Zhong festival

Reluctantly dragged myself out of my room and into my uncle's house earlier tonight to celebrate the dumpling festival. Up till right before we left, I still had about 1 1/2 lecture notes (about 6 pages) to cover. At that time I was still mulling over whether to go or not to go...... doesn't feel right sometimes to go off somewhere and be jolly without first finishing the notes...... the jolliness just doesn't come no matter how hard you try [In the middle of meal (Telepathic notes: SSSSTTEEEVEN !!! How can you go off and leave me alone at home and go out to have zhong dinner ?? Who is going to read me here.... ?? Which is more important now, your renal exam or zhong ??)].... In the end I decided to do both and just took my notes along. Was also considering bringing along the new digi-cam I got last week and snap a few pics so I could post them up here in my blog...... decided against it later when I remembered that my grandparents between the both of them had about 14 grandchildren, at least 4 of them were below 10 and nearly all of whom are going to be attending the same function as I am. Thought for a brief moment about how dinner would be like if I did bring it...... would probably be terrified to death + not daring to detach myself from it lest somebody mistook it for a kid's toy and do unimaginable things to it. Wouldn't be very pleasant either clutching on to it throughout dinner...... might find it to be a rather difficult position in which to eat.....

Anyway such gatherings when they do take place are normally rather 'yit lao'(meriah). All in all there'd be one set grandparents so proud and happy to see all their offsprings and subsequent offsprings reunited again under one roof and having dinner all together (although we never really do it 'together', as we normally have to make do with 2 tables.... for obvious reasons.....), 4 sets of parents undergoing severe cranial ache from chasing after their kids and begging them to please behave, and the 14 blissful progenies terribly excited and pleased at seeing their cousins again after a lapse of an entire month (since mother's day last may) and behaving as though we were all at one time or another part of a herculean siamese hulk reunited again after forever.

The type of dinner that we usually have is the typical let's-all-come-together-and-celebrate-chinese-new-year type, with the chicken, soup, duck, pork, prawns, vege, we had fish yesterday, zhar choy (don't know what it's called in english..... its a vegetarian type of food with some mushrooms and meen seen fried together..... and I don't know what meen seen in english is either..... might be vermicelli.... although it does sound kind of french) and the dumplings all making their appearance. Coincidentally my cousins happened to have brewed some coffee especially for us, and that did make me feel like I would be terrible if I didn't take any..... Thinking it would be good if I could at least take a sip, I did...... albeit risking myself coming down with irreversible insomnia and staying up the entire night. The good thing about that of course, would be that it would give me the chance to catch back up on my drug notes, by now crumpled and stuffed into the back-pocket of my pants, completely forgotten by him-who-put-it-there.

Anyway when I reached home it was still rather early (10:00), and considering I normally stop flicking through my textbooks at around 12:15, I still had a good 2 hours left to dig up whatever I had left and hastily browse through them. Had the audacity to gulp down an entire can of energy drink (100 plus) half-an-hour before bedtime...... I'm starting to get the feeling now that I probably won't be falling asleep anytime soon......

Heaven

In that place between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the room. There were no distinguishing features except for the one wall covered with small index card files. They were like the ones in libraries that list titles by author or subject in alphabetical order.

But these files, which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly endless in either direction, had very different headings. As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my attention was one that read "Girls I have liked." I opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names written on each one.

And then without being told, I knew exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small files was a crude catalogue system for my life. Here were written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in a detail my memory couldn't match.

A sense of wonder and curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within me as I began randomly opening files and exploring their content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a sense of shame and regret so in tense that I would look over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

A file named "Friends" was next to one marked "Friends I have betrayed." The titles ranged from the mundane to the outright weird. "Books I Have Read," "Lies I Have Told," "Comfort I have given", "Jokes I Have Laughed at."

Some were almost hilarious in their exactness: "Things I've yelled at my brothers." Others I couldn't laugh at: "Things I Have Done in My Anger", "Things I Have Muttered Under My Breath at My Parents." I never ceased to be surprised by the contents. Often there were many more cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I hoped. I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had lived.

Could it be possible that I had the time in my years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was written in my own handwriting. Each signed with my signature.

When I pulled out the file marked "TV Shows I have watched, " I realized the files grew to contain their contents. The cards were packed tightly and yet after two or three yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it, shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by the vast time I knew that file represented.

When I came to a file marked "Lustful Thoughts," I felt a chill run through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not willing to test its size, and drew out a card. I shuddered at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see these cards!

