the art of.

Celia mentioned in one of those emails that the art of doing nothing is indeed one skill to acquire. as lame as it seems, it is also a really fascinating skill to learn. there will definitely be times where you have nothing or don't know what to do. even those workaholics will have times as such. however, they are the ones who will be able to get down to something the very next minute of fretting what to do? thus the term workaholics is printed all over their faces in invisible ink to themselves.

doing nothing is a total waste of time. although it brings about a series of thoughts usually. it results in emo time most often. Celia will agree with me on this for sure, so does Sis. the mind tends to run wild when we are not doing anything, don't you think?

i start thinking of my life, the regrets i had and also all the times of fun i had. it is also my planning time for shopping, technology updating ( camera studying, new techno gadgets ), future plans and also things to occupy myself with right at that moment.

that's why i find tha art of doing nothing satisfying in a way. it lets me ponder over stuff that i have done, be it right or wrong. i like time on my own. the peaceful, self-centred moments can reflect your life. although my childhood wasn't one filled with nightmares or the frequent cane-threats, it wasn't as distinct as i thought it would be.

now, doing nothing would land me in front of this lappie and start typing away. aside from my naggy ability, i have an endless supply of words from the English language so why not blabber in this democratic society where everyone is supposed to have their say. although ideas do run dry sometimes, it is still possible to write out something which requires lots of editing in the end. i don't like producing sub-standard work, but in school, rushing is the normal way of working for us? however, rushing amidst projects has also made us realise the importance of substantial content. we always insist on making it the best as possible, especially the marketing crap.

i hate numbers, but marketing has given me a new insight of numbers. in my marketing module, the figures i dealt with were HUGE. thousands and millions were spent on the wala-wala campaigns, promotions and adverts. coincidentally, it has always been my job to settle the financial section of our proposal. numbers. has seem to become my forte in the marketing section although i claim to hate numbers. after realising the art of numbers, i call myself the number-man.

lame shit.

~k~

"your ah gong loves to sell newspaper ( read: big mouth )" Mom, in chinese, Wednesday 1 October 2008.

natural to man-made wonders.

randomly...

weather, an unpredictable natural phenomenon that never fails to upset me. spoil the plans. ruin the day. my must-go-swimming plan was spoiled. ok, maybe half the reason was my late awakening, but it was because the weather was bad. waking up early to a dark sky got me tucking back into bed. what's better than dozing or lazing in bed on such a dark cold morning?

sleep sleep sleep. i woke up just a while ago and decided to give my fingers some morning exercises while i am filling my mouth with the fruit cake from Bengawan Solo. it is real sweet. despite me having a sweet tooth for such stuff, i found it slightly too sweet.

food. another natural/manually prepared to be eaten treasure that never fails to bring smiles. i miss sashimi. although i only take salmon sashimi. given the fact that i hate them before, it was funny how i got addicted to salmon sashimi now. it did not taste as bad as expected.

sipping away at my coffee, i still find Coffee Bean's range of caffeine filled drinks much more effective in satisfying the need for a caffeine boost. Nescafe is so normal tasting. time to go coffee shopping soon. any recommendations? Coffee is just a part of me. i love it and the process of finishing it can take real long. it is meant to be tasted and enjoyed right?

my breakfast has never been of a proper meal. it's always mixed with anything edible. like today, there was bread, cake and rice. yes, rice. also not forgetting my coffee. it is always a weird combi of different stuff. one reason being that mum likes to cook and leave stuff behind for us to eat. second reason is the supposedly lunch time for the norm has become my breakfast time, making it a brunch instead.

brunch was a new word to me in secondary. i never knew we could join the words breakfast and lunch together. blame it on my pea-brain and slow development in the intelligence department, i was rather astonished when i knew about it. it did cause several damage to my already pea-brain though. it made me suffer from joining words syndrome. it made me join words involuntarily without much thinking, not that i have much brain to think. for example, space + place = splace.

