Balancing the scales

The thing about supermarket carts is that you have to pop in a dollar coin to get them unlocked, and as we all know, the locks don't always work or if they do, the wheels are all wonky, and it's just a general pain in the arse. (Not complaining though; they're far more convenient than a basket!)

So the other day, I was at the store, with my dollar coin in hand, but I couldn't get the cart released. I saw a bloke returning his cart, so I asked if I could just get that one. I handed him my dollar coin in exchange for his cart. He examined the coin and walked away quickly. As he was walking away, I then realised that the coin that HE had put in was a fifty-cent one.

Yes, I was really annoyed by this. It's not that I got cheated out of fifty cents; that doesn't matter to me. Hell, it's not even enough to get a Thai milk tea ice cream cone from McDonald's (which are the bomb, have you guys tried that shit yet? SO. GOOD.)

It's the principle. Where's the integrity? Are you really that hard up for fifty goddamn cents? Is this your standard modus operandi? If you can keep swapping out your fifty-cent carts for a dollar...well, that's one way of turning a profit, I suppose!

But yeah, that left me not only feeling disgruntled, but also with a strange unsettled vibe around me.

Getting Haagen-Dazs tubs at 3 for $28.90 helped somewhat. Plus I found the last two coffee flavour ones, so that was some comfort.

Still felt grouchy though...

When I was returning my cart, the disgruntlement returned full force, because I would've gotten out the fifty-cent coin...but just then, a family passed me, and the father (or at least, I assume that's who he was) was about to get a cart. I looked at him, he looked at me, and I offered my cart to him. He offered me a dollar coin, but I waved that away, told him no worries, have a good evening, and walked away.

Now those of you who were keeping track of the maths would realise that I would've only been out fifty cents, but by giving that away, I was pretty much out a dollar.

(I was also planning to use that dollar coin to pick me up a Thai milk tea cone, but then couldn't...but I also had 3 pints of Haagen-Dazs, which is a trade I could live with.)

My point, after taking you on that long and verbose route, is that I countered the bad juju by putting out some good vibes into the Universe. Balance was restored, I felt settled again, AND I had coffee ice cream.

All was right in my world again, and that's what matters.

Oops I did it again!

I napped yesterday evening for about 3 hours...and then didn't sleep all night again. Today was an extremely long day! But at least it was a pretty busy day.

And omg! The World Series! (which only has one participating country, hmm...)
I was listening to the game live, and following along on twitter. What a game! History really was made today. What an amazing, exciting, heartstopping game! I'm not a Cubs fan at all... I root for their rivals! But I'm pretty happy for the Cubbies; it really was a great season for them.
And my ex-colleague (who I blognamed PoptartBoss) is a huge Cubs fan, he's 71, and had given up hope of seeing the Cubs clinch the title. I'm so glad for him!

I also shared the classic Abbott & Costello routine Who's On First with my colleague, Miss Trench. For some reason, I'd mentioned it to her yesterday, and since I was listening to the game, I thought of this routine again, so emailed her the link.
It's hilarious, and I laugh every single time I hear it.

Third base!

I went to Ikea today after work. Meant to get one thing for me, and one thing for Mum. Wandered around Ikea hell for a couple hours...walked out with loads of things. But that one thing I wanted to get for myself? I forgot. Yes, I'm quite the genius, obviously!

Speaking of genius, I think the smart thing to do would be to get some sleep tonight. But as I mentioned to Doof earlier, I am like a camel, only with sleep. I get lots of sleep on the weekend, and barely any during the week.

I'm pretty exhausted now, so I'm going to chill out, watch a couple episodes of...hmm. Supernatural? Suits? Hawaii Five-0? Criminal Minds? I think I'll go with H50 - that's the most mindless and ridiculous of the lot!

I'm finally all caught up on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Big Bang Theory. I'll eventually catch up on the rest of my tv addictions. And seeing as how I have a few Fridays off this year, i.e. I have a few long weekends coming up... I might just be able to do the Harry Potter marathon I've been wanting to do for ages! Plus, with Fantastic Beasts coming out, I find myself craving more HP goodness.