No one must ever see this room! I have to destroy them!" In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became desperate and pulled out a card, only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out a long, self-pitying sigh.

And then I saw it... The title read, "People I Have Shared the Gospel With." The handle was brighter than those around it, newer, almost unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count the cards it contained on one hand. And then the tears came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of fileshelves swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No one must ever, ever know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key.

But then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him.
No, please not Him. Not here.

Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly as He began to open the files and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response. And in he moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go to the worst boxes. Why did He have to read every one?

Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room. He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and put His arm around me. He could have said so many things. But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me.

Then He got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one, began to sign His name over mine on each card.

"No!" I shouted rushing to Him.

All I could find to say was "No, no," as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich, so dark, and so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He smiled a sad smile and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, "It is finished."

I stood up, and He led me out of the room. There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to be written.....

Renal isn't taking up too much of my time after all

Reached IMU this morning at 9:00am, left at 11:00am and I’m back home now by 11:30. Had a good snooze during the first hour lecture (about something to do with drugs...... can’t recall much other than that....... can remember vaguely however, the lecturer’s voice starting to drown rapidly after about 10 minutes, but someone told me later it was because of a malfunction of his mike and not me......). Woke up after that and dragged myself down to the first floor and where we (PBL members + faci) had a rather lively discussion covering everything from Malaysian idol to Euro 2004 during the first 20 minutes and then rushing through the learning issues in the last ten.

For some reason I didn’t feel like going back up to the library and studying after that. Decided instead that I would drive straight home and take a quick nap before waking up in time for dinner at six. Was half-hoping then when I shut my eyes that the drugs lecturer would choose to reappear again while I hibernate and diligently provide me with a quick run down of what his lecture was all about this morning...... or even if he doesn’t at least there’s a chance my subconscious mind would be decent enough to provide me with a few flashbacks of what actually took place this morning in LT1. Had been wandering of late about whether or not the decision to place ‘2/3rds of our lectures in the first 2 weeks and open up the last two a little so that we would have time for revision’ would instead backfire. And not that I blame anyone, but with such huge amounts of time now on our hands and a record breaking number of students getting A for repro, IMU semester 4 students have no reason now to believe that they won’t be doing equally as well for renal now do they......................................... ? Well at least not without some hard work....

Good friday

Collected my repro results today, seriously doubting if it would be possible for me to justify what I got. Can still remember the many mistakes I made in that paper, the most major of blunder of which was committed in the matching section, where I cretinously combined ‘Cervical in-situ carcinoma’ on the left with ‘The treatment of choice is mastectomy’ on the right. Not very difficult for anyone to envisage myself turning into one of those particularly distinguished type of doctor who never seem to have to wait very long, if at all before encountering their next subsequent lawsuit. It brought me back to just the other day when I had smugly dismissed as mental the incident related by one of our batchmates where he had said that one of his mum’s friend who was supposed to be admitted to a hospital for hysterectomy, had her bladder removed instead by the surgeon.

Was supposed to be having a session of tennis this evening with a few other batchmates after our csu at four. And much as our enthusiasm and gusto was to be commended, I wasn’t exactly sure how it was going to turn out if it did at all as out of the five of us only one had ever had any experience with the game. Of the other four, one had never held a racquet before, one had difficulty understanding how scores were kept, one wasn’t sure what the difference was between a singles game and a doubles and one had insufficient blood running through the veins and likely to collapse in the middle of the court ala a pack of cards and in serious need of artificial ventilation halfway through a match.

Mercifully our plans had to be postphoned when by thursday all five of us still were unable to find a court on which to play on, although i wasn't sure if we knew where to look in the first place. Hopefully in the coming few weeks at least one of us would have the blissful serendipity of being able to stumble upon one while the rest sits at home and continue in our epic struggle to pursue enlightenment on our presently negligible knowledge of the game…. and maybe then we would be able play tennis.

Renal is taking up too much of my time

Haven't been able to do much blogging lately as renal has started taking up more and more time than I had expected.... 9 lectures a week, 2 lab sessions, updating my blog site, a few session of boardgames and a hospital visit this afternoon has left me exhausted and starting to feel like something's going to have to give. Very likely its going to be the one which is least useful + most time consuming + offering minimal benefit + takes a hassle to complete..... position all those together and its really not that hard to decide.... hospital visit hands down.

