Frequently Unasked Queries

Okay so I got tagged by a few people  among which include Mel and Marlene and it slipped my mind so here goes.

On things people rarely know about me; I’m quite skeptical about this because I broadcast everything about me to everyone I meet be it directly or indirectly but we’ll see how many I can rake up and you can tell me how many actually surprised you 

1. I am a diehard admirer of Friends, the series. I have watched every episode, some of them more than ten times and I converted my mother from a self-proclaimed hater of the series to someone who eventually ended up buying the DVDs for every season! The entire para familia is in on the act    I can watch any episode over and over again and I have yet to get sick of them. Bring. it. on.  “I’m more than just a pretty blonde with an ass that won’t quit,” Phoebe Buffay.

2. I sometimes get stagefright when I think about my future career because I wonder if I’ll be able to handle it at all. Most of the time I just want to give it all up and go sit on a beach and wear a sarong and write a book and teach schoolkids the alphabet for the rest of my life. And then, reality hits. And I’m back in the lab.

3. When I was young I wouldn’t give up my pacifier and my parents had to hide it and when I asked them about it they had to lie that a burglar man came in and stole it. It never occured to me why he only aimed for my pacifier but chalked it up to a personal injustice 

4. When I was in primary school, I hated switching classes when my teacher was absent because as my luck would have it, I would always be separated from my friends and sent to the naughty classes for the day.

5. I am a good secret keeper.

6. I talk to myself occasionally.

7. I lied about only talking to myself occasionally, I do it a lot.

8. I’m addicted to One Tree Hill and only one of my friends know about it because I am mortified by it – I think it’s the cheesiest thing ever and once even lied about it to protect my reputation!

9. I have the HUGEST crush on my genetics lecturer who looks  e.x.a.c.t.l.y. like a younger George Clooney. Okay this is not a very well kept secret, all my coursemates know this   ;)   Because half of them do too.  

10. I have a short temper but when someone annoys me three times in a row they almost invariably get yelled at/sweared at and/or cold shouldered. Turns out it takes three straws to break the camel’s back in my book.

11. I am more a Missy Higgins person than a Beyonce.

12. I can finish an entire bar of chocolate when I’m studying.  *blush*

13. I memorised the words to Shakira’s La Pared although I don’t know what the song means. I just like the way it sounds in my mouth. Spanish rawks.

14. I have tender emotional spots that when rubbed the wrong way depress me.

15. I hate being a doormat but I have been treated like one by more than one person for much too long – this is a work in progress.

16. I am an “ass” person. If you got it; work it.    :)

17. I think Buttons (esp. Nicole Sherzinger) is the hottest video I have ever seen featuring women.

18. I don’t get politics but will die before I admit that in a public area for fear of sounding bimbette-ish.

19. I often let things accumulate and then cry at the merest hint of things as an excuse to mask my grief. I once cried when my heater stopped working because all I wanted was a hot shower before bed. Crying is my favourite outlet of expression – I do it often and with vigour. Quite like blogging. 

20. I slapped my friend when I was ten because she dared me to. From what I can remember, she was pissing me off and her daring me to do it was just icing on the cake. I was very concerned for her after of course!  My brother dared me to punch him two years ago on the jaw and he was egging me on until I did it — closed fist. I don’t do well with dares and I’m so blur I may think you actually mean it.

That’s 20 and some of them are so random and the rest you guys probably already know but there you go anyway  

Tre

Listening to: Dia Especial (Special Day)- Shakira

This is a follow on from this 

Three people sitting in a dimly lit cafe ; two of them are holding on to their elegant tea cups of hot chocolate while the other is digging into his sticky date pudding. They stare absently and with slight annoyance, at a couple making out noisily in the corner under the shadow of the lampshade and comment in a foreign language so as to avoid being heard. Something roughly translated as “Get a room.”

They sit, comfortably sinked in their sofas and talk with laughter, with sadness, with poignancy, with regret, with guilt. They talk easily, as friends who’ve known each other for a long time, do. There is no inhibition, no hint of avoidance – it was easy to just spill out their sorrows and know that there was no risk of judgement or “I told you so’s”.