But yeah, as exhausted as I am, I can't turn in until I've gotten BabyGirl settled for the night. So in the meantime, I'm going to just veg out for a bit.

Yesterday evening, Kay asked me what "rambling" means. To which I gave a really long-winded explanation of both definitions, and finally wrapping up by asking her if she got it.

She got it.

Buckle up!

On my way to Shoes' place now. Decide to hop in a cab (what's new?) since I'm running late (again, nothing new there). Flagged down the first available taxi I saw, and to my chagrin, it was from a taxi company that I don't quite like. They're usually my last resort cab company.

The driver is an idiot. I'll not expound on that; I'm irked about that enough as it is. What's really gotten my goat, though, is I'm that there are no seat belt buckles. I always buckle up, and now I feel extremely uncomfortable, to say the least.

I'm tempted to report this driver to the authorities. But 1) who's in charge, the LTA or the traffic police? 2) will it actually accomplish anything? and 3) I'm not comfortable with putting someone's rice bowl at risk.

Then again, safety first right?

I find myself in quite a quandary.


- Posted from KiP

Location:In a cab

Red Bull Week; Final Day

It always amuses me to see someone else's desktop cluttered with icons. I simply don't understand how anyone can work with such a mess on their desktop. Makes me wonder if their physical desk is just as cluttered! How do they locate anything? Every one of my files are neatly labelled and slotted into their proper places. Just the way it should be. I like my desktops empty, save for the things I'm immediately working on. It's just so much better that way.

Speaking of the things that I'm working on, I can now transfer my presentations from my desktop to the proper folder. I'm done with presentations! If I may say so myself, I think I did a pretty good job. For the amount of effort I put into them...well, the output was a lot better than I'd expected!

Of course...that's just my opinion, which is quite biased.

I'm starting to get hungry....I think we're going for lunch in a bit. LUNCH!

---

After lunch now!

We all went to Han's, and now I'm stuffed. And oh so sleepy! Oh silly me, I didn't pick up a Red Bull on the way! No matter, I did have a coffee, I'm going to make myself a cup of tea now, and perhaps it's a good thing to not drink Red Bull - it would probably make my cough worse.

Urgh. Time to wake up and pay attention!

Random Crush

Watching Whose Line Is It Anyway? right now; I'm up to Season 4. I've rediscovered that I really fancy Jeff Davis. He's just lovely, isn't he?

Anyway. I skip over entire episodes if one of the actors is female. I just don't find them very funny. Honestly, I think they're actually quite annoying. Which reminds me of what my Bro-In-Law once said. that female comedians aren't as funny, because it's tough to be funny and hot at the same time. Sexist, but there's a grain of truth in that! (I might just blog one day about feminism and comedy. Thoughts, I has them.)

I gotta get my hands on the UK version. That one's brilliant. Sadly, it doesn't have Jeff in it. And on that note, I am off to bed. One-day weekends are just way too short.

The Cruellest Month

So begins the second quarter of the year. I didn't play any April Fools' pranks on anyone, nor did I have any played on me. And if any pranks had been played, I haven't figured it out yet.

The past three months have been...interesting, to say the least. I've reconnected with a couple of old friends, which is always great. Things have been happening in the lives of my friends, which have caused ripples in mine.


The good news first:
One of my girls gave birth to a wee lil' fella on the first of March. Another Rabbit boy in my life! He's simply gorgeous, I'm so happy for my girl, and I'm so looking forward to seeing the lil' fella grow up.

My sister's best friend gave birth at the beginning of the week, to a yet another gorgeous Rabbit boy! Entering the world at 3.925kg (that's 8.65 pounds, y'all!), he's a right whopper! What makes that amazing is that mother is TINY.

Plans for summer holiday are underway, and that's another thing that I'm really looking forward to. I can't wait to embrace my inner geek with the geeky side of touristing. I don't want to talk too much about it, because I'm afraid of jinxing it, but I'm really REALLY looking forward to the summer!

Alright, on to the bad.
One of my close friends was recently in a relationship wreck, and is now clawing her way out of the rubble. Knowing what's happened has made me so very angry and indignant; frankly I'm also quite disgusted. The strongest emotion though, is just of sorrow. I doubt she'll read this anytime soon, but when and if you do sweeties, you know I'll help in whatever way I can and know how to.

