TV & Workblues

No interesting things happened today. I spent my whole day trying to figure out protocols and whatnots, which is quite a nerdy thing for someone to do on a beautiful weekend.

Its monday again tomorrow. Yucks.

The tv in my house broke down. The images appears 'smudged'..the colours are all wrong. But the sounds r still okie. I guess I'll make do with listening to the sounds for the time being.

My eyes feel funny. Tired and funny. I don't how to describe the funniness.

No pictures to show today.

I shudder at the thought of tomorrow and the week ahead.

Teach me how to love my work.

Whatever Happened

Argh. Always looks wrong after publishing.

Madness

What a crazy week it had been. My final conclusion is that I prefer studying to working life. I'm expected to learn 2 months worth of new stuffs in just 4 days, and without a single proper guidance.

Countless machines, Countless paperwork procedures, Countless patient-related stuffs, Countless trial stuffs, Countless techniques, Countless protocols, Countless these, Countless those.

I'm not this.

Not this either.

You know what, the Doctors forgot that my brain is NOT a 250 GB harddisk. And they also have the mistaken idea that I'm an octopus with 8 tentacles that can work simultaneously. And so a blurry and pathetic pea-brain goes scrambling around between SERI, SNEC, TTSH and NUH.

I'm deprived of the time to do the things that I like to do. Work continues even after I get home.

The Culprit

Let me note down what I need to update on my blog. When I have the time.

1. Bludder Elaine's MooMoo & Ginger

2. Bludder Puisan's Piglet & Pighead & new computer

3. Wedding Cake

4. Purple Potato

5. The Jap Puddings & Bubble Wrap & Pomelo

6. The Mei Cai & Jap Jellies

7. The Cup Jellies with White Marshmallow Bear inside

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL:

I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but it was only someone with a torch bringing me more work.

The issued handphone which is supposed to be on 24 hours each day.

Pending!

Lots to update but not enough time!

Will be back soon!

The Dead Devices

Both the electronic anti-mozzie devices broke down. Can't believe our luck.

BOTH.

It shortcircuited. The mains tripped. The safety switch worked. The whole house blackout-ed.

We reverted the mains back to original. Switched on the anti-mozzie device. Its dead.

History repeated itself for the 2nd one.

The receipt for the anti-mozzie devices.

Got it out after 5 minutes of searching in the trashbin. Still in quite good condition except for the fact that its abit soggy.

Got to go down to the store tomorrow to exchange the dead devices for working ones.

Meanwhile as I was typing this, a big cockroach flew by. I think its now hiding behind my speakers. Yuks. Got to go.

Chang'er

Chang'e (嫦娥; Cháng'é)
Chinese Goddess of the Moon

Chang Er was a beautiful young girl working in the Jade Emperor's palace in heaven, where immortals, good people and fairies lived. One day, she accidentally broke a precious porcelain jar. Angered, the Jade Emperor banished her to live on earth, where ordinary people lived. She could return to Heaven, if she contributed a valuable service on earth. Chang Er was transformed into a member of a poor farming family. When she was 18, a young hunter named Hou Yi from another village spotted her, now a beautiful young woman. They became friends.

One day, a strange phenomenon occurred -- 10 suns arose in the sky instead one one, blazing the earth. Hou Yi, an expert archer, stepped forward to try to save the earth. He successfully shot down nine of the suns, becoming an instant hero. He eventually became king and married Chang Er.

But Hou Yi grew to become a despot. He sought immortality by ordering an elixir be created to prolong his life. The elixir in the form of a single pill was almost ready when Chang Er came upon it. She either accidentally or purposely swallowed the pill. This angered King Hou Yi, who went after his wife. Trying to flee, she jumped out the window of a chamber at the top of palace -- and, instead of falling, she floated into the sky toward the moon.

King Hou Yi tried to shoot her down with arrows, but without success. Once on the moon, Once on the moon, Chang Er became a three-legged toad, as punishment from the Queen Mother, according to one version of the legend. Her companion, a rabbit, is constantly pounding the elixir of immortality in a large mortar.

The moon is also inhabited by a wood cutter who tries to cut down the cassia tree, giver of life. But as fast as he cuts into the tree, it heals itself, and he never makes any progress. The Chinese use this image of the cassia tree to explain mortal life on earth -- the limbs are constantly being cut away by death, but new buds continually appear. Meanwhile, King Hou Yi ascended to the sun and built a palace. So Chang Er and Hou Yi came to represent the yin and yang, the moon and the sun.

