dad's anniversary

time flies. today is my dad's death anniversary (by lunar calendar). there was supposed to be a family gathering of sorts to pay our respects to my dad to commemorate the day. but my bro decided that he would do the commemoration on 10 aug (gregorian calendar anniversary) given that he has to bring my mum for her medical appt. well, no choice i supposed.

nonetheless, i managed to pay a visit to the columbarium to pay my respects and do the needful.

:-)

ps: by right, the actual lunar calendar date is 10th day of the 7th lunar month. today is the 10th day of the 6th lunar month. but considering this year's lunar month has a leap 5th month, the 6th month is considered the 7th month instead. apparently, such a ruling to ignore the presence of a leap month applies only to anything that involves white affairs (matters pertaining to death).

finally

am finally out...

well, of my current profession, that is.

:-)

jap songs - 谷村新司 - 昴-すばる

it's so nice to see and hear this song all over again. thanks for willie for sharing it. it certainly brings back lots of memories. must say that lots of japanese songs and the annual red/white singing competitions bring back some of my best memories of my secondary school and junior college days...

young, naive and innocent...

:-)

videos past

in this afternoon's episode of growing up, i saw this boy who played the role of a carpenter trainee. thought he looked cute. oooooo. i like. and then i thought, hey, he kinda look familiar lor... and i smsed weetz. then he confirmed. yes, that was him. 20 (?) yrs ago. wa! he looked so young!

ok, ok. enough. what i am trying to say here is that this short clip made me realize that i have aged. and hmmmph! i don't have any videos of my younger days. those days, only those well-to-do people or those who work in the media industry get this kinda opportunities. then again, why regret right? at least i have my memories and my photos. and yes, there is really nothing to stop us from capturing such videos of ourselves today! hmmmm, perhaps i'd better start capturing myself on video so that some years down, i can look back and remember what i am like today (aka my younger days in future).

:-)

last visit

went to my headquarters this morning. it was an exit interview with my director. well, i have never seen nor work with him before... he was new to me. and of cos, this meant that there was nothing much to talk about when we meet. he had to refer to his file (containing my cv) as we talked. and so, you know it... the exit interview was nothing short of - ok, need to do it and just let's get it done with. quick. it was the kind where the interviewer starts with - oh hi, i think i have met you before somewhere rite?... (ya, rite, our organisation is big but certainly not that big...). some basic courtesies followed, then some questions abt how i felt abt the organisation... then what my plans would be... then, ok thanks for coming by and good luck. short and sharp. and it was over in 15mins. hmmmm, such a waste of time.

my most meaningful time was spent catching up with my ex-staff from my ex-office after the interview. for after so many years, and after so many changes of heads, they still show so much warmth and care for me. and i was rather moved by the fact that my ex-secretary, when she heard i would be heading back to office to see them, had coffee and some little bites for me when i arrived. and my ex-staff all gathered and had a simple breakfast with me at the canteen. it felt so good catching up. so, in a large way, it was not a good bye, it was a catching up with old friends.

i guess when we leave any big organisation, it will not be the organisation or the heads per se that we will miss. the organisation changes. and given the policy of bringing people from outside your department to head your department, the heads won't know you most of the time. but rather, it will be the people we work with that we will miss. for it is through the long and arduous working hours that we create our bonds and forge our identities. and regretfully, people who become our head, being parachuted in, do not have the luxury of journeying through the departments ups and downs together, don't know us and much less, to be able to connect with us... and as for people we know, they die out. they disappear.

well, in the early days, i go for annual gatherings to catch up with those who have retired. they were after all, my shi fu, my teachers, my seniors. they have watched me grow, and i have learned much from them. and in these gathering, the retirees come back to catch up with their juniors who have, in turn, become the heads. nowadays, we do not see the retired people. not since we have the policy of parachuting people as heads. who would want to return and not know the current head? they would most likely be parachuted from somewhere... and with no ties that bind, there will be no memories to reminisce, there would be no common topics to talk about and there would be no further bonds to hold on to.

and i can bet with anyone that i will not be invited for any such gatherings (heh heh... and i am saying this cos 2 yrs back, i got an email from my head office asking me if i belong to them...)