Her sorrows have dredged up a few memories about someone in my past; something similar happened to me, and I'm drawing on my own experiences to try to understand at least a fraction of what she's going through.

Two things I've realised as a result - one, that I'm no longer angry with TW. Somehow, when I wasn't looking, I just let go. I don't miss him any more, and now I'm genuinely happy for him and his current partner, and I truly want him to be happy. And two, that despite all the heartbreaks I see around me, I still have faith. I still believe in relationships, in the institution of marriage; I believe in love, that it conquers all.

I believe that everything will work out, and that one day, she too will have come out of her experiences scarred, but stronger and happier.

Enough with the angst! Let's move on to...the neutral news.
Nan's moved in with us for a while. That will take some getting used to, for all of us. I am, however, feeling the frustrations of the lack of space, and am seriously considering moving to my best mate's parents' flat, which is just down the road from mine. After all, best mate has moved out, and her old room is sitting empty! I've spoken to best mate, and she's cool with that. All I gotta do is ask her mother. I'm hoping she'll say yes.

It's not so much the personal space that I'm concerned about; I've learnt to sequester myself in the corners of my house, and surround myself with a bubble of peace (i.e. my earphones block out the family noise). It's mostly because I'll need a place to study and do my assignments, and right now, the Madhouse is just too mad for me to get any proper work done.

Which brings me to the next thing on my agenda: My baby bro's been enlisted for his National Service! He enters the army first week of May. It seems really weird to think of my baby bro (fine, he might be 21 - 22 in September - but he'll always be my baby bro, ok?!) in the army. So once he's gone, I'm going to commandeer his room, which has a great study area. He's a sweetheart though; he saw me doing my work in the family room, and he knows it's tough to study in the Madhouse, so he told me to use his desk any time I need to.

Studying/doing assignments is tough when you're working full-time though. Plus, I still work on Saturdays. The good thing is that my colleague and I worked out a deal, where instead of both of us coming in every Saturday for four hours, we'll come in on alternate Saturdays for eight. It's a drag, working a full day on Saturday, but it works out better for both of us. It saves on transport, plus we at least get an full weekend every fortnight. It also means that I'll actually be able to go out late on (alternate) Fridays! I might just start hitting the clubs again!

...

Wow, that was a long ramble from me! I think I'm just not fully awake yet, hence the rambling. Which reminds me...I still haven't had my coffee!

I'm going to rectify that now.

End-Quarter

We've come to the end of March! Already! Doesn't time just whoosh by when you're having a blast?

I have been most remiss in my blogging. So many times, I've wanted to blog, but never quite got around to it. So many things have happened, that I don't even know where to start. I think I'll have to break it down over the next few days.

I keep saying that, don't I? I do miss blogging though. I'm actually beginning to miss a lot of things. Blogging, writing, dragonboat paddling, running, clubbing.

All that shall soon be remedied. Not enough hours in the day, but I shall work my magic, and make time.

All in all, life has been quite frustrating indeed. I find myself tripping over potholes that seemingly appear out of nowhere. I make plans, life steps in to change them. Certain events over the past few weeks though, have served to remind me of how so very lucky I am. I look around, and realise that...despite all of the pitfalls, life is pretty damn amazing.

Oh, and I'm stating this for all to see: Doof was right.
Eating a chocolate muffin and dairy milk chocolate, and then following that up with orange juice? Not a good idea. I've also discovered that having a banana and a mocha for breakfast the morning after...also not a good idea.

But no, I probably haven't learnt my lesson.



ETA:
I probably shouldn't have eaten so many strawberries at lunch. But they were quite nommy indeed. I might have to consume nothing but water for the rest of the day.

Except that I'm going to get me a coffee from Sbux later. And it's Shoes' turn to buy.

Saturday Snippets

Waking up this morning was a drag, as it was raining, and bed was oh-so-cosy.

Went into town after work for blood test, and lunch, and haircut.

I look rather 'kawaii' now. It's so unlike me, and I quite like it.