During our hospital visit excursions I try most of the time, being a G6PD deficient + thalassaemic student, to try and get some breather during our entire 1 1/2 hour odyssey all the way there and back. For once forsaking all social ties and falling into a deep coma if possible, and all the while remembering vividly the last time I did not and arrived in seremban feeling all tired and woozy. I did manage to secure however the much needed rest in the end when I passed out in the middle of the ward in the midst of a briefing by the head sister, just minutes after walking up 7 flights of steps as the elevator was 'AIYOOO !!!!! not for healthy young people like you all one lar.... for sick people oniii.... If sister so old 50 something years old still can walk so high up you all should be able to follow mahh...' When I woke up I was already supine on the floor surrounded by scores of nurses and patients, some of whom were initially sleeping or pretending to be when we waltzed in at 7:00 in the morning, lying in morbid fear of any of us approaching their bed to again badger them for their history.

However looking back on a few of my previous escapades, it seems to be an apparent inclination of administrators to sometimes disseminate students in such a way so as to ensure that nobody gets left out, in that each and every bus that leaves for seremban from bukit jalil is bound to be holding in it one or two hysterically distraught subjects who seem bent on not just trying their best not to fall asleep themselves, but whom appears to also place their utmost importance in ensuring that noone else around them does as well. And although all my visits so far this semester (including the one I had today) has been pleasantly uneventful, I can still recall graphically some of my earlier and rather less than placid visits that I've been on, with the babel occasionally going on throughout the entire journey..... although such hullabaloo sometimes do serve as a rather convenient destination marker if ever you feel like knowing where you are at the moment but feel apprehensive towards opening your eyes and looking lest you present these subjects with an opportunity to strike up a half hour conversation with you.

Busmate 1 : Eii look... we reach the tolls liao.... so fast horh.... but got lots of cars lar today... dunno why... why arr ?? (addressing entire ghost bus)

Busmate 2 : (Nudge nudge half asleep neighbour) Walau look we're gonna reach seremban in erm... (looks at signboard) 25km more.... ! Going to reach already lar.. don't sleep lar... why you always sleeping one.. ? (nudge somemore)

Busmate 3 : Hei can see seremban hospital liao from here... looks so nice one today... makes you feel right like you can't wait to go down and start taking history ??? (Beaming)
Neighbour : (In shock + looking out of window to see whether we've arrived at the right hospital)

Diplomacy

For the first time since acquiring diplomacy last week, I managed to try it out with 6 of our batchmates yesterday. At the end of the game, and although I’m really not trying to be chauvinistic, I do somehow seem to have reached the conclusion that diplomacy is more of a game for guys (although players like France played brilliantly). But at the same time I have that much respect for the four of them who tried out and played the game with us (the three guys) right to the very end, even though some did say after it was finished that they weren’t ever going to play it again, and more for any of them who would look forward to taking on the game again the next time around.

As a preface, diplomacy is a game centred round Europe around the 20th century during the years leading up to world war I. There are seven great powers to be controlled by one or two players and the only purpose of the game is for..... well..... players to take over Europe, and the only approach to this is to eliminate the other six. The brilliance of the game (or atrocity, as some would put it) however, lies in the fact that this dominance is impossible to achieve all on your own. You will be forced to make allies out of the other six powers, and in doing so invariably choose to bunch up with them against those that you don’t, and herein lies the dispute.

As was expected during the game, alliances were formed (some were broken) but at least when the time came for us to stop, the core and concept of the game had gone through. It was a vicious game no doubt, and it feels awful during the session to be gang-ed up on, but in the end when the game has finished and the board and all the game pieces has been bundled back into the humble box from which it came, it doesn’t take very long to pick yourself back up and appreciate that that is just precisely what it was. I’ve played diplomacy quite a few times before, and lost equally as much. But somehow I don’t regret purchasing it, and all the time as soon as I finish playing one game I look forward with as much enthusiasm as to when I’ll be able to next play it again.

Potter mania

Took a drive down to IOI yesterday to catch the latest installment of the potter films. Had the fright of my life when one of our batchmates (who was supposed to be leading the way) sped almost the entire journey there while i struggled to keep up, with the both of us in the end taking just a little over 10 minutes to reach puchong all the way from bukit jalil. Twice I managed to fall behind so far back i couldn't see her car (though i'm not sure she noticed as she never showed any indication of slowing down) catching up only during traffic lights, with her completely oblivious as to whether my rickety car was anywhere in sight and all while hurtling down the narrow road at a speed faster than harry's broomstick.