:-)

hota

there are some things in life where you just do not know whether to be happy and celebrate or to be depress, bury your head in some hole and hope you don't exist. and of late, they seemed to be happening to be quite often. perhaps it comes with age. the following refers:

three years ago i received a letter congratulating me about qualifying for eldershield... hmmm, one of those days... ya, i know, i am old...

and before the news really sink in, a year later, i received a more enthusiastically sounded letter - congratulations! you now qualify for eldershield plus

hmmmm... and just when i was about to move on and forget these reminders... today i get another letter - human organ transplant act (hota). well, it kinda tells you that it is now an opt out thing and goes into great details about how you can help save the living when you die.

putting all three together, what i went thru can be best explained as - mr sim, you are now old... then mr sim, you are now older... then mr sim, when you die, we will take your organs hor.

hmmmmm...

:-)

sgh staff

i went for my uro ct scan today. and if what happened today is exemplary of what happens everyday, then i can say sgh staffs have a superbly great sense of humour... let me elaborate:

incident 1
managed to find a car park lot but i had to walk some 150m before i reach the main door. as i enter, i have to walk through the thermal scanner to scan for fever as per h1n1 procedure. and at the thermal scanner, a young 20-plus yr old cute male thermal scanner attendant came up to me and exclaimed :"wa, you are so hot!". hmmm, for that moment i almost wanted to reply, thanks, i know (hmmm, just like the fantastic 4 show). then again, knowing singaporeans, they'll just stare at you blankly if i gave such an answer. so instead, i told him i need to cool myself further before i walk through again...

incident 2
i was rather impressed with the counter staff for calling me up rather quickly after registration. before i knew it, an attendant came and asked me to change into the gown. and of cos, think it was kinda straight forward for her. for she went on and on about how i should remove everything, including my underwear and then go pee and la la la... and after doing all that, i walked out of the toilet and she was no where to be found. man, i tell you, the best way to make a man lost all confidence in himself is to make him stand in hospital gown with no underwear in public and not know what to do! anyway, she appeared about 30 sec later and asked me to sit at the waiting area. waited for about an hour before my turn came! tsk tsk tsk...

incident 3
at the preparation room, nurse trying to explain to me the procedure. again, without knowing exactly what i was supposed to be scanned on (other than uro ct scan), she gave a generic explanation... it almost seemed tape recorder-like:

nurse: mr sim, later, when you go in, we will be scanning your uterus.

me: er, nurse, i don't think i have an uterus... (wtf!!! i thought)

nurse: er, well, ok ok... we will be scanning your uterus and your kidney and all that la...

me: !!! (sighs!)

incident 4
at the scanning room, i was strapped to the bed and i was halfway through the scan. the radiographer (an uncle) came up to me to tell me he will be injecting a contrast dye into me. and just before he did that, the following conversation occurred:

radiographer: mr sim, i will be injecting the dye now hor.

me: ok.

radiographer: er... i think you looked very familiar leh

me (mind trying to think through how to answer him, 2 sec later): oh, is it... ha ha! (ya, i know, it's lame)

radiographer: er, are you a famous celebrity...

me: !!! (and the uncle walked away)

hmmm, fun right? agree with me that the sgh staff all have a superbly great sense of humour?... heh heh...

:-)

uro ct scan

i'll be heading for the uro ct scan today. this is a follow-up from my visit to the urologist recently. and the prep instructions this time round are very explicit - 12hrs before the procedure, to take my asthma medication, and again 2hrs before the procedure. and as for oral intake - no food or drinks after 10am. 250ml of water at 1145hrs. 250mls of water again at 1245hrs. and to report at 1335hrs for procedure at 1350hrs. last drink of water to be given before the procedure itself...

but at 1045hrs, i was already thirsty. and so to distract myself and to wild away sometime, i decided to bathe my dog. and with so much water gushing and splashing, i got thirstier... damned it!

haiz...