Listening to dance music earlier got me in the mood for Zoukout. My bro's there now. But I didn't bother this year. Perhaps I'll Zoukout in Twenty-Eleven.

Nan came over today. She and Mum had a bit of a bakefest.

It's started to smell like Christmas around here.

Bakefest continues tomorrow, with Mum and myself.

I'm sleepy now. Going to prep baking stuff for tomorrow, then to bed I go.

Seriously kawaii. I look like my 13-year-old niece with my hair up and glasses on.

Also, bought my Christmas presents to myself: two bags. One Kate Spade, one Coach. I can't decide which I like better.

Two weeks to Christmas. I can do this.

This and That

I prepared three meals today. Sure, two of the three meals are exactly the same, but still. Since I prepared them separately, it totally counts as fixing three meals.

I'm really tired now. And oh my gosh, it's already the twenty-second. I have so much to do this week!

Speaking of things to be accomplished within the week, I'm really hoping that my parcels arrive. Come on Singpost, you've never let me down before, don't start now! My cousin's birthday present is in one of those parcels, and UPS took longer than I thought it would. I need it by Friday! Well, I did get her something else, that I thought she'd like, but I just thought that not-here-yet gift is so much more appropriate for her birthday.

It's odd how I had so many things running through my mind earlier, that I wanted to blog about. But now? I can't recall a single one.

I now have a two-year plan. I don't believe in making ten-year, or even five-year plans. Sure, when it comes to certain things, e.g. planning for retirement, insurance, investments, etc, there's no such thing as planning too early. But when it comes to other things, mostly about what I'm going to do for the rest of my life....well, ten years ago, my plan was completely different from what it is today. Five years ago, my plan was completely different. And things happened in the past two years to render my previous plan moot anyway.

So. Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans, right? So here I am, busy making plans. But I'm not going to map out my entire route. I'm just going to enjoy life, and see where it takes me. I've laid the groundwork already, so the next two years...let's just see, yeah?

Ugh, where did the time go? I got home just before half 5 today. And now it's half 11. 6 hours went past in a fingersnap!

Martin Freeman is adorable. He really is.

So now it's bedtime.

The One-Day Weekend

At least I got to sleep in today. And sleep in I did. The past few nights, Baby Girl wasn't sleeping well, which meant that I had pretty restless nights as well. Last night, I was just tired. So it was a huge shock when I woke up past 11. Pretty disgusting, actually. The whole morning, gone!

What really sucks is that since I had my first meal of the day at noon, my next meal was past 5 pm, and then I won't eat again until 10.30. Which is super late to eat, but...ah well. Actually, I think I might as well start preparing my food now. Then I can prepare lunch for tomorrow at once.

Groan. Back to work tomorrow after only one day of rest. And because I woke up so late, I didn't really get anything accomplished. It's already the 21st! Horror! I have so much work waiting for me...and I'm quite overwhelmed, to be honest. But it's just stuff that will eventually get done, even if I have to put in a few extra hours, so be it.

The clock that I usually look at has stopped. Thing is, I still keep looking at it anyway, and thinking that's it's the correct time. So the whole day, I've been getting mini-startles of "omg, is that the time already?" And yet, I still can't stop looking at it. It's pure reflex, I tell you. I can be wearing a watch, but I still look at the computer clock when I'm in the office. The clock in my living room has stopped, and I'm in front of the computer, but I'll still look at the table clock. And at Shoes' place, there IS no clock, but I still keep looking at the same spot on the wall to tell the time. Habits are hard to break!

Mum, Baby Girl and Bro are enjoying the mochi that I got from Taiwan. It's just so delish! But now I can't eat it for the next few months. Then again, I'm planning a trip to Taiwan again early next year, so now I know exactly what goodies I want to bring home! I can't wait for Tiger to start doing their flights to Taiwan. Cheap enough for me to fly there for a weekend, even!

Neko, we don't have to wait another 3 years to meet again. :)

I'm going to prepare my last meal of the day, as well as my meals for tomorrow.

And so ends Day 21.

Quasi-Weekend!