When we finally reached I went in with as little expectations as I could, both of the movie but even less of the cinema. Fresh on my mind was the experience of another of our batchmate which happened when she was watching the day after tomorrow a few days back. Seated right beside her was a lady who appeared to be rather bedazzled by the show, constantly yelping out comments or advice so loud it was audible by at least half the cinema.

Lady : (Somewhere in the show) Oi pao lar... !!! Kuai dian..... !!! Hai bu pao arr..... !!! (Oi run lar !!! Faster !!! Still not running ar !!!)
Batchmate : ..........
Lady : Kuai dian pao..... !!! ......Shui lai liao lar !! (Faster run !!! The water is coming !! In subtle reference to the seawater that swamped new york in the middle of the show, with waves so high it drowned out the sound waves coming from the audience, which apparently were critical in determining the fate and outcome of our fellow actors).

Needless to say during this movie our particular batchmate chose a seat at the very edge of the row, right beside the alleyway where people normally walk.

However being an avid fan who has read all five books, I personally found it rather difficult myself trying to restrain from turning to whoever was beside me anytime a new scene came on, attempting to explain every detail I thought they might have missed, or to introduce each character everytime they came on screen, never mind that he or she was merely standing motionless in the background partially covered by hagrid’s head and playing a less than midgety role in the film, or even to predict what was eventually going to happen, from shouting out the incantation for every spell before they were uttered to voicing my displeasure everytime a scene came on in the movie that wasn’t in the book and endeavoring to explain to whoever was listening very patiently what was actually written in the text, in the process accidentally letting slip the twist of the show that wasn’t supposed to be revealed until towards the very end.

I don't know if this explained why the two biggest fans out of the five of us were bundled into the corner seats, separated by the F1 driver. Or maybe they had anticipated what was going to happen and just wanted to get themselves as far away as possible from all those who pride themselves on being an insufferable potter know it all..... or at least during the movie.

Inconstructive criticism

Today for the unfathomable number of time somebody from our batch took it upon themselves to come judge and to make some judgemental remarks about the way in which I highlight my notes. Normally I do it by running a thin, transparent coloured line through the word I want to mark, sort of like this -I-M-P-O-R-T-A-N-T, but somehow this hasn’t gone down very well with our batchmates. And I must say this really isn’t something new, and among the more memorable scope of tirade that my highlighting has had to endure over the past 4 semesters include:

Batchmate 1 : (While flipping through one of my books ) AIYOH !! (As though she was witnessing the most vile and repulsive act of disfigurement) WHY YOU HIGHLIGHT YOUR BOOK UNTIL SO UGLY ?!?! ...... HAIH ......WANT TO PHOTOCOPY ALSO CANNOT......

Batchmate 2 : (Looking extremely concern) Eii you conteng your notes until like that still can see arr ?? Next time you want to refer back how ??

Batchmate 3 : (Upon replying very graciously that I could borrow one of her coloured pens) So..... going to cancel somemore words off your book ?? (Smirking)

Batchmate 4 : Eii Steven… the words that are cancelled......
Me : ..... errr..... actually...... they’re highlighted...... (Trying to smile)
Batchmate : Ok, the words that are smudged..... are they wrong arr ?

Batchmate 5 : AIYOH..... WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR NOTES LAR ?!?! How come like that already one.
Me : (Shocked + straining to see my notes are like what ?)
Batchmate : (Not giving chance to look) You want to borrow mine to photocopy or not ?? I think you better lar..... if not exam coming also you cannot study... (Shuff notes into my hand)
Me :.......

Sigh..... and actually these can even be considered among the more milder form of defamation that my highlighting has been subjected to. And I’m not even sure if this is a coincidence.... but now that I think back about it.... my handwriting seem to have gone through an almost similar heritage. Only difference is, for my method of inscribtion, deprecciation started way back in primary school.

Phone hazard

Somebody related this incident to me this morning. It happened while he was on holiday with his family, and he was surprisingly upbeat throughout the entire conservation, considering that at the end of the story his sim card had been undermined and he had had to get a new one.

Batchmate : (Nudge nudge) Eii yeah I have something to tell you.
Me : (Look at him expectedly)
Batchmatte : Please remember not to call me the whole of today or tomorrow.
Me : (Waiting for him to finish sentence)
Batchmate : ........
Me : (What did I do to offend/ insult him ???) Urm... ok.... why..... ar ?
Batchmate : Because my sim card has spoilt.... have to go carrefour afterwards to buy a new one.
Me : Oh..... (very reliefed !!) urm.. what happened to your sim card… ?
Batchmate : Aiyoh (shake head), the other day lar while I was on holiday....