:-)

fan or citizen

it was good to see the whole stadium turned red again last evening.

but it was not due to the fact that national day is round the corner. rather, it was due to liverpool playing a game against the singapore national team. and i believe the whole stadium was there to cheer their football team on, not their national team. so, for once in a rare blue moon, singapore fans turned up to cheer another team instead. and i can imagine the go go go torres! and the booooo... (whoever the singapore players were)... hmmm.

:-)

ps: and for the record, i was driving to town at abt 6pm and i find it absolutely absolutely fucking irritating to be tailgated (when i was already driving at 100 plus km/hr) by another car driven by 2 liverpool fans. or for that matter, the whole road seemed to be full of liverpool fans in red adidas t-shirts. frankly, i think the commonness in dressing made them looked really clonish. and for reasons best known to themselves, most of the fans i saw driving on the roads were either malays or indians. and the same tailgating happened when i drove home at about 10pm! wtf!

updated travel list

time to update my trips around the world list... :P

2009
jun/jul - australia (perth, cervantes, margaret river, augusta, walpole, denmark, pemberton, manjimup, albany, hyden, corrigin, york, fremantle, joondalup)

2008
jun - thailand (phuket)
oct - malaysia (malacca, kuala lumpur)
dec - malaysia (cameron highliands, malacca)

2007
apr - malaysia (malacca)
apr - china (beijing)
jun - australia (perth)
aug - vietnam (hanoi, haphong)
aug - indonesia (jakarta, bandung)
dec - china (shanghai)

2006
apr - malaysia (kl)
jun - australia (sydney)
aug - thailand (bangkok)
sep-oct - indonesia (jakarta, bandung)
oct - thailand (bangkok)
dec - china (hong kong)

2005
feb - thailand (bangkok)
mar - malaysia
may - thailand (bangkok)
jun - indonesia (bintan)
jul - indonesia (bintan)
sep - indonesia (bintan)
oct - malaysia (kl)
nov - malaysia (jb, malacca)
nov - indonesia (bintan)
dec - taiwan (taipei)

2004
feb - taiwan (kaoshiung)
mar - taiwan (kaoshiung)
jun-dec - states (florida, new york, illinois, etc)
dec - china (shanghai, hangzhou)

2003
jun - australia (sydney)
sep-oct - taiwan (taipei)
dec - s korea (seoul, sorat)

2002
jun - england (london, oxford, etc)

2001
mar - states (california [la, sfo], new york)
may - taiwan (whole)
may - malaysia
jul - states (san diego)
dec - malaysia

2000
jun - australia (sydney)
dec - indonesia (bintan)

1999
feb - indonesia (jember)
may - england (london)
jun - malaysia
oct - japan (tokyo)

1998
mar - malaysia
jun - malaysia
sep - new zealand (christchurch)
nov - new zealand (christchurch, auckland)

1997
jun - indonesia (bintan, batam)
jun - thailand (bangkok, pattaya)
nov - switzerland (zurich, lucerne), israel (jerusalem)

pre-1997
lots of places but mainly in asia. these include east and west malaysia (lost count), taiwan (lost count), hong kong (twice?), australia brisbane, sydney, melbourne (1994), thailand (bangkok, kanchanaburi, chiangmai, chiangrai) (lost count), indonesia (bintan, batam, jember, surabaya) (trice?), brunei (lost count), etc etc etc...

dental scaling

just did dental scaling for sapphie. am fortunate to have sapphie let me do the scaling without too much of a fuss. she lies on my lap and allows me to use a scissors to scrap her tartar off her teeth. and at the age of 10 (she'll be 10 this nov), i must say she still has a set of relatively healthy teeth (except for her upper jaw molars that seemed a little too calcified with tartar to be able to be scrapped off). well, at least compared to many other dogs i see that start to lose their teeth as early as when they are 5 yrs old!