i don't know how to explain this, but that happens when my mind is thinking about the two words not knowing which to use. then the end product would be...the combination of both. how wonderful?! is this something occurring naturally or totally man-made? a slip of the tongue, it is involuntary though.

i remember racking my brains when the teacher asked "nature or nurture". it always occurred to me that whenever i see someone less fortunate, was it their karma? fate? or their parents' genes or wad? were they specially chosen? i have to thank that special one who gave me a perfect or rather almost perfect body. i can use all 5 senses, although my eyes are slightly defective, all my internal organs are intact and working.

so, the weather remained rainy.
dad got stuck in the rain with a puncture.
grandma was admitted into hospital.
finished the kiddos' presents.
not going to pack for tomorrow's piano lesson.
signing off for the time being.

~k~

"i am good, without one 'o'." Corey, the Bro, Saturday 27 September 2008.

moo. munching grass.

like i said, my posts are getting out of hand. the dates and time dun match at all. but at the very least it is still a post. so here goes...

well. my weekends have been burnt so as to relief-teach for my Sis. don't really mind it especially this few weeks as my parents are real nice to fetch me off from work. Saturday was no exception. Dad fetched me home after getting his lottery done at the new found outlet just below the music school. the first reactions the parents had were of sheer excitement. like duh...it is just the number buying place.

the sleeping prodigy, me, slept through the ride home. kind of felt bad to dad for treating him like my chauffeur. we were going out for dinner after picking up grandma at my aunty's house. headed off to Bukit Timah with a growling stomach to greet my aunty's father-in-law. ( Auntie went overseas for some business trip and Grandma went over to look after the children cos they fell ill ).

their beautiful house underwent several renovations to re-vamp and re-beautify the landed property. the only one thing i love is still the grand piano. of course the giant Pooh bear seems to be a good chair as well. the grand piano is beautiful. it was installed with an electronic-giz which i cannot remember it's name. it is damn nice, furthermore, the piano plays on its own when you play with the buttons on the gadget.

enough of the piano. we went to a nearby veggie restaurant to fill our stomach. it was definitely good and satisfying after topping everything with my favourite 'orh ni' or yam paste, if i'm not wrong. i felt like a cow that night too. we ordered this dish that lets you wrap the mock meat in lettuce.

look at the veg.

now you know my love for the desert.

two tubs of Ben&Jerry's were picked up at the NTUC after dinner too. lots of chips and bites went along into the trolley. went home. catch some time off the F1 race and a flying car greeted us. that was the day.

'Someday you'll know' plays in the background.

~k~

"i have the nicest ass!" Shu, always.

hair. the one on top.

it is intriguing to me that my hair, on the top of the multi-cellular me, is growing at such a rate. at the same time, it has been bugging me since the day i am exposed to the barber or salons. the barber when it's the dad and salon when it's the mum.

cutting hair was seen as a hindrance during the young days. the thought of being stuck to a chair with only occasional movements of the head ( only down and up? ), sends spasmodic notices that screams "NO!" to the brain. defying the mum's orders will only result in the not-so-legendary sutra from all mothers to spill and drown me.

furthermore, being the fashion disaster in the past ( not to say i'm that trendy now, cos i'm not ), it has never crossed my mind that a hair style defines a person too. it took me several adolescent years to realise that. it was during the secondary days that i started having a mind of my own.

ok, deviating, but i have so many unfinished posts. posts for different stuff. and the dates are running wild. dates as in 27 September 2008 kind of dates.

sigh...

back to the hair-y issue. i am still in the midst of finding one hair style that i can wear for a long time. one that really suits me? i have been getting so many different views from all around me. Celia says the slightly long and helmet-looking hair is cute. Sis and Shu says keep it short and sweet. classmates also say shorter seems better. Bro says keep it long ( the only one that i tend to trust the least ). sorry bro, not to comment on your taste. guess i'll have to carry on searching for that my-own look.

on top of that, my hair grows like weeds. see the sun and they grow. ma new hair cut will never last more than 2 weeks. after the 14th day, it will look out of shape and starts the evolution once more. its like...

the plains ------ grasslands ------ bushes ------ helmet ------ longer helmet

this is the evolution cycle hur? dots. bad hair days will result on periodic occurrence as it will usually be during the middle stage, bushes, only.

anyone with remedies to slow down hair growth? on the top. dots.

