wondering, the missing bedsheet from this picture, well, that's sort of maroon-pink-red too.

So yeah, blue cutesy is the bestest!

Girl, it’s Time to Man Up!

It’s going to rain. Sounds of thunder can be heard. It’s dark and cool. The perfect weather for an afternoon nap. And mind you, I don’t usually do afternoon naps. *stares at her bed* I want to snuggle in there so badly but I can’t. Not until I take a bath and wash my face since I just came back from my half-day 'temple excursion'. And I can’t take a bath. Not until I process the lunch I just ate. I know. I know. But that’s just how I roll. :P Girls are so weird sometimes most of the times. No wonder boys don’t understand us. Heck, I think we barely understand ourselves half of the time. LOL.

Seriously. I should just man up and go to bed.

Grandpa's Song

That's not the title of song but that's what I called it.

I remember living with my grandparents when I was doing my internship in Penang and one day while waving my goodbyes as I head off for work, my grandpa stood at the front door and sang this to me.

"Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
Cheerio, here I go, on my way
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
Not a tear, but a cheer, make it gay"

I immediately fell in love with the song and went all out to search for it on the internet. I asked grandpa what's the title of the song but he couldn't named the exact title and therefore, I fondly called it "Grandpa's Song". It turned out to be a World War II song that was sang to the troops as they head off for war. Today I'll sing it back to my dearest grandpa as he ventures on his journey to the other side.

Full Lyrics of Wish Me Luck (As You Wave Me Goodbye)

a song by Harry Parr-Davies, made popular during WWII by Gracie Fields

Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
Cheerio, here I go, on my way
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye
Not a tear, but a cheer, make it gay
Give me a smile I can keep all the while
In my heart while I'm away
Till we meet once again, you and I
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye

Though I've always listened to this version with a male lead
as it reminds me of the way grandpa sang it.
http://youtu.be/GQX-ZgUZGxI

:(

I don't know what to say. I don't know how to start.
For he has left us and I don't know how to react.
Because sometimes it's not about what you show on the outside,
but what you feel on the inside.
And nobody needs to know that except you.

I Had A Dream

That was this morning but truth to be told, I always have strange dreams. Last week was the ultimate dream week for me. They're almost movie-like. Action-packed with gun shooting, car chasing and even artificial intelligence. I'm always hesistant to share them with others for fear that people might think I'm crazy or just making the stories up. Half of the time I get the "Are you for real?" look from my sister. You know that "skeptical eyebrow scrunch up" kind of look you get when people think you're bullshitting them. And that's coming from my sister.

"Were you watching any movies before you went to bed?"

"Umm... Glee?"

I do watch movies every day during my ride to and back from work, thanks to Gadget Boy. But all I had been watching for the past four weeks were Harry Potter movies, all six of them. If movie-watching was the cause behind my dreams, I would be a witch casting spells.

Now all these dreams are still merely dreams that
could possibily mean something or nothing at all.

But this morning, I had a dream that made a difference to reality. Out of the blue, with no actual beginning, I was dreaming that I needed to go to the loo. Yaya. I know that sometimes that happens to almost anyone. It's sorta a sign your body and brain is trying to tell you that... well, you literally need to go to the loo.

Here's where it got interesting. I couldn't find the loo, or at least I was still looking for it when I got distracted by food. Can you believe that? I actually stood there in my dream, pondering whether I should continue my mission to answer nature's call or sit and eat. In my defence, the food was seriously gooooood. Though I don't remember what they were. :P

Guess what?!

I sat and ate, holding back my need to pee.

WOOT?!

I guess that's the Real Me being stubborn and refuse to get up and go to the toilet. Well, kudos to my brain and my power to dream. While I was eating away in my dream, the 'sleeping me' heard my dad knocking on my door and telling me he needed to use the toilet. See! Here's where dream and reality blurred out. I knew I was dreaming, I even rationalise that mom was probably using the toilet downstairs and dad needed to use the attached bathroom in my room. So I actually forced myself to wake up, walk over and open the door for my dad.

Guess what again?!

Duh. There's no one there.

Brain 1. Me 0.

I lost.

So I closed the door and went to the toilet. For real this time.

Oh I went back to bed after that but the food was gone. :P

Summing up December in 500 words

Warning: This would be one of the few posts that were written in one straight go, without the usual think-write-read-edit process. It’s a total pour of words without proper structure, proper sentencing, proper formatting, etc.