It was around afternoon that day when it happened. He was in the midst of some kayaking when suddenly somebody decided to make a phone call.

Me : Oh.... you mean in the middle of kayaking ?
Batchmate : No lar.... she wasn’t kayaking.... on the shore watching us only.
Me : Oh.... you mean you didn’t bring your phone along with you ar ?
Batchmate : Of course no lar..... bring the phone for what ? Want to call also cannot.... all water only what everywhere....
Me : (Nod head)
Batchmate : So anyway she took the phone and turn it on, want to call someone then she saw got pin number, cause I got put pin no. on my phone. Since she don’t know what’s the number right, and got three tries, she simply key in something but wrong. Then she turn the phone off, then turn it on again.
Me : Aiyah actually you go kayaking leave your phone on the beach also no need to switch off what. Switch off for what.... ?
Batchmate : ......... I didn’t switch off my phone ler.... (accusing look whether or not I was listening to his story)
Me : (Protesting) But you said she switch on the phone when she wanted to use..??
Batchmate : Ya.. but not me who switch off. I leave it on. She switch it off then want to switch on again.
Me : ...... why.... ???
Batchmate : I also dunno.... but anyway when she turn on the phone she saw ei still got the pin number again. So she try again… but still wrong. .. she try three times but all also cannot. Then after all three tries finish came the barcode number... and this one got 10 tries right ?? (Turn to look at another batchmate)
Another batchmate : (Roll eyes) I... don’t... know... I haven’t type my password three times wrong before....
Batchmate : ......... anyway..... since she still want to make the call right, she still continue to try to enter the barcode. After trying for 7-8 times that's when i finish my kayaking and then i came back up.
Me : Eii then good lar !! That time you also can enter your barcode back right ? (beaming)
Batchmate : No. Problem is i also don't know what is my barcode... so i also simply try pressing.. (giggle very loudly) then after few times cannot all the words went off and cannot use anymore.
Me: ...........
Batchmate : ......and now on the phone screen only got this words left... (bring handphone forward to show)
Phone : Simcard rejected

Second home II

Woke up early the next morning looking forward to a quiet and relaxing day at grandma's house. Took my time while coming down the stairs, humming and singing all the way to myself... was just about to step into the living room when the first thing that greeted me was (horror of horrors) my youngest brother (who was supposed to be staying at my cousin’s house) blasting away at the playstation with the television volume turned 3/4s of the way up. Took quite some time to make sure that it was really him when I noticed that, seated very calmly right beside my brother and holding another playstation joystick in his hand was (gasp!) my 9 year old cousin.

Sigh... but really… it’s not that I don’t like spending time with my brother [(or my cousin…), on the other hand I always make sure I have enough time for him…. even when I’m extremely busy] but its just that sometimes when I’m not feeling very well... I just... would much rather prefer to spend the entire day all by myself. A quiet day at my sanctuary away from all the hustle and bustle, with no worries and with both my grandparents beside me was actually closer to what I had in mind…. not babysitting.

As I had expected, I turned out to be their messenger + playtool + errand boy for the rest of the day, taking down and assembling the toys they’ve identified to be worthy of their time, and putting them back 5 minutes later, being their goalkeeper when they've decided to play football [please lar.. yee koh (2nd brother) pleaseee... don’t have enough people lar (tug at shirt)... please... a while onnnniiiiii... PLEEAASSEEE (looking very pitiful)], and from bringing them to the nearby park so they can participate in an apparent meeting of all 9 year olds in the neighbourhood to buying them lunch (one wantan mee konlou… urm… no wantan... but I want 3 chicken feet... and err.. one slurpee also… I think I want urm… chicken rice… no cucumber... extra rice… and ... one bottle of soyabean), I turned out even more exhausted than I would have been if I had just stayed at home.

The only highlight of the day came when my mom called up asking if I was going to be free tonight, as she wanted to book tickets for the whole family out for a movie... never mind that I hadn’t been able to put in much time into my books… had been reminding myself anyway since wednesday that I was going to watch the day after tomorrow the day after tomorrow.