Three people from three parts of the same country -  sitting in the same room on the same sofa nursing their sorrows and their cups of hot cocoa.  Good people who are only trying to figure out how to accomplish what is right and what is right for them at the same time. Three people who only want what their hearts desire without having to jump through hoops and over hurdles. 

The marshmallows dissolved in their cocoa long before they decided to leave. It was an easy night, as one said. The easiest in a long time.

Passer By

Yesterday when I woke up I sat in my pajamas and ate a slice of banana mudcake for breakfast and began a blog draft rehashing my Saturday night when I went to watch Chelsea vs ManU with some of my mates at a nearby bar. I was going to write about all the things I have learned about football (and men!) over the years due to a football mad father and brother. I did however include one line that choked me up when I was rereading the draft tonight; I wrote, so far life is really okay.

Six hours later, my mother called to tell me that an aunt who had been battling cancer for about a year had passed away. One minute you think your biggest problem is finding out who stole your Magnums and the next minute life has completely changed.

Once upon a time cancer was a thing virtually unknown, people used to whisper the C word like a taboo subject and suddenly it’s everywhere that it’s impossible to tiptoe around it any longer. Which some may argue is what exarcebates the problem with some epidemics - with knowledge comes power and people who aren’t afraid to talk about it and disseminate information  freely will gain the tools to deal with it. But that’s the problem. With cancer, there is no one cause; in fact a direct link to cancer is yet unknown – there are just many correlations but nothing causative – nothing confirmable anyway.

Cancer, isn’t something you catch (although cervical cancer has been linked to human papillomavirus and there are vaccines developed against that form of cancer)  and that’s the scariest part. It doesn’t seem to discriminate between age or gender or sexual preference. Though there are factors that seem to “help” it along, these are certainly not causative and that is what is so frightful – it’s what makes people helpless and when hope seems to be out of the equation, it doesn’t seem to be worth it.

I have known so many people personally who have suffered from it, who are suffering from it and who have lost the battle. But I also know of people who have won that battle by the grace of God. Maybe I shouldn’t even use the words “win” or “lose” because this isn’t a race for your life; life isn’t a race. Racing makes reaching the finish line an ultimatum and losing makes it all seem worthless, that if you haven’t “made it” to your optimal age, everything else that your life has been about so far is for naught.

That I know is far from being true because life is not just about making it to the end, it’s about the journey itself. The lessons you learn, the friends you meet, the family you raise, the people you touch. My aunt suffered excruciating pain to the end, the only happiness her passing has brought me is that she is now free.  But I cried for my cousins; and for not being able to be there with my family as we mourned. For not being there with my dad.

Mostly I was at a loss at what to say to my cousins from 5,000 miles away. I was speechless and I normally am at these things. I was choked up and all I could do was mumble at her helplessly. And then, she, she took over and said the words for me - like I was the one who needed comforting instead of the other way around. And when she was assuring me, I thought of her mother and the way she used to assure her family. She was her mother’s daughter. Just like her brother was her mother’s son.

They had learned from their mother all she could teach them and her passing could never change that. Her good life was the testament of the woman she was and she left a legacy of that in her children. Her death is not an ending but a continuation of what her children will carry on.

Life isn’t about the finish line. It’s the journey. It’s the people you meet, the people you touch, the lessons you learn and go on to teach others – she was a woman of strength just like her mother, my grandmother was.

And cancer or no cancer, that will never change. This entry goes out to my uncle and especially my cousins, Yvette and Terence whom I love with all my heart;  to my dad and uncles and aunts who are all hurting for the loss of their sister. No, I won’t say loss, for what they have “lost”, heaven has regained. And it isn’t a loss when God is just taking back what is His; I will use the word passing. Because that is what life is, we pass through and move on back to God where we belong. Free from pain and sin. And death.

I suppose, we all need to experience every aspect of life – the mudcake-pajama moments and the surreal blows of death and pain. After all, that is, I suppose what life is. Puts things in perspective for me everytime and teaches me to love myself a little more, love the people around me a little more and care a little less about everything superficial.