~k~

"if there is a fire, Kon must run first." Celia, when my hair was a 'bush-look-alike'.

a child once more.

on a fine day, i am sitting down in front of the pixel screen, thinking of the various gifts or ways to give the kids. thanks to sis, i've got a whole bunch of jumpy frisky kiddos climbing over me. it's their day next Wednesday, the kiddos' day, and also Hari Raya Puasa. and i don't have to teach! how wonderful?

today was spoilt by the rain in the morning. i actually wanted to go for a swim ( i did prepare the stuff already the previous night ). however, the rain seemed to have dampen the whole thing. semi-awake, i heard or i thought i heard mum talking on the phone and some background television sounds. i thought it would be a day with her at home again. so, i went back to sleep since i can't swim. i slept till 1. woke up and realise the sun is out, but i don't have the time to go dipping cos my cousin's coming over for tuition at 3 30.

it did seem like a short span in between to go for a quick swim, but that's the point. i don't like quick. no pun intended, but i don't really like to do things fast. i take at least an hour to get out of the house. so i decided to skip the pool and just go down to grab some lunch, actually brunch, and to check out the sell-almost-everything SKP outlet downstairs for any cheapo deals for the kiddos' day. thinking bout that, i remembered all the times i peeked into the bag or presents for children's day in the past. all i see would be stationery, stationery and stationery. maybe some sweets or other stuff?

ohyea...

okies. i have prepared 8 out of the 20 something presents for the kiddos. just for the bunch tomorrow. off to bed i guess. need to sleep and dream of that so near yet so far DSLR. yes, i am obsessed over those pieces of lens and techno bits.

~k~

"i 'pu zhen' ( chinese for placing formations ) before shitting." Kon.

i love toilets.

not to sound kinky or any where near it, but i do find the toilet a really comforting and relaxing tiny area part of a house. not regarding those times of waking up late, runny stools or washing the clothes, the toilet-experience is always rejuvenating. to me,

toilet = zen...

it is one place i can forget about everything. not to mention certain events that require some butt exercising ( i need not elaborate hur? ). you might ask why such a topic? thanks to the egestion of the remnants from the day, it got my mind thinking: "oh. i realise that my mind is usually blank while i'm in the toilet."

other than the morning baths which i never fail to not open my eyes not to say think, i usually carry an empty head, not literally, into the toilet. not those short trips during the day of course, but the ones where i build up my already-very-strong relationship with the toilet bowl and shower.

another point is: i love water. I don't really drink a lot. however, i love being in water. the weather these days have not been in the least bit encouraging though.

hmmm...

although it is still a month away, i am already thinking of the various ways to celebrate my birthday. to have a small bash? small gathering? different nights for different friends? just a couple of close friends? sigh. spoilt for choices...or rather...thinking bout the costs? my dream of a DSLR seems to have made it through to the parents. thus, it means my pay for the month will be almost half gone after paying for the camera. it is worthwhile for me, but that puts my birthday at some danger of a cheap and some-where-near situation. not that i don't like cheap and hawker food but i kinda wan a nice celebration this year. at least a slightly better one.

following the never-knew-before tradition of our family's, i will have to be home/with the family for my birthday dinner. we never thought of this as a tradition till last year when sis got butter-ed the parents cos she wasn't home. it is now a tradition that seems to start only recently? what a tradition eh?

a note to Celia, Zhuang, Chet and May: i am kinda tired and a little out of stuff for the emails. so i hope this will do for now. i will still reply you guys, maybe a little late that's all. haha.

kudos to all.