Second home I

Discovered upon arriving at my grandma’s house that a potential tenant was coming over to view one of the rooms that had just a few days ago been put up for rent. My grandma had decided that that would be the best thing to do as one of my aunts had recently just moved out into a new house, and she thought it would be nice to have another girl in the house. Our neighbour (who apparently already had a few years experience at being a landlady) willingly volunteered to help, although actually I think all she wanted to do was just to make sure grandma got a fair deal, as knowing her she would agree to any request the tenant makes, probably even lowering so much of the initial start-out-rent that she would eventually be paying the girl to stay in the house.

Neighbour : Oooo this girl ar she’s a student… just called up this morning (she had taken the trouble to help grandma put up flyers and notes advertising the room wherever she felt appropriate) to ask when she can come over to see the house… so I told her tonight also can lar if she’s free.
Grandma : Of course she can come over tonight. All thanks to you ah souh (auntie), took so much trouble to help us.
Neighbour : No lar… don’t mention it…. It’s not so much trouble lar… I’m used to doing these things already (unless I am very much mistaken, she was referring to her own experience. If i remember correctly, she had been renting out rooms from her house ever since I was little kid)

The tenant arrived 10 minutes later, a sweet-looking girl around my age studying in UTAR about 20 minutes walk from our place. She came with a guy, and upon spotting him, the first group of rules that she (neighbour) immediately laid down for her was:
1.No boyfriends visiting the house
2.No boyfriends IN the house
3.Definitely no boyfriends IN the room

After making sure she understood, she was allowed a tour of the house, including a trip up to the room in which she would be staying.

Girl : Urm… is there anything in the house which I can use ?
Grandma : Sure.. I guess it would be allright if you….
Neighbour : (Interrupt + loudly + with fierce look) Why don't you just let us know what it is in particular in the house that you would like to use. Then we will let you know whether you can use it.
Girl : Err… ok... (eyes glancing hurriedly around before coming to rest on the huge tv + astro decoder in the living room) like.. urm… can I watch the television ?
Neighbour : Watch the television ?!?! (Very loudly and sounding as though she was asking for the moon) Definitely not.
Girl : (Ignoring neighbour, turning to grandma) You mean even if you guys watch, I still can’t sit and watch together? (looking very pitiful)
Grandma : Of course you can watch the television if you want to. I never watch it anyway. You can watch all you want. Just treat the whole place as though its your own home. (smiling)
Neighbour : (looking at grandma while shaking head)
Girl : Ok... urm… (thinking about what to ask next) do you all go out of the house very often ?
Neighbour : (rolling eyes) Can I just know why you are asking this ?
Girl : Oh no… no… er… I…er… just… wanted to know...
Neighbour : Well if you MUST know, she does NOT leave the house very often. She’s at home most of the time... so you don’t have to worry about being left alone in the house... IF that’s the reason why you’re asking...
Girl : No i err... (looking very uncomfortable) i think i'll go up and urm.. have a look at the room again.

By now she seemed to have figured out that the less she asked the better. She still liked the room anyhow, although I had a feeling I played a major role when I got through to her that this fierce, intimidating lady who was doing the interrogation didn’t actually stay in the same house.

Girl : ….. actually, I like the room very much…
Neighbour : Then you might want to pay the deposit first.
Girl : but still… I would like to think about it somemore first… before…
Neighbour : (interrupt) Then I guess we’ll see you again some other time then.
Girl : But I’m worried also… that some other people might come and urm... decide to take this place when I leave…
Neighbour : Well then let me assure you now that I cannot guarantee you that wouldn’t happen.
Girl : !!!

She paid up her deposit that very same night, all the while reassuring us that she would be moving in as soon as possible.

Sick guy

Came down with fever and chills yesterday which dragged on till the next day, so i wasn't really in any particular mood to write about anything. Just pretty much lied in bed the entire day, awaking only during my favourite tv programs and when it was time for dinner or lunch. Had to even cancel our boardgame + pbl session we were organising in one of our batchmate's house (actually there weren't enough people anyway), and very nearly absconded from attending my granddad's 70 something birthday dinner, knowing full well how a big a fuss my parents would make if i did. In the end i just dragged myself out and went anyway, trying to look as miserable as i could during the entire meal. Other than that i was pretty much as sick as anyone who's sick can be.

Did manage however to catch the entire miss universe 2004 program this morning on starworld. As always, it turned out to be pretty entertaining, although one can't help noticing that the general trend in all these beauty pageants is that the contestants seem to be deteriorating every year. If this were to continue, in just a few years time miss universe would probably not be anymore different than miss jumbo in thailand.