Someone great once said, life is but a stage and we are but actors who play out our role according to some great Director’s script. When it’s time for us to say adieu, we do, and exit stage left. Into the real world, back where we belong. So I suppose we are but passersby, only thing is, we get a chance to make a difference with our lives before we make our exits.

Her life wasn’t in vain because she lived her life with every ounce of her strength and fought for it to the end and she made a difference. And if life is a race, then she has won it. As St Paul would say it, she has won the good race.

God rest her soul and grant her peace.

Enjoy your mudcakes ; life’s too short.

Paris in Prison Ep2

Listening to: Ain’t No Way – Aretha Franklin

Currently Reading: Butterfly Sting – Eva Rice

First  – the celebratory Friday yay: ~yaaaaaaaay~

Secondly – the celebratory Friday evening rain: ~yaaaaaaay~

Thirdly: A cheer has to be given to hot showers and comfortable pyjama bottoms: ~cheeeers~

Okay, now that the cheers and hurrahs and yays are out of the way, let’s get down to business. I’ve been highly interested in this whole Paris in Prison business and I’ve been following the unfolding events really closely. By close I mean that every time I hear a news report regarding her potential jail stint I drop whatever I’m holding and rush to turn up the volume.

I have been certain that somehow or other this bimbette would have done everything in her power (and with her money) to wriggle out of 40 or so days in GenPop in a woman’s prison. Despite the fact that her misdemeanour was an alcohol-related traffic offense, I knew without uncertainty that she would pull the Fame card and like a cat with nine lives, get off somehow. Should have been born a gambling woman; for this is the latest. 

Our “famous for being famous” heiress has just had her sentence reduced to 23 days from the original 45. Apparently she gained this by merit of good behaviour because she showed up for her court date. She will not be part of general population of inmates and instead will spend her time in a “special needs housing unit” for women. For someone who thinks “Jails Hot”(refer tee) this may have been a slight disappointment. She will generally be treated as a high profile inmate but like all the other inmates will get at lease an hour a day to shower and make her phone calls and catch The Simple Life.

I knew it.

For more news on that go here. (pic was courtesy of Point-Spreads.com)

In other news, a crime of the highest degree occured today. A violation of trust. And it just got worse.

1.  Somebody stole my ice-cream.

2.  And it wasn’t just any ordinary ice-cream ; it was Magnum Friggin  Almond.

3. And not just one ; two. TWO 

4. All they left was the empty box. Just writing about it makes me so angry.

Everyone in the hostel stores their ice cream and meat and stuff in this huge freezer in the main kitchen and everybody pretty much respects everyone’s stuff. Except obviously for ice cream because I know for a fact that I do not sleepwalk and head for my Magnum in the dead of the night.

Somebody else got their ice cream stolen last year and wrote a huge rant on the white board but everyone thought it was no big deal because as with all cases, it didn’t matter as long as it wasn’t you and most importantly,because it could never happen to you.

Until of course, when it does.

So to the person who stole my Magnum, I hope it had gone bad because I can think of nothing worse than the fact that not only did you steal my ice cream, my MAGNUM, and two at that, but that you enjoyed it and laughed at your petty crime. One day, you will get caught. And let me say, if you had to steal ice cream, that’s pretty friggin pathetic dude.

It wasn’t so much the ice cream as it was a violation of trust. I sealed the box of 4 and wrote my name on it. Short of making a poster and rigging an alarm to it, that suggests ownership pretty clearly. And unless there’s another Felicia in this place, (which I know there isn’t) it takes a pretty ballsy person to open someone else’s box and steal from them. Ice cream or not.

Rar.

So what with Paris’ Truncated Prison Term and a Magnum Thief Turned Loose.. What’s the world coming to?

 

 

 

Colour

And she clicked ‘Select text colour’ and there was

Colour.

And it was good, very good.

Exciting stuff. I can now colour my emotions bahahaha. And do a whole host of other exciting things! Wp is coming along!

Thanks Mel. 