- From china.tyfo.com -

YueBing

MOOD

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节; Zhōngqiūjié)

MoonCake (YueBing)

A Chinese confection that is traditionally eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival.

Typical Shape: Round, but not always. Sometimes Square or rectangular.

Typical Dimensions: About 10 cm in diameter, and 4-5 cm thick.

Typical Characteristics: Very dense. The traditional pastry has a brown skin with lotus paste, and a whole egg yolk in the center to symbolize the moon. When the cake is cut into quarters, as is traditional custom, the yolk looks like a round moon, and it balances out the sweet filling with a salty taste.

According to chinese legend, Mooncakes helped bring about a revolution. The time was the Yuan dynasty (AD 1280-1368), established by the invading Mongolians from the north. The Mongolians subjugated the Han Chinese.

According to one Chinese folk tale, a Han Chinese rebel leader named Liu Fu Tong devised a scheme to arouse the Han Chinese to rise up against the ruling Mongols to end the oppressive Yuan dynasty. He sought permission from Mongolian leaders to give gifts to friends as a symbolic gesture to honor the longevity of the Mongolian emperor. These gifts were round mooncakes. Inside, Liu had his followers place pieces of paper with the date the Han Chinese were to strike out in rebellion - on the fifteenth night of the eighth month.

Thus Liu got word to his people, who when they cut open the mooncakes found the revolutionary message and set out to overthrow the Mongols, thus ending the Yuan dynasty.

===

Out of the tradition. Hello Kitty Chocolate Mooncakes!

No Pics Today

Mon Cheri always perks me up. Last night it did so too, till the extent that I got insomnia. After the 4 pieces of mon cheri last night, I lay in bed until 5am and realised I could still count sheeps. When it was 7am, I was only 1/4 asleep. And I woke up at 8+am today and found that I didn't feel one bit tired.

------

Felt hungry after rushing up and down the stairs looking for the car key. Just a little bit hungrier. But end up eating more than what I should have eaten. Sigh. This is always the case. I ate Half a Mac'Chicken, Half and Apple Pie and Half a bowl of noodles, and I drank Blueberry tea and Strawberry yoghurt.

Every night is a guilty night. Tomorrow must eat lesser.

My eyelids starting to feel heavy already. Trying to keep my teary eyes open.

Tonight definitely won't be an insomnic night.

Unwanted Doll

Susie sat on the shelf in the store, a layer of dust coating her body. She wanted to cry as she watched all the other toys go home. She had been in the store for a long time and everyone had forgotten about her.

Susie was once a beautiful rag doll, with bright yellow yarn for hair and big blue eyes. Her once pretty blue dress was in bad need of washing. She longed to go home with a special little girl and be loved and cherished but nobody ever looked at her when they came into the store. It was because she was missing an arm and nobody had ever bothered to sew it back on. Her arm sat beside her on the shelf day and night for a very long time, just sitting there waiting to be put back on her. But nobody ever did.

It was Christmas again, the most magical time of the year. All the toys in the store were flying off the shelves to go to loving children and warm, cozy homes. All, except Susie. She still sat there collecting dust, her arm lying beside her on the shelf. It reminded her all the time of how unloved she was.

She wanted to cry so badly. Nobody would ever take her home. She was doomed to sit on that shelf for the rest of her doll-life and be sad and lonely. She watched as the little pink elephant went down off the shelf. She watched as the little brown puppy dog went off the shelf. She watched as the big, fuzzy green frog went off the shelf. All the other dolls went off the shelf too.
She was left all alone again, one more time.

Christmas eve came and it was early in the day yet. Susie still sat on the shelf, feeling sadder than ever. She would never, ever be loved by a little girl. She would sit on that shelf forever and ever.The bell on the door tinkled and she watched as a pretty young woman came in with a little girl. The little girl was in a wheelchair and had a cast on her right leg. "Good morning," the pretty young woman said to the shop keeper. "Good morning," Mr. Brown replied as he looked at them over his spectacles. "What can I help you with?" "This is my little girl Nicole," she introduced. "She had an accident. She fell while she was ice skating and broke her leg. She knows that Santa is coming tonight to bring her presents but I promised her that she could pick out something special for herself. She wants a doll. Do you have any here?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not. All my dolls sold out for the holiday." "Mommy, look!" Susie's heart leapt into her chest when the little girl pointed to her. "Look at that doll. She looks so lonely there sitting by herself." "You don't want that doll," Mr. Brown told her. "She's dusty and old and her arm is missing. It needs to be sewn back on. To tell you the truth, I don't know why I still have her there. I should have put her in the garbage a long time ago." "No," the little girl cried. "She needs to be loved too!""May we see her," the pretty, young woman asked.
Mr. Brown scowled. "Suit yourself, miss." He went and took Susie down off the shelf and gave her to the little girl, missing arm and all.

The little girl hugged her close to her. "Mama, please may I have her? She's a pretty doll. She's just broken like I am now." "I suppose we could clean her up. And it wouldn't be a problem to sew that arm back on." She looked at the shop keeper. "How much, sir?" "Well," Mr. Brown scratched his chin thoughtfully, "I suppose you could have her for free, since she was going to end up in the garbage anyway." "But I must give you something for her," the mother insisted as she opened up her purse.

The shop keeper looked at the little girl, who was hugging Susie to her. She seemed so happy to have the dusty old doll and knew that the little girl would clean her up and have her looking pretty in no time. "The smile on your little girl's face is enough payment for me." He bent down to look at Nicole. "You will take care of her, won't you?" She grinned up at him. "Oh yes, I promise! I love her so much! She just needs a little bit of love and I will give it to her! Come on, sweetheart, let's go home now!"

And as the little girl cuddled her close to her, Susie never felt happier. It was the very merriest Christmas ever for the once unwanted doll!


-From http://www.bedtime.com Debbie Bailey (2002)-

Anti-Mozzies!

Today we bought 2 insect killers...those electric kind. Got this nice purple-ish tube of light inside that attracts all the creepycrawlies. They call it black light. The main purpose is actually to attract mozzies, recently mozzies are rampant and the incidence of dengue fever is quite high. My mom burns those mozzie coils at home and for double protection, we decided to buy electric insect killer.

That light of that particular frequency attracts the creepycrawlies and mozzies...den when they crawl or fly into the gaps towards the light...the electricity will kinda...how should I put it...buzzz them to death. Haa.

Then once in a while have to open up and clean the thingy, basically to remove the carcasses of the creepycrawlies.

The Lantern-ish Electronic Mozzie Device!

Actually it looks alot like a lantern. Can doubleup as a lantern for the upcoming mooncake festival. Haa..too bad it only runs on AC. If it can run on battery, then we can bring it out to the park for a walk on the night of the mooncake festival. We'll have the brightest purple-ish nice light, plus it can rid mozzies!

Bedtime Story

A bedtime story from the net, before I tuck myself into bed.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Morgan. Every afternoon a great big Bear would appear in Morgan's room. The Bear would growl, and snarl, and roar (the Bear had a terrible roar). And every afternoon, Morgan would give the Bear a great, big hug. Or as big a hug as a little girl can give, which are surprisingly big. One day Morgan thought she saw the Bear getting smaller. And the next day, and the next. A little bit smaller every day. Each day the Bear grew smaller, he roared a little less, he snarled a little less, and growled a little more softly. And smiled just a little more. And as the Bear grew smaller and smaller, Morgan grew just a little bigger each day. And smiled even more than she ever had before. Until the day she could hold the Bear in her arms.


Morgan and the Bear played every day. They had tea parties.They played dress up. They went on adventures. The Bear stopped growing smaller. But Morgan kept growing bigger and bigger. As Morgan grew bigger, Bear started losing parts of himself. A bit of fur here and a blot of ticking there. A small piece of his nose came off one time during and explore. But he didn't mind. He like giving up pieces of himself in his love for Morgan. Just as she had given him unconditional love when he would roar, and snarl and growl.


As time went by, Morgan and Bear played together less and less.
Bear missed her some, but he was getting old and tired and with all his missing pieces he just didn't feel like playing as much anymore. So he sat up on a quiet shelf and rested. And watched. Except, of course, for those times when Morgan wanted to play. For he was glad of the attention. More time passed. Morgan went to school. Made other friends. And played with Bear even less. Oh, she'd take him down from his shelf from time to time, dust him off, give him the hugs he adored, show him to a friend. And Morgan would return him to his shelf and his shelf like thoughts.


One day, Bear noticed that he hadn't seen Morgan in a long time. His eyes were going, and he couldn't see very well. His hearing was going, and he couldn't hear very well. To his great joy and surprise, Morgan came. She gave him a hug and placed him gently in a box. A box. Black and dark and dry. With tissue paper around him.


Little Morgan grew into a beautiful and big Morgan. Tall, dark, graceful, and slender as a reed. One day, when she was grown, she met a man and they fell madly in love. Eventually they got married and had a little girl. The little girl was named Hunter. Every day a great big bear would appear in Hunter's room. The Bear would growl, and snarl, and roar (the Bear had a terrible roar). And every afternoon, Hunter would give the Bear a great, big hug. And they lived happily ever after.

-From http://www.bedtime.com David Harper (1999)-

I love this story. It gives me a nice warm feeling. Its a good bedtime story.
It has just started raining. Going to tuck myself and my soft toys into bed now. Niteynite Bloggie.

4 Pieces of Mon Cheri

Couldn't sleep cos' I was too hungry. Searched the fridge for supper. And I ended up gobbling down 4 pieces of Mon Cheri Chocolate in my tumtum...and unfortunately loaded my bloodstream with much carbohydrates and fats. Chamz...

At first I thought I'll just make do with 1. But after the first one, I thought why not make it an even number? So I ate another 1.

Look at the hazelnut inside! And the smooth Chocolate...How can anyone resist just eating 2?!

And so in the end there were 4 Mon Cheri Chocolate wrappers in the trashbin.

Oh well. At least it was good.

Making Sandcastles

Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.

A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing
the sand with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket.
Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it.
And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is
created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father's hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide.

"It's my castle," he defies.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs...

I don't know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child's heart. When the sun sets and the tides take - applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

-From the inspirational peak. Author Unknown-

Custard Puffs and Tummyache

MOOD

Tummyache >_<

I got tumtum ache after eating the leftover custard puffs from last afternoon!

THE CULPRITS

Nice Custard Creammmm...Looks nice, Tastes nice but it gave me tumtum ache! >_<

...........

Medicine for my tumtum ache

Blast From the Past (II)

My cuzzie and me...We look alike.

The sun is still blazing hot, still couldn't keep my eyes opened. But this time without the hairband.

More cuzzies!

At my gran's place...Polka-Dotted Retro Mattress behind me.

Pop and Me...I was a sneezing one-month-old toddler!

Windy at the beach...Sunny Skies, Sandy Shores.

In a good mood.

Taken during a Chinese New Year. New dress!

Happy at the playground

Swosh! Just came down from the slide.

Me and Mommy...I'm salivating!

My mommy! Thanks for helping me dig out these old pics!

Blast From the Past! (I)

WEATHER
MOOD

KUMUSTA!
Pronunciation: kumustá (Tagalog Language)
English Translation: Regards

Me and Mom continued to dig for old photos today. And we found more. I contemplated with the idea of putting all of them here. But I decided that I shouldn't, cos' 1) I don't wanna be accused of being a photo-addict..2) don't wanna bore you all with excessive pictures..3) Don't wanna consume my Flickr upload capacity for the month too fast.

Here goes:

Nerd-ish, and with a high forehead. The older folks always say that high forehead symbolises high intelligence. So I think in my case, I lost intelligence over the years as I grow. Cos' I obviously do not have a high forehead now.

The speckies that I was wearing in the pic used to be my favourite. Purple plastic frame. Before this pair of speckie, I had a pink plastic one. The hairstyle is power. Actually I don't mind cutting this hairstyle again now but it definitely has to be longer.

Tough life posing for a nice photo under the blazing hot sun. Could hardly keep my eyes opened.

Look at all the baby fats!

A grumpy sulky day...Pulling the hair of one of my cuzzie and sticking my tongue at my camera-man-uncle!

Sweet and obedient little girl.

Taken at the Singapore Zoological Gardens. Look closely, and you will be able to see the legs of the giraffes behind me!

Having a bathie at my gran's place!

My Pop and Mom...While they were dating! Haa..Laguna Park.

My Pop and Mom's wedding pic! Classic siah...

And their product...who else but ME!

Back then...

And now!