:-)

experiencing life

life - is about experiencing...

not too sure why. but this phrase kept popping up in my head today. and then suddenly, i thought - i have not climbed a mountain in my life. and so, i decided that my next trip overseas would involve climbing a mountain. and then mount fuji came to mind. ok, i'll go climb mount fuji next. and then james (my ex) came to mind. he did a trip to mount fuji with his students once before. and i had seen the photos and thought i was real nice. and then i recalled reading somewhere that recently 2 persons were found dead on the way up mount fuji. hmmm, and then i wondered how many peaks i have actually climbed that could be called `mountain'... bukit timah, bukit panjang, and mount faber are definitely out. and lao fo shan (老佛山) (the `old buddha mountain' located in pingtung hsien 屏東縣, taiwan that i had climbed as an officer cadet back in 1986) didn't seemed high enough, same for bukit biang and bukit pasir putih in temburong district, brunei (what more when it is called a bukit and not a gunung). hmmm, how about gunung ledang, or more popularly known as mount ophir... well, reached the camping ground many times but never the peak...

hmmm, my mind has this interesting and annoying habit of wondering... heh.

anyway, yes, i want to continue to experience life.

i will want to climb a mountain next.

:-)

what weddings should be

got this url from beng san. and i really like it. this is what weddings should be! a celebration! not the formal and sombre stuff that we always see and that reminds one of funerals... heh heh. and i find it so interesting and really liked the fact that all of them look so `common', so `unprofessional' for it gives the whole event a very warm feel... and oh, the guys include the `pwee pwee bak bak' types, and the seniors and the gals are so spontaneous and sporty too!

and yes, this is so much more fun that all the boring military swords and stuff! conventional!

hmmmph!

:-)

twittering

after hesitating for so so long, i have finally registered with twitter...

heh!

:-)

emo...

it seemed like everyone is emo-ing recently. for suddenly, in the past few days, i have thomas telling me he is emo-ing this and emo-ing that. and then today, i was also a little emo cos i was so bored and then i couldn't catch a show cos timings clash. and then, another friend is emo-ing cos her bf has gone back to australia. and then, another friend wrote in her blog abt emo-ing for the lack of achievements. hmmmm... what's with this sudden tsunami of emo emo stuff these days? cannot be that after the full solar eclipse, everybody starts to emo rite?

lol!

:-)

pseudonyms

heh heh... just found out by chance the real name of a bisexual whom i befriended last year and who eventually went missing after i kinda told him off in an email. well, i guessed after all the so called `truthful talk' and sharing about his fears, his wife, his daughter la la la... he is still not comfortable with having gay friends. i wish him well...

:-)

taking refuge

have finally registered for refuge taking that will be held this coming 9 aug. been wanting to do it all these years.

:-)

car cleaning

been a long while since i last washed my car. well, you can say i am one of those type of lazy car washers who'd clean my car when it rains. the ritual goes this way - heavy downpour, drive car into the rain, get it wet, drive car into covered car park, wipes car, drives car into the rain for the final rinse... heh heh... no need to go car wash. saves $6. saves water too. and of cos, when it comes to the interior, i am the type who vacuums my car once a blue moon. and that was what i did over the last two days. rain washed my car yesterday. and today, i vacuumed my car.

now, it looks relatively clean.

heh heh... life of a soon-to-retire person...

:-)

hmmm...

some things to ponder about...

• why do we chicken out and not approach people we are interested in?

• why do our hearts beat extra fast/ skip a beat when people we are interested in walk towards us?

• why do talkative people suddenly become quiet in front of people they are interested in?

• why do we not add our ex as friends in facebook?