Got Goals?

Listening to: 20 Good Reasons – Thirsty Merc

Was tagged by Gan to list my top ten goals and to dare to be as wild as possible as part of the Gotta Get Goals Project. Go here for the official rules and aims of this tag.

Be warned; as I don’t have even one wild bone in my body (yes get your eyes checked if you think you saw one); this is going to be as Practical Mary as Practical Mary gets.

So here goes;

1. Spirituality – To never lose my faith in God. Even when it seems as though there is nothing and nobody left to live for.

2. Academia – To have a PhD hopefully related to cancer research. Plus, a ‘doctor’ attached to the front of my name has a really nice ring to it I also hope to be lecturing in an accredited university by this time and heavily involved in the social aspects of cancer awareness.

3. Financial Independence – To be financially stable enough to start a huge retirement fund for my parents so that they will never have to work again and to repay them for all those years of supporting me in my education. I also want to be able to contribute to charity especially those dedicated to funding medical research.

4. Kin – I hope to be both geographically and emotionally close to my parents and family and to maintain a crucial network of love, care and support. I want my brother and I to remain close through the ups and downs of life and to be a part of each other’s lives for as long as we are both alive, for blood is thicker than water and I will always be his big sister and one day, I will be able to break the Masterlock without biting or spitting.

5. Family – To be married by the time I’m 27/28 and to have have three kids by 35. I want to sniff maternally as I sing my babies to sleep and tear my hair out when they’re awake and watch them get older and have children of their own. I want us to be happy, healthy, wholesome and blessed – and the occasional fairy tale glamour couldn’t hurt

6. Church – To be involved in youth ministries in church, working with young people and bringing the peace and light of Christ to so many who need him in those years of tumultous confusion.

7. Personal Development – I hope never to be so carried away by the more superficial, less crucial things in life that I forget to breathe and live life as it comes – I never want to feel that I’m too mature to wish that I lived in Springfield or hesitate to point out that Superman wears his underwear on the outside. I want to live a life of love and peace and happiness and hopefully radiate that to others around me.

8. Health – To practice a more healthy lifestyle by regular exercise, continuing on with yoga and maybe starting pilates, to faithfully eat my 2 fruits and 5 veggies/day and to get to my goal weight and maintain it. With the occasional treat

9. Dabble – I want to be able to dabble in a little bit of literature, music, writing, linguistics, art appreciation, media, public speaking and psychology throughout my life in order to satisfy my thirst and curiosity for these various areas – whether I will be good at them or not!

10. Travel – I want to backpack through Europe with a few friends and do the whole Paris, Italy, Amsterdam and Venice gig. I want to take photos at every little building, get sworn at in foreign languages, gawk at strippers and have dinner in floating restaurants. Extrapolating from this, a vacation to somewhere new every year would be awesome.

That’s it – that took awhile actually although you may have skimmed through that while yawning through a cup of coffee and painting your nails. I almost wrote down “I want to own at least ten pairs of Manolos” when I realised that wasn’t really a goal, that was just me being a brand whore.

I also stuck to the things that I knew would make me most happy to have done and to own. I figured at the end of the day being a roadie for Aerosmith would have been a really wicked experience but teaching my baby daughter to sing Cuppy Cake would definitely make me happier.

Plus I’m a softie. So shoot me; I’m happy

Let me spread the joy by doing this:

I tag Mimi, Bridget, SD, Kel, Caz & Priscilla. Again I’m sorry! but it’s fun and it makes you think and really – it’s not compulsory and not because I think you don’t have lives (re: Carolyn hehe)

Enjoy. Meanwhile my short term goal is to catch Desperate Housewives on time!

Adios.

Antennae

 Listening to: The Very Best Of Crowded House

Currently Reading: Pet Sematary – Stephen King

Unspoken languages are the most interesting to learn. Facial expressions and body language can tell you everything you need to know within seconds and most of the time it’s stuff people will never come out and tell you. Pregnant pauses and stony silence will never be as deafening as when it is filled with unspoken meaning. And like all good antennae, if you’re looking for it, you will find it.