Here goes!

December was the down month of the year. Seriously, not the best way to end the year. Grandpa got admitted to hospital because of fever, which was suspected to be dengue, which later was proven not. “Chikungunya”, that’s what the doctor said. Anyhow he was weak all over. If that wasn’t bad enough, dad got a sudden lapse of heart pain while he was visiting grandpa. Thus, dad got admitted to hospital.

Talk about irony.

Then talk about being lucky it actually happened in a hospital where immediate attention was given.

Sigh.

So it turned out dad got a serious blood clot in one of his blood vessels and a minor operation, or like how the doctor put it “a procedure” was called for, to open, unclog and keep the blood vessel clear and good. Dad’s insurance did not provide coverage for this and 20k plus of money was spent. Of course, it wasn’t so much about the money. It’s dad’s well-being that we were worried most.

And dad is now on long-term meds which even though it’s not about the money, still very much takes up an extra sum every month from now on.

Again, like I said, what matters most is dad and everyone’s peace of mind.

No no. It did not end there however. Two days after dad got discharged from the hospital, our house was burglarized. By a totally silly burglar nonetheless who took away RM50 and a speaker. Still damage was done and again money was spent on fixing up the doors. We finally resolved to install an alarm system as well. Again money. Hah!

Really. It’s not about the money. It’s just a sad sad series of unfortunate incidents.

After barely a week out of the hospital, grandpa was not feeling well again. This time much worse than the last and everyone was fearful of his life. He couldn’t walk, couldn’t eat and I know it hurt dad most that he couldn’t do much or physically be there for grandpa because of his “house-arrest” after his own “procedure”.

Obviously 500 words are not enough to sum up the month because after all that pour of negativity, I got a call of good news.

I won my dad a Christmas gift from MPH. RM100 worth of vouchers, a really awesome mug plus a set of won’t-be-used postcards. I think I’m actually getting a kick out of writing slogans for contest. ;-) I guess it pays to write for a living, in more ways than one.

And that hopefully marks the end of the family’s dark period.

As we enter the new year, I really do hope we have more good things to look forward to. In all honestly, health is really and truly one’s greatest asset. No amount of money can make up for the health of a loved one or that of your own. So a great reminder to everyone out there, take good care of yourself, be conscious of your diet, live healthy, live happy because it’s not just about living your life as an individual but as a unit, as a family and even as a friend. Because even if it doesn’t matter to you, it matters a lot to others. Because if it hurts you, it also hurts others. And as corny as it may sound, you are not alone in this world and YOU MATTER in every way.

It’s an hour away to 2011.

May the new year brings forth awareness of the importance of good health to everyone.

The Oh Bummer Post

It's been a month of silence.
A month of ups and downs.
Almost more downs than ups.

:(

The year is coming to an end though.
Let's hope that also signifies the end of all negativities.
May the new year bring new light.

:|

And hopefully a chance for me to blog again asap.

:)

Goodbye August. Hello September.

I'm glad it's over. August was just not my month to say the least. It was just "cloudy" and I'm not talking about the weather here, though it pretty much fit to describe that as well.

What a bumpy ride it was to get from July to September. August was just filled with potholes, bumps and annoying red traffic lights one after the other. You get the idea. I was just not at my tip-top self and it was just frustrating. It's like the downtime of the year. I do hope it'll start picking up now that we're a week into September which also means I'm about to officially get older. Again! It's starting to get scary.

21 was liberating. 22 was the end of one good thing and the beginning of another. 23 was a number I kinda like for no apparent reason *grins* and 24 was definitely "My Year" for more reasons that one. Then came *cough* 25 in which all I could think of is getting old. Ugh.

I think it's time to reflect and plan... for an awesome 26. Who's with me?

Because I know he reads this...

And because the little magnetic pad on the fridge reads...

"Father's Day is Everyday"

- scribbled by me nonetheless -

Therefore, this post is still valid.

"Papa... Happy Father's Day...
last week, today, tomorrow... and every other day.
We ♥ you lots."

And She Finally Reaches the Big 2 0 0!

I'm slow. I know.

But like they all say
"Slow and Steady Wins The Race".