• why do we continue to follow the happenings of our ex's life behind his back?

some of the things that we do that are beyond good reasons and that probably only we ourselves know.

hmmmm...

:-)

9-days

it's finally down to single digit. i have 9 more days to go before i leave my organisation. but i will not be heading back to get my documentations on the last day. that happened to be my dad's first death anniversary and i need to do the nec prayers. will only head back to office on 3 aug to get my documents.

and today, i went back to office to return my laptop, my security pass and my office key. with these stuff all returned, it means my clerical staff can now proceed to do the out-pro for me and to collect my personal documentations from my central manpower office to prepare for my eventual departure.

:-)

eclipsed

after all the hype about the full solar eclipse and how it is the longest eclipse to occur this century la la la... we all woke up to an overcast sky / heavy downpour weather. and any glimpse of the sun is only achieved through the tv set.

:-)

love of siam

enjoyed the show love of siam thoroughly. subtle messages. but very powerful in itself. and a few liners and scenes linger on after the show - (1) "i can't be your boyfriend, but that doesn't mean i do not love you..." (2) tong: "i need you to tell me, for if i choose wrongly, you'll be angry" tong's mum "whichever you choose, it will be beautiful" and so tong chose the male figurine (angel) (3) june: "when you open the envelop, you will understand" june = tang, tang = june...

grooming time

today, steven brought me to this particular pet shop to groom sapphie. basic package - cut nails, trim a bit of fur here and there, & a doggie bath. nothing elaborate. cost me $50. actually could have done it myself. but thought it might be a good idea to pamper sapphie once (considering all these while, i've been the only one who ever groomed her). i guessed it was a new experience for sapphie. she looked apprehensive and i had to be there throughout the process to calm her down.

well, she survived her first private grooming. not too much hassle. her initial apprehension disappeared after a while once she realized it was not too frightening. and now she looks fluffy and bouncy. and certainly very nice smelling.

:-)

it's soooo huge!!!

ok, am talking abt my new tv... it was delivered yesterday and when the delivery man carried it into the house, i was like waahhhhhhhh wtf... so bluddy big!!! well... at least much bigger than my current (or rather `old') tv set...

gotta get use to the new remote control... hmmm, so many buttons...

heh heh...

office

been a long while since i returned to office and thought i'd drop by today to clear my mails after visiting my mum. i had sapphie with me. and it was good. being a sunday, the whole place was deserted. and i was able to clear all my mails (more than 230 over of them) and print out all the stuff i need to print as records for future without being disturbed. and i did all these within half hour...

(heh heh... speed reading plus speed deleting of mails)

:-)

毛山王 / 猫山王

just had the most sumptuous butter durian (猫山王 or some also posted it as 毛山王) earlier! 2 durians shared by 3 persons. and bought another 4 for my 2nd sis' family! sweet with a hint of bitterness. smooth and creamy. and not to forget - the very thick flesh and very small seeds! yum yumzzzzz...

last full pay

thought about it and realized that this is the last month i'm getting my full 1-month pay. next month, it'll be pro-rated. following that, i'll be unemployed. and for a long long long long time to come, i'll not be able to smell a sum anywhere near what i am getting now... then again, a large part of what i am getting now goes to loans. and that means, i'll be living on my savings from next month onwards... hmmmm...

how sad can that be!

:-(

thinking of...

durians! think i'll go for a durian dinner tonight!

:-)

first death

i think it is rather sick... this whole h1n1 thingee... it's one thing to encourage good hygiene and cleanliness and healthy living and la la la... but it's another thing altogether with the daily reporting where it played out like as though everyone is looking forward to a new milestone being reached. and these milestone are defined by events such as (1) the first h1n1 to reach here, or (2) the first local transmission, or (3) first critically ill to be sent to icu, or (4) the first local death... even the health minister has come out telling everyone that sooner or later someone will die... come on, it's all about statistics, when there is enough numbers, some one will die! but they way things are being played out and reported, i think it's a little overkill and the whole fiasco is turning out to be a little perverted...

just hope they'll focus back to the crux of it - keep healthy, maintain hygienic practises and act responsibly when one is down with sickness (and i am not talking about just flu).

flat screen tv

finally rewarded myself with a flat screen 40" lcd tv. damage - 1.6k. but well, thought it was a good buy. will be sending my current tv to my bro's place for my mum to watch. his current tv is going bonkers.