Alright then, you know how I'm supposed to write something for ten minutes every day this month? Halfway through....I have nothing left to write about. No, that's not true. I have lots to write about. A couple of those things might even be of interest. But I'm... just.... knackered.

Why am I so knackered? It's only Tuesday! Well, here's my theory: Tomorrow's a public holiday, which means that today feels like the end of a (very short) work week. Hence the tiredness! I've worked a full week!

Season finale of Weeds is up.
Latest episodes of Chuck and HIMYM are up.

I...am not so up. I'm more than ready for bed now, actually. I've been going to bed pretty early lately, at least early by my terms. For someone who used to have no problem going to bed at 2am....I've not been the same night bird of late. Then again, I've been waking up much earlier for work.

Oh, and it's brilliant being so early for work! It just leads to really leisurely mornings, which sets the tone for the rest of the day. And today was a fantastic day! The sun was out today, and it was just a gorgeous morning. And gorgeous mornings generally lead to gorgeous moods in the office! Of course, the mood was helped by
1) it being the eve of a holiday
2) the Yardside Project Manager giving everyone in the office a box of Ferrero Rocher.

I'm giving the chocolates a miss for now, so I brought the box home for the folks. Hey, if I can't enjoy the chocs, at least the family will!

Went grocery shopping after work. Ugh. If I ever decide to run a supermarket, the first law I'd lay down is that no secondary school students/JC students/undergrads are allowed. I know it's the school hols, but do they really have no other place to play? Also, people just get stupid in crowds. There were so many daft things going on around me today; if I were to write them all down, I'd be here all night. Then again, I think I'm guilty of at least two stupid acts.

Looking forward to a bit of a lie-in tomorrow morning. Did consider going into the office, then thought....WHY?!? So I get to lie-in, then Nan and A.Nan are coming over, so it'll be family time, which is always lovely.

Was planning to tutor tomorrow, but Shoes did say that Thursday/Friday was ok, so that works out for me too. Lazy midweek, hurrah!

And on that note, I'm going to bed.

Bed before midnight!

And so it continues.

I had a post all planned for today (actually, I had the next two posts all planned in my head), but right now...well, I'm just too knackered to really think about it. So for the next ten minutes or so, I'm just going to let my fingers run with it, and type whatever they want.

Work's been kinda...annoying this week. It has a lot to do with me going on leave for a few days. But there's no way I regret it, really. That almost-week with Neko was worth the hassle at work I'm having this week.

Yesterday was my student's birthday, and I went over to their place after work. It was kinda funny to get her all worried when I told her that I wanted to start our lesson. She looked kinda disappointed and, at the same time, hopeful that I'd change my mind. I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did...the kids are an absolute riot, and I love them all. Mostly because I get to enjoy the fun aspect, but I don't have to deal with the headache of motherhood. It's great being the fun aunt, it really is!

Also, had quite a bit of adult conversation....which consisted of mostly silly nonsense. And the only thing I remember about the entire conversation is "dancing nomadic tribes".

It was a welcome rest after the day I'd had, and best of all, there was food. There was cake! Two different kinds! One mango, and one chocolate, both from Swissbake...so they were, of course, quite delish. I had my cake, and I ate it too! I'd also had a quarter-pounder (I shall one day conquer the double quarter-pounder...just not yet), which is just such a great junk food.

And there was coffee. Not just any coffee, it was a coffee from Starbucks. Ah, but not just any coffee from Starbucks. It was a Toffee. Nut. Latte. It's a yearly ritual to indulge in a toffee nut latte; it's the best thing since pitted olives.

And all that food was generously provided by Shoes. Truly, that woman knows the way to my heart.

Oh hey, I've been typing for more than ten minutes now. True, some of that time was spent staring blankly at the screen, but it totally still counts.

Oh, one more thing. I've had difficulty all week with remembering not only the date, but also the day of the week. Tuesday felt like a Monday, I wasn't sure on Wednesday either, and all day today, I kept thinking it was a Wednesday, or a Friday. After having such a delightfully short work-week last week, with a fantastic getaway, this week is interminable and is just painful.

But we're over the worst of it. Tomorrow is Friday! Work all of Friday, will prolly work all of Saturday, but hopefully I'll make a dent in the mountain of paperwork that's piled up.