Though literally, there is no race. Therefore, there's nothing to win. But anyhow, I'll eventually get there. And, "there" being wherever I want to be. 'Cause it is I who determine the race.

It is my race after all.

******

Does this post even makes any sense?
Hmm... probably not since I'm writing with
an awful ache on my head.

Me Time

It's been awhile since I had a "Me Time" in the morning at the office. Just that 10 minutes of being alone with my music on, my head resting on my water tumbler, casually surfing the internet, taking a breather before the day's work starts coming in.

This morning just reminded me how I miss that

therapeutic 10 minutes.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate having someone to travel to and back from work with. Yes, it's safer, it's assuring and for that I am thankful to PSP-san. Yet, I don't mind having these occasional days where I have to go to work alone. Nope. Don't mind it at all.

Morning Mr Cloud!

Mr Cloud seems lonely this morning.

And it goes to show that you can't survive alone.

Even lonely cloud sinks.

At least that's what I thought this morning.

Then as I edit the photo, I came to realise that's just me looking at the glass half empty.

Isn't that Mr Cloud striving his way upwards?

I think I prefer to think so. *smiles*

My First Time...

...buying clothes online.

XD

Not my first online purchase though.

Had doubts buying clothes online since there's this "No Trying" policy. Obviously. Ain't got no model-like body that fits any clothes either. So even after I was introduced to various shopping blogs by dearest Ching more than half a year ago, only now did I kick-start my first purchase.

Simply because I love it oh so much.

Efficient as always.

You may disagree but poslaju has never failed me till now.

Paid on Monday.

Sent on Tuesday.

Received on Wednesday.

Talk about efficiency.

Credit goes out to Lynn from Fashion-Loft.

Jeng Jeng Jeng!

This shot ain't pretty.

Simply don't do justice to the pretty piece.

This is a much prettier shot.
*gets whacked for her narcissim*

I'm talking about the dress/pinafore okay?

*innocent*

I did attempt to take a picture of the back but it didn't turn out good and I was lazy to keep taking pictures of myself. Am not that narcissistic.

All in all, I must say I really like it.

Now if only I got a pair of good shoes to go with it.

25 Most Random Things About Meh...

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

*******

1. Rushing to see the world, I was born few weeks early from schedule as a small baby that weight lighter than the average baby at a mere 2.3kg. -__-;;

2. I got beatings from my mom and was later lock out of from the house because I refused to go to school during lower primary. Me? Skipping school? *shocked* Well, I was already in my uniform when I remembered I forgot to do my homework and was so scared of getting punished that I refused to go to school. Which in return got myself punished at home even before I got to school. ^^;; It's really silly when I think back about it. I was left crying outside when driver uncle came pick me up to school.

3. When I was small, my neighbourhood kids were all boys. About three doors down was the only boy closer to my age and I used to play at his house. I fell down from standing at the arm rest of the sofa while playing Superman with him.

4. The boy I played Superman with was my first crush. *LOL*

5. My first published work was in a school newsletter when I was in Form One.

6. Grew up reading Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mystery stories, I wrote my own short mystery story when I was 14, sent it for a competition but got no news after that. =( The story was written in an exercise book and the young naive me didn't know how to make photocopies of it and thus I no longer have it with me. *sad*

7. My first prize winning piece came a year after that when I wrote the history of a temple donated by my great-grandfather. It was also the first time my name appeared in the newspaper. I won myself a thick encyclopedia on world history o.O'' hahaha.. and a watch from the Star.

8. I was named Jovin after a friend of my mom. So I knew of another Jovin but I call her "aunty". XD

9. I started wearing glass when I was 11 years old.

10. Thanks to my dad and weekly Sunday oldies on radio, my first ever idol was Cliff Richard. My first ever cassette album was his 25 years greatest hits. *embarassed*

11.I transfered school when I was 10 and the boy who sat beside me, his first greeting to me was "Can I borrow your eraser?" -__-;;Years after that when we were in uni, I told him about it and he totally don't remember about it. Boys! *roll eyes*

12. I used to cry whenever I think about me dying one day.

13. When I was in secondary school, I had a best friend I didn't know about. Funny.

14. Instead I was no.2 best friend to my no.1 best friend and her no.1 best friend was my no.2 best friend. It's complicated but it was a relationship agreed upon. Hahaha..