:-)

obsessed

just watched obsessed (see synopsis) with damien earlier on. well, it was a rather nice no-brainer show. the kind that is best watched when one wants to not think too deep and just blank off. the show has a rather expected plot and its fair share of intense moments too. it was the typical "girl obsessed with married man, girl stalks man, man resists but wife finds out nonetheless, man and wife quarrel, man and wife separate temporarily, man and wife reconcile, girl continues stalking, girl goes to man's house when wife goes out, wife comes home, cat fight, struggle, bang, pow, wham, more cat fight, girl falls, girl dies... the end and they live happily ever after" well, i do admit i kinda like the cat fight scenes. almost had me going `you go girl!'.

heh heh...

:-)

ps: well, if you ask me, there was perhaps one little thing that this film was different from what one would have expected - that it was a white girl that was obsessed with and tried to break up an african-american family and not the other way round. this, perhaps, is something that would have never happened, even on film, say 5 years ago.

back support

just returned home from watching the harry porter movie with schneider and bee. as usual excellent effects, although it was a wee bit too little. still, i enjoyed it. (although i must admit the harry porter magic seemed a little stale by now)...

anyway, today (or rather, yesterday) was the first time i ventured out of my home big time after suffering my horrendous back sprain. and as expected, my back started to ache terribly by evening time. managed to purchase a back support and hey presto! it worked wonders! i was able to hold myself upright. and i could cough confidently without fear of spraining my back! should have invested in one long time back! well, better late than never!

:-)

urologist

just returned from my visit to the urologist for a problem i experienced some 2 month back.

walked into the clinic, took my queue number and waited. there was like loads of people queuing to see the doctor. and while waiting, some questions raced thru my mind - will i be made to strip? will he insert anything into me? if yes, where? will it be painful? la la la... rather scary, yet rather shy. anyway, in no time, my turn came.

gingerly, i walked in, and the doctor went through a few questions about my medical history. and then he told me to lie face up at the examination bed. i did so. and he told me to loosen my pants... i did so. pulled it down just a little. and he explained that he was doing an ultra sound scan of my kidneys. the gel he used felt really cold. hmmm, or was i just nervous? anyway, he asked me to pull my pants down a bit more. i did so, just enough for him to scan the areas above my privates - my bladder area.

and then came the final part, he asked me to pull it further down. and he put it nicely, "down to my thigh-level." hmmm... felt a little shy. and he said he would be doing some probes to check if there are any abnormal growth. he told me to turn to my side away from him and next thing i knew, he shouted out to the nurse - "nurse, can you bring me some ky gel? i need lots of it."

i was like !!! !!! !!!

anyway, he put on his rubber gloves, and then told me it would be a little uncomfortable. and the next thing i knew, he inserted his finger into my rear. and within a couple of seconds, he pulled it out and told me to clean myself up. and of cos, he offered me a whole box of tissue! he walked to his desk and waited for me after that. after cleaning myself off the gel, he explained to me that he didn't think there was anything significantly wrong with me. nonetheless, he would want to put me thru a uro ct scan and a full urinary tract check on a later date. for the check, it would involve inserting a probe into my pee hole to check my urinary tract and if need be, extract tissues for further tests. that, according to him, might be a little uncomfortable... well, that would be done in 2-3 weeks time.

the whole procedure ended faster than i expected. i paid up, took my medication and left. what an experience! what i went through today could be summed up in short, and no less crudely, as "i paid a doctor to finger f*** me today!"

hmmm, it sounds so so so wrong isn't it!?! lol!

ps: oh, forgot to mention, the doctor was quite cute too! haha! i am such a slut!

bling uncle

was at the hawker center this morning when i saw this 70 plus years old uncle seated cross-legged (the female way and not the macho cross leg type) and having his breakfast. it was difficult not to see him for he was rather effeminate in his mannerism, wore lots of accessories, donned a low v-neck cut purple tee shirt (imagine topman), a very very flora surf shorts and haviannas flip flops. and to further add to the contrast, he had a balding head and wore a thick pair of glasses (the type tat look like having 2 round moons on your face). i could imagine him being the grandfather of many if i were to only focus at the neck upwards.

but what struck me most was the fact that he was totally at ease with himself. he didn't seemed to care less what everyone was doing or whether anyone was looking at him. he was just there, enjoying his coffee and savouring every moment of his breakfast.

and this, to me is the very pinnacle of what i have always wanted - be happy.

you go girl (errrr, uncle... or auntie)... watever!

:-)

fishing for bird

i find this damned freaking funny. listening to the conversation (mix of teochew and malay) makes me laugh out loud! hahaha!

:-)

fighting?

as part of my daily routine, i would call my mum and speak to her. and as part of our conversation, i had told her about my backache and how i had been bedridden for the last couple of days. most of the time she would show her concern and asked if i am ok and whether there are any one to take care of me.

but earlier on, when i spoke with her, her response confused me. rather than asking if i was ok, she asked whether after `this experience', i still dare to fight with people. for a short while i did not understand what she was talking about and asked her to repeat. and she said the same - would you dare to pick up a fight again? it then dawned upon me that she had thought my backache was due to some fights.

hmmm, i guessed her dementia has gotten a little worst. it's scary how this disease is slowly but surely affecting her ability to think and to recall things correctly. i believed she must have confused me with my late dad for (if my memory served me well) he was involved in fights long time back and my mum would clean his wounds for him. and this reminded me of one more thing - the domestic helper told me that my mum recently went to my brother's room to wake him up thinking that he was my dad!

sighs.

thomas

thomas is so sweet... you know, after learning of my backache, he dropped by today with lunch for me. so sweet of him right?

:-)

'cuse me

since young, my mum taught me to quietly call out:"siam siam" (hokkien for `excuse me, excuse me') before i pee in the bushes. this was to forewarn any wondering spirits that might be lurking in the bushes to move away so that they don't end up getting pissed on (cos if i did, i would end up being cursed by them or something along this line). this, apparently, was a common practice cos i see it often practiced even by my peers in the field. and this has become kinda standard for most of us and it comes instinctively whenever we need to ease ourselves.

during my recent holiday trip to australia, there was a couple of times where we had to drive long distances and between stops, there was absolutely no toilets. and so, when nature calls, i had to pee in the bushes... and very instinctively, i would call out "siam siam!"... and at one particular instant, i wondered - how could the lurking spirits - likely to be ang mo (`red hair' aka caucasian) by race, if any - understand hokkien words... with this realization, i adapted my calls to "excuse me excuse me!"

ha ha...

:-)

couple

reading a comment by gavin prompted me to post this picture. it was taken at the cascade in pemberton. we were walking out to our car when we thought - hmmm, why not take a picture of our shadow. and so we did a kissing pose and had this taken.

:-)

following comments that focused so much on that one little appendage protruding out (which in reality was the cover of my sling bag), i have done some touching up and posted the picture below... ha ha...

sitting-up

today, i managed to finally sit up and walk a few steps at a time. and it felt good. had been sleeping since two night ago... well, of cos the sleep was intermittently interrupted by meals and medication. the pain is now much much manageable other than the very `sng' (or achy) feeling at my lower back after walking a few steps. heh heh, i think i looked like a old old man walking in the park... step by step, hands holding onto whatever support i can grab as i walk... and of cos, bee bee has been very sweet these couple of days nursing me, making breakfast for me, buying meals for me, getting me my medications etc.

:-)

ps: one of the side effects of the strong painkiller i am taking is gastric pain and it can be really excruciating at times! think i'll start to wean myself off the painkiller tonight!

sleepy head

at about 7.45pm last night, i could not take the pain and decided to go to this hospital. the doctor said i had a super bad sprain, gave me a jab and whole lot of painkillers, and sent me home. i slept at 9.30pm after coming home from the hospital for my backache. and i woke up at 2pm today... been a long time since i slept so long. heh heh... due to my backache, i cannot stand up straight and had to lie down on one side. and the next thing i know, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

:-)

(i continued sleeping after that and woke up at 7.30pm! new record for me in my life! heh heh..)

crossroads

i am now at the end of my first profession. i will be moving on towards a new direction in life. it's rather stressful come to think of it. yet outwardly, i seemed to be rather non-chalant about it. perhaps it is cos i am expecting a sum of money after i leave service that allows me to sustain for a year or so and for now, i can take my time. perhaps i am just procrastinating and making excuses as to why i should not be looking for a job just yet (market out there is bad la la la)... or perhaps i am just too fed-up with everything at this point in time. or perhaps, it is a combination of all these factors...

hmmm, i must say that as i reach this crossroad once again, i cannot help but feel a little angry with the organisation and the system. somehow, my pass just come back to me again, and again. i know it is not productive, but i guess it is a natural emotion that i am feeling - one of being discriminated against and about being unfairly treated becos of my sexuality.

bee asked me last evening, what is my aim and i looked at him and could not answer his question. financial commitments, housing loans, car loans, daily expenses, health issues, etc. things like these will continue to be factors i have to consider. then again, i don't think i am in any dire state of affairs that would force me to go hungry. not at least for the next year plus.

i think i am just avoiding my realities for now. i will have to face it sometime. it is just that this is still not the time... hmmm, i am procrastinating again! i really need to motivate myself to start finding my direction.

hmmmph!

counting down

tomorrow, i shall return to work for a day. well, actually, more to clear off my emails. and then, i will be on leave again until i leave service end of the month.

:-)

backache

aiyoh... it's been a week, yet my backache has not recover... got it after long distance driving in australia. and it's been hurting since. and today, i sprained it again. hmmm, think i should pay the chinese sinseh a visit!

hmmmph!

neck exercise

got this from my sis. damned lame, but it works alright! just make sure your keep your body straight when you read...

:-)

bicentennial tree

the bicentennial tree is one of the few trees where watchers would climb up to look out for forest fires in southern australia. the azimuth of the fire sighted from the tree would be used to triangulate with the readings of that sighted at other trees (such as gloucester tree, diamond tree) so that the exact location of the forest fire could be pinpointed and where fire fighters could be despatched.

wave rock

it was superbly windy @ the wave rock. and of cos, not to mention - very cold too! but we loved every minute of it! it starting drizzling when we climbed to the top of the wave rock. but it was all worth it, the view of the whole surrounding area was really awesome!

:-)

scones @ porongurup

drove around the area and chanced upon this quaint little cafe by the road at porongurup.

decided to drop in for some sweet stuff. and it there that we tasted the most tasty scone in our lives. for that matter, bee said the scones was the highlight of all the meals he had in western australia! and yes, the homemade apricot jam was simply heavenly!

albany wind farm

these were taken at the albany wind farm. our second trip there. we never get tired of the blueness of the sky. so beautiful! and the air up there was so cooling! simply wonderful!

mt clarence

this was the sculpture at the top of mount clarence. installed in remembrance of servicemen from albany who participated in world war 1. against the blue sky, it looked extra grand! at night, it was litted green and certainly looked very eerie...

:-)