~k~

"we got so bored, we counted the number of squares we used in the toilet while s**ting." Kon

i felt feverish.

was it the oyster at 85? the otah? the prawn mee? or wadeva else i ate? the weird thing was it only started to upset my internal system one day later.

we had the 85 dinner on Friday night but my stomach only started aching on Sunday morning. the pain was that bad. it made me shiver in bed for the last few precious minutes of my sleep ( i still had to teach ). it was a really bad day. i still had to count for the kids while leaning against the wall to not fall while the periodic pain haunted me the whole day. it was a amazing mix of feelings. not to be gross or sick but it was really enlightening to experience that. I felt kind of near to the heavens as i was really feeling exhausted and blur the whole time. i even read the wrong clef ( the music clefs ) for a student.

now, the feeling was kind of rush-to-the-toilet, too-pain-to-move yet i have to alternate between sitting and standing because it seems to help a little. the worst thing was my head. it started pounding. those headaches where you literally feel it pulsing. furthermore, i felt hot, as in temperature wise la. dots. that day was a loooooong day for me. 2 panadols did help a little though.

my dream for a DSLR also seemed to be getting nearer yet getting away now. the parents actually agreed to go check it out that fateful day ( mum had other motives as well ). we went to Courts ( Mega store ) to check out the promotions they were having for a Canon's DSLR. at least we found it to be genuine and not some 'fake' marketing scheme they had, unlike the laptop mum was keen to check out. shall not elaborate on the 'fake' marketing scheme then. however, the mum was not really pleased so she changed the subject away from my camera, so there goes my dream? sigh. i am still on the quest to get it. i shall continue my psycho-ing and persuasion to get it.

sis is having fun there now, compared to her semi-loneliness while touring with the group cos she is with her friend and soon with Shu. misses them and really wish to be there too. i miss Austria and i want some time to travel Europe too.

sigh...

no money no talk. life is simply like that. money is everything, isn't it? i remember playing a song when i was young that goes:

" Money can't buy everything.
Money can't make you a king.
Money can't buy happiness..."

please. money is everything now?! it is the simplest form of communication in fact. it is equivalent to language. the different currency means different language. however, i guess there is no limit to being rich. humans are never satisfied hur? i admit i am never satisfied with what i have.

i'm a sinner. sorry.

~k~

"BJ ar...means Banana Juice lor." Shu or YX, Saturday 26 July 2008.

birthday celebration at 4 days earlier.

yea. apologises to Chet. kinda bad of us to celebrate this early but i think we have no other choices either. it was also kinda not even a celebration. just a cup of sugarcane for you and what nice ambiance we have tonight. so...maybe another time where you are free and we shall make it up to ya. Happy 19th Birthday to you still! in advance of course.

Celia definitely wants me to post quick cos she told me: "finally my views can be heard" when i asked her about the tag board. it still seems problematic but i think it is still working somehow. i'm an technology dino in this field. so sorry.

thinking about some punny and interesting statements made, i have decided to recall them at the end of every post. do look out for it babes ( Celia, Zhuang, May and maybe Shu or Sis ). most of them should come from Shu and Me or Celia. today was kinda boring other than the dinner. i had to teach my cousin English for 2 and a half hours. it was awfully slow and sluggish to think about, even now. who the hell can do that? her mum kinda insisted cos her exams are nearing but i pity her cos she is not the kind who will stick her butt down there for that long. not to say absorb any information after the first hour.

after that we had the Chet's mini make-do party. which was hilarious before dear army boy Chet appeared out of no where. just as he arrived, we finished our game of Ah Bollin tasting. you know those round ball-like thing with filling in the bowl of soup, called Tang Yuan or rather Ah Bollin at Bedok 85? yea. we had that for after-dinner dessert. upon putting it down at our table, i realised that we did not know which miserable single ball was sesame as Zhuang wanted one. so...the guessing and tasting game started. with each of us taking one and trying ( there were 6, so there was 2 rounds ). why the trouble? because dear Celia hates sesame. the first round got all of us peanut filling. and so fortunately, Celia got the sesame one next. which was really funny if u could see the shock and whining face of hers before biting into it.

thanks to Uncle ( Celia's dad ), we managed to get home early in his rather cute white van. the journey added on to our fun eh? Uncle led us into singing the birthday song and also some really fun songs. and Uncle is truly an entertainer. thanks lots! i hoped the trip home for the others was fun-filled too since i was the first to drop.

some really bad pictures which was randomly snapped:

The Ah Bollins

Celia's bad experience with sesame...

the shots in Celia's dad's car...i know i spoilt the second picture. sigh. Celia, you forgot to advertise the Milo ice-cream ( Chet's pathetic cake )

that's about all i guess. nothing much to add on. kudos to my long day tomoro!