15. I was a Slam Dunk fan and am still a Slam Dunk fan. It's simply amazing too, that I still watch this anime every weekend now. It's even more amazing that it's still on air after all these years. Yes, it's that great. You must watch! I have watched it in cantonese, malay, english and japanese. hahaha..

16.I was the treasurer of the Ping Pong club back in school. No, I don't play ping pong. *shrugs* Well, not really.

17. I have very small hands. Yes. Small.

18. I'm loosing ideas on what to write right now.

19. I knew about the job copywriter when I was eighteen from a fellow Slam Dunk fan. She didn't like the work but I thought it as a dream job.

20. I got a Nakamaru Uchiwa in my room. Hahahaha...

21. I get stressed up whenever I drive in which I avoid doing it as much as I can.

22. I like being alone when I'm indoors but enjoys company when I'm outdoors.

23. I once sat on a trishsaw owned by a friend. He peddled me and another friend around and we giggled as other residents stared at us.

24. I sleep with a pillow under my head, another under my leg and one on my chest <-- that's the pillow I hug. Oh, my bolster is left aside to prevent my limps from hitting the wall and waking up with blue black all over. XD

25. I tell others I have somewhat of a telepathy power as I often get to read minds but the truth is I tend to know stuff simply because I analyse stuff well.

The End.

Not tagging other people but feel free to do the tag and drop me a message so I can go read. XD

Vitamin C vs Vitamin P²

Hah. And I thought all I needed was Vitamin C. Boy was I wrong.

Getting Vitamin M, then find a Vitamin C? Life was, is and never will be that simple. No Siree. Found your Vitamin C? You got to make sure Vitamin C got enough Vitamin M within itself and more importantly the essential Vitamin P² that is greatly dear to us.

That’s right. In this metaphoric world I have just created since this last post, we are all Vitamic Cs to one another. It’s sad if you’re not a Vitamin C to someone and equally heartbreaking to not have any Vitamin C to call your own.

And every Vitamin C came from a set of Vitamin Ps. Vitamin Ps are where Vitamin P² comes from. In other words, the source! And without it, Vitamin C can’t react to form a chemical reaction strong enough to make a difference. Without Vitamin P², at this very moment Vitamin C is pretty much rendered useless.

--------------------------------------------

Obstacle 02: Vitamin P² Solved!

Vitamin M vs Vitamin C

There are many different I WANTs in life.

What do you crave for at the moment? What is it that you willing to part away with your money to get it? Or what is it that you want but am that bit reluctant to say “bye bye money” for? Worst still, what is it that even with sufficient Vitamin M, you still find yourself in need of a whole long list of other vitamins?

The answer? There are many different I WANTs in life.

There are the little things that you just crave for. Like a more comfy pillow to sleep on every night. Nothing really you can’t do without but yet all the more delighted to have it as your own.

Then there are the bigger things in life. By bigger I mean cost-wise kind of bigger. Like taking up that Japanese class you have always wanted. Buying the queen size bed that allows you to sleep with your hands and legs spread out. Simply unnecessary yet simply tempting to think about. Or finally getting yourself a new tech-savvy phone that lets you snap better quality photos, listens to music, and oh gosh, maybe even update your blog.

Should I get what I want? Should I spend that extra few hundreds? Or should I save it for a much bigger I want?

And it's such a BIG I WANT, that it’ll probably take up the cost of all the I WANTs earlier. And you decide alright, dream big. Go for it. I can do away with the minor stuffs. Give me B-I-G.

Then you realize… Vitamin M was not the main supplement you need.

Originally written on 4 May 2008.

--------------------------------------------

Obstacle 02: Vitamin C Solved!

The Month That Had Two Posts

April went by and May has arrived. With only two post one would have thought nothing much must have happened. In contrary, April was one of the most eventful months I ever had. Getting shortlisted for the Aussie adventure thing was just a small part of April. Random calls came from unexpected parties. Announcement of concert dates I longed to attend and the actual possibility of attend it. The many nights of dilemma. The worrisome hair loss due to all the thinking going on inside my head.

Up and down the month went.
Excitement. Disappointment.
And then excitement all over again.

Enthusiasm. Shot down with unwelcomed news.
Resolution. Determine to go on turning the dream into reality.

And as the month came to an end and the month of May arrived and went by halfway, all these emotions were carried forward to today. None resolved.

Best Wishes From A Sis To A Sis