Oh, and I've started my Christmas shopping too. Hopefully this year, I won't be running around like a headless chicken on Christmas eve!

Hahhaa, Mum just had a bit of a "what day is it" moment. She changes the channel to TCS 5, and then goes "Eh?" After a split second, she goes "Today is Thursday, right?" The show she wanted to watch (Survivor) is on tomorrow, not today.

Now we're just watching Chopped. Hmm, I might have seen this one. Alright, actually I think I'm going to forgo the late night. My entire being is yearning for bed.

And so ends Day 11.

Wriso-ing

Yesterday marked the start of Nanowrimo. I've toyed with the idea for the past few years, but always knew I'd never actually get around to doing anything. So when I heard of Wrisomifu, I thought, HEY! That sounds like something I could actually DO!

Well guess what. Day one has come and gone, with nary a peep from me. I really AM a mifu!

I miss writing though. It was interesting, just sitting in a cafe (usually Starbucks), armed with my coffee, and my writing materials. That's right, folks. I used to write manually. The old-fashioned way. With a pen and my notebook. That was before I got my laptop. OMG. There was a time I didn't have my laptop.

So anyway. Here I am, writing away.

If I write for 20 minutes, does that count as two days, and thus make up for my lack of writing yesterday? In my rule book, it absolutely does.

Hmm. I write slower than I type, so perhaps I should just revert to using pen/paper. That way, I'll hit 10 minutes a lot faster!

Ok, I do have really important things to talk about (important to me, anyway!), but they're topics for another post(s).

I get the feeling I've used a lot of parentheses in this post alone.

These days, every time I hear or the words "I've got a feeling", or something similar, that damned Black Eyed Peas song starts playing in my head.
Sure, it's a fun song, but not when it's set on loop in your head! Head-songs stuck on loop make me loopy!

Seriously. How do people manage to write for 10 minutes at a go? I can't even make it past 5!!! Oh wait. It's taken me 7 so far to write up to this point.

Actually, I'm able to write for much, much longer than 10 minutes, if the mood strikes. Or when I'm not watching the clock.

Oooh, mozzie just flew by. I say 'flew', but it was more like a float-by. Just taking an evening stroll around my room. What's REALLY sad though, is that despite it going so slowly, I STILL missed it when I tried to swat it.

I'm really really tired. Do I have to do this shit? Oh alright, I know I don't really HAVE to...but eh. I signed up for it, I'm going to keep at it.

Hey! Whaddya know? I've managed to make it past 10 minutes! Ok, I'm going to end this mindless ramble in a few more sentences.

I'm going to shower, then perhaps eat, hang out with the family for a bit...and I'll come back to do post for Day 2.

Brand's Essence of Chicken

Things have been really hectic lately, so Dad's been reminding me to take a BRAND'S® Essence of Chicken every day. Not a problem to me; I love the stuff!

But, first things first...ever notice how "essence of chicken" is always preceded by "BRAND'S®"? I've never even tried the other brands of essence of chicken, and I think there are several out there. But we never ever say "_____ essence of chicken". It's always "BRAND'S® Essence of Chicken".

Essence of Chicken = BRAND'S®.

Yesterday, I tried another product - the Innershine® Berry Essence.
I do not doubt the benefits of drinking it. What I do know, though, is that it felt like I was drinking undiluted cordial. That's right. Sweet, syrupy, concentrated cordial. My dad loves it. I said he can have it; I'm having none of it.

Today, I forgot to take my bottle from my sister's bedside, so when I went down to Mum's ward, Dad grabbed one from Mum's bedside for me.
Thing is, it was the one with Cordyceps. Now, cordyceps is good for you. It boosts energy levels. World record-breaking athletes were taking cordyceps.

It does not taste right. Perhaps it's purely psychological, but I just didn't like it much.

Which brings me to a simple conclusion, one that is mathematically proven.

If Essence of Chicken = BRAND'S®, then BRAND'S® = Essence of Chicken.


Man, I love the stuff. Shame it's not exactly cheap. I love the stuff!

It reminds me of Bovril. I like Bovril too. :)