~k~

"she ( shall not name ) pee half squatting" Shu, Friday 22 August 2008.

the sleeping prodigy.

it's just amazing how easy i can leap into slumberland without any second thoughts.

1. i can fall asleep on any forms of transport within 5 minutes ( provided i am not energised fully or after some high suger in-take ).
2. i fall asleep every night within minutes of tucking myself in ( that is why i have to set the radio's timer on so as to save electricity ).
3. i can sleep again after brushing teeth and washing up.
4. if i'm bored, sleeping seems to be fun cos that will be the first thing i do.
5. i am becoming immune to the various songs for my alarms ( the Smurfs, CAptain Planet and some Chipmunk song. i guarantee you that they are not in the least bit soft ).

yea. Captain PLanet. Imagine: "Earth! Fire! Wind! Water! Heart! Go Planet!" while in some la-la land of yours. who wouldn't wake up right?! the problem is..i won't. maybe i am just hearing it too often. i am planning to solve this with those metal clanging clocks. the one with the metal bells. tat seems to be the only way to salvage my too-deep-sleep syndrome.

today's teaching was overwhelming. i am so exhuasted from counting for them. 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and......and on it goes till they finish the damn song. and sometimes i even have to change the tempo cos they got stuck. or it would be reading the notes out loud for them instead. however, i cannot really complain cos they are still kids after all. although some are big enough.

after years of exclusion from children's day, i have to face it this year! presents for the little ones. it has been years since i last celebrated it. ideas. i need ideas for presents to give them. i cannot possible make a card for every single one of them. i will go bonkers and my hands will be numb after the 20 something cards?!

i'm sorry, but i will have to post a different post for the events today, 19 September.

~k~

the first day i spend such money again.

noticed the word again?? that's the main idea.

before earning much income from the relief teaching i am currently embarked on, i actually went to indulge in some self-pampering shopping. yea. i am those who 'spend-2-bucks-when-they-only-have-1' kind of person. well..at least i know the money will come in at the end of the month.

life recently has been monotonous. just like the life line of a person's heartbeat when they are dead. it has been simply three words. Eat. Sleep. Teach. ok, maybe also online movie-ing? yea. i'm a pirate. is this safe to declare? reminds me of those customs where that two lanes are there for you to choose. I have always harboured this thought about it when i was young: "who the hell will ever drive into the 'something to declare lane' ?? like duh...'i have some pirated CDs on me now. do check me.' But, that was the dumb and pea-brained period of my life. although i might still be that pea-brained.

it has been two weeks into the holidays and i've been missing friends. sigh. chalets, birthdays and some gatherings coming up. dunno if i should attend every single one of them, but...i do feel like going. to spice up a little?! anyways..my shopping cart lately got filled with some stuff which i have longed for. although clothes are not included cos i can nvr get my hands off them. my dream to explode the cupboard of mine is still on-going.

mum went to Jakarta over the weekend to settle some accounts stuff. of cos, i bugged her to do some shopping as well. i got a bag and polo-t in return, not a bad catch after all. the bathroom slippers her hotel provided were in fact, made of styrofoam. which i have never seen. cos i only saw cloth and those cushioned types. also, i dun understand why they actually took it back. although i know people do collect them, the shampoo and soap bottles, toothbrush and et cetera. i am itching to travel too. the last time i went overseas wasn't a tour or free and easy trip. it was kinda a planned and forced trip by the parents. i want a real holiday. i'm suffering from jet lack. yes. lack of jets cos i have not taken a plane for years?? as in for holiday. kind souls out there..