Rundown

Listening to: Dialah Di Hati - Siti Nurhaliza

So this is just random but it’s a Monday so bare with me.

On how to pass the holidays: Kiki said, “Don’t worry about me lah, I’ll be fine – I’ll just grow fat and watch movies.” Hey man, sounds like a holiday to me – really, lay around in my pajamas with my nose stuck in a book while it rains outside stuffing my face with cheese nachos *cue Lene* sounds pretty superb to me.

A hostel mate whom I have known and spoken to for at least 3 months now, asked me today, “Do you have a trace of Indian in you?”

. . .

*cue momentary blank look*

All I could answer was, “Yes, I’m Indian.” I felt like I was telling him I’m a girl.

He’s Indian too by the way.

I have Sunday’s laundry, one month’s worth by the way, strewwwn across my room and I know I have to go do my ironing but the ironing room is at the other end of floor and it’s midnight and in the horror movies something bad always happens to the young girl ironing alone down the corridor. No? No such movie?

*cue mental film reel*

Doesn’t the scene normally start with a creak behind her -  She turns around stunned, heart beating in her throat. She ignores her instincts and tells herself she is a brave little uni student and goes on ironing her clothes staunchly.

Until the next creak and then all she can see is the darkness? And they find her the next morning…with her lab coat(s) lying next to her…no? You’ve never seen The Iron then? ;)

So yes conconcting that pretty much scared me away from ironing for awhile.

Nunu told me the RRP for the new Harry Potter book was $AUD49.90 and I told her, hmm – RRP – real real price? Such a cool abbreviation.

*cue bimbo moment*

Turns out it’s Recommended Retail Price. Well who recommended it to be so expensive is beyond me. They do know a lot of students earning minimum to zero income wages intend to buy it right? So I recommend they make the real real price lower.

And I recommend that everyone sleeps more and worries less..cause Felicia (the Indian) knows best. And because life is too short to worry about Japanese housemates that have an OCD complex nonsense.

Oh and Dayana was looking for names for a potential Friendster group for the Gombakites – pass along your bright ideas mateys – cuz if it’s up to me it will be called Gang Bang  or G-Spot or something equally raunchy.

Paris in Prison

This one deserved its own post*

From recent CNN reports, Paris Hilton has just been sentenced to 45 days in jail due to an alcohol related traffic violation. Apparently her license had been suspended for 30 days but she allegedly disregarded it and drove anyway. One of my concerns was that she would be allowed to pay her way into serving time in a “jail” of her choice but the judge’s decision excluded that choice.

She was then ordered to report to a woman’s jail by June 5 or face 90 days behind bars.

Paris, good luck. That’s all I can say.

For more information click on the above link.

*picture and post from cnn.com

Spider Hero

May 3, 2007 and Spiderman 3 premieres in Australia today. In keeping with this theme, it was pretty freaky that I got these results when messing about in Blogthings.com (I was addicted since forever and reading Lene readdicted me to it )

What Super Hero Are You?

You Are Spider-Man Quick and agile, you have killer instincts (literally). And that kind of makes up for the whole creepy spider thing.

I just thought it was a weird coincidence, it being the premiere and all.

Would have been cool to be Storm though   Plus, I don’t think the spider suit would have been very flattering on me  :) Then again, red is my colour…

But really, Tobey McGuire takes away the creepy from spider and puts in the yum, that upside-down kiss in the first movie was smoking hot! I think Kirsten Dunst and Tobey McGuire got awarded Best Kiss in the MTV Movie Awards that year because of that scene. Inside goss; apparently Dunst practiced that kiss with her boyfriend before the movie  ;)

I think… don’t take my word for it though

 :D

Please give me Spiderman 3 reviews if/when you guys go – I’ll find the time and energy to go once I’ve found a way to pull myself out of the rubble of work I am buried under.

To find out what superhero you are, go here.

Till then, erm, I’m trying to think of an appropriate line from the Spidey movies but I can’t think of any.

Except, “with great power comes great responsibility“.    

So erm, bye.