i feel like screaming f***


i hate hate hate hate hate hate hate... all of this.


but, i did get a flower delivery today. =)

overhaul and revamp

march 31, i made a list of things i needed to work on:

read the news, and literature
learn something, a language or a skill
pick up a sport, or some type of exercise
keep in touch with my friends
spend more time at home

since then, ive made some progress on some:

1. purchased a subscription for the economist. while i have yet to read an entire issue, some is better than none? although, i have come to realise that i don't like the style and voice that the economist adopts. i also started on memoirs of lee kuan yew, which i have since abandoned for 1984. will get back to mr lky shortly.

2. enquired about violin lessons, which are bloody expensive. considering learning spanish. after some thought, i've decided that i might like to work for the UN World Tourism Organisation eventually, and thought perhaps knowing some spanish might land me up in south america. but still thinking. the other option was continuing with salsa.

3. made it to the gym twice this week and once last week, and am slowly getting back my stamina and loving it! targeting for the standard chartered half marathon in december. yes, im still up for it. woooot!

4. im meeting up with cherie this saturday. i last saw her... in january. and i initiated it too. yay! brownie points for me! and planning on a trip to japan in june to visit the ex-roomie and bj. just keeping my fingers crossed that it will eventually work out.

5. been spending more time with the grandma and talking more nonsense to her. sometimes, i just sit next to her and read a book, but i guess just having someone accompany her is enough for her. she is feeling much better too and is even able to walk some.

i guess, all in all, i've been making good progress. just need to keep it up, and work harder on 2 and 4. would like to also get involved in some charity work and have registed with nvpc.

work's been slow but its gradually starting to come in, so i guess things have been improving on that front too.

cheers to a new and improved life! one more thing i need to work on, is getting my photos uploaded promptly. it is such a chore though, on this broken laptop and lousy internet connection!

part three: hamilton and two

we weren't sure of where we were going from memphis. so we hit the highway and when the sun had set, we stopped at the nearest town, hamilton, where we spent the night.

dinner at oh!bryan's. the chimney was smoking and lots of truckers were parked upfront when we drove past!


steak and onion rings, catfish and hushpuppies for dinner


the next day, we explored the town a little, and found piggly wiggly's!


heading out of hamilton, we weren't quite sure of which direction to go...


pulled up at a sketchy diner for lunch just on the edge of the town


where i had a greasy burger and tater tots. the waitress was astonished when she heard i didn't know what tater tots were. boo.


detoured to natural bridge..


this is what an indian face looks like (the plant! not the person)


puddle


under the natural bridge


since we had visited one bridge that day, we thought we'd might as well visit another one

the last covered bridge in cullman county


feeling like the king of the world



to be continued...

part two: walking in memphis

and finally.. more pics from the december road trip! (i know, very very slow la)

all excited to be hitting the road


we got lost, and look where we ended up at!


sunset in memphis on christmas day


elvis' abode in graceland


possibly the oldest department store around


a peek inside a.schwab


lost and found in the store


we found treasure!




sun studio, where elvis' path to fame and glory started


sweet! red velvet and chocolate cupcakes


the road out of memphis leads to southpark

nothing and somethings

extra idle today because i am a sickiee. fine dining at dolce vita on friday left my taste buds tingling but my stomach rumbling. it turned into occassional bouts of gastric pains on saturday and sunday. i had ruled out gastritis since i had not missed a single meal, or even crumb, past few weeks, and had considered perhaps heart burn, stomach flu, stomach ulcers.. worms?

the doctor dumbed it down to gastritis and excess wind this morning, and dashed all my hopes of a big hoo haa full body check-up, x-rays, and whatever scans that exist in the world of medicine today. gave me 4 types of pills to choke on and a day off from work. woohoo i was delirious! but i ended up writhing in bed (or maybe just rolling about in my sleep) most of the day as the pains got worse and evolved itself into diarrhoea as well.

ok, im a wuss. its just gastric, no need for a press conference. anyhows, the reason for narrating my uninteresting, unexciting lack-of-a-story, was to say, that i have alot of time on my hands today and hence i'm writing another post!

inspired by the bucket list, the idea of it but not the movie since i have not watched it (especially with the increase in movie ticket prices!), i am of the thought that i should do more with my life than work, and sleep. of course, chances are i won't get down to doing even half of them, but making the list and checking it twice is half the battle won?

and so, here it is...

read the news, and literature
learn something, a language or a skill
pick up a sport, or some type of exercise
keep in touch with my friends
spend more time at home

okay, not much of a list, but work and sleep do take up alot of my time already so i think its pretty ambitious, what i've come up with.

grandma suffered a fall sometime last year and injured her spine, which put additional pressure on her knees. that made walking difficult and painful for her, so she did minimal of it. as a result of her inactivity, her legs started to swell due to water retention, which made movement even more challenging. we've been having to move her around the house on a wheelchair, and she doesnt do much all day except watch tv, most of which she doesn't really understand anyway. it just seems like she's just waiting for time to pass, and for the time to come.

she's eighty-something, and it is a fact of life that everyone has to pass on someday. but im just realising that that day is going to come sooner than i can expect it, or that i want it. and its scary.

i think im at a point in my life where im realising how i live, the decisions i make now, will affect what my life will be like in future. and im not ready to be responsible for myself.

mathematics

the dust has settled. things are back to normal, although i'm not quite sure what normal means. life seems to come at me in waves and tides; and at its peak i seem to be struggling for breath but during the lull i yearn to be running the adrenalin race again. one can never be satisfied.

but you know where the median, the perfect fit, is when at any point in time, that is the one and only place you find rest and solace in.

certainly though, the median is not the norm.

day one: atlanta

look who's up to no good


breakfast at ihop - two eggs, two pancakes, two sausages, two strips of bacon, all gone


creatures in the georgia aquarium

an unsolvable puzzle

i dreamt that my colleague was pregnant for twenty years and gave birth to a twenty-year old "baby". my question was, does a twenty-year old baby act like a baby or act like a twent-year old?

going down south

its approximately one thousand five hundred miles from atlanta to memphis down to birmingham and then further south to fort rucker.

along the way, we saw giant fish in the georgia aquarium, picnicked by little rock falls, made detour to rome, missed the unclaimed baggage centre, witnessed a mesmerizing sunset, travelled back 150 years in the a.schwab department store, ran away from rednecks, discovered tater tots in a trucker diner, slept in a victorian room with a bed full of fluffy pillows, fought a war at the civil rights institute, got snubbed at by a peanut depot, ruined (or worsened) the reputation of chinks at a quaint little town, got snubbed at by a flea market, tasted the best barbeque burger out of a wagon, and had a fantabulastic time. all in a matter of ten days.

for new year's eve dinner, we had enough food to feed 6 boys (or men, whichever), 2 girls, and plenty of leftovers. and we ushered in 2008 with a blast, literally, with 2 hours worth of explosives.

for the next few days, i mother-ed and maid-ed 3 pilots. i made breakfast (and burnt bagels), made lunch (and burnt ketchup), made dinner (and burnt the bottom of the pot), made horfun and char siew wanton mee and fried rice and red rubies and meat-patty-lookalike mint cookies and a huge mess. i drowned gummy bears in blue jello and cleaned the toilet and folded the laundry. and watched 3 whole days of america's next top model modelthon. i shopped at the factory outlet and i shopped at target and i shopped at walmart.

going down south was indeed an adventure =)

[pictures another time, blogger is being uncooperative today]

the party i did not go to

'twas the night of heroes, villians and victims. my evil twin sister poisoned me and caused me to go into a coma for the night. she took over and went for our annual dinner & dance in my place.

evidence of the damage she did:


the girls - evil discipline mistress, injured damsel in distress saved by the fireman, sexy nurse, hot jailbird, naughty student, kinky police woman, and my evil twin sister as the bikerchick prison warden



the boys - hunkydory fireman, mad doctor, sneaky burglar



partners in crime


the mad doctor attending to the mad patient


check out the tattoo.. how bad ass!

clearly, it wasn't me at the d&d. but based on the photos, im sure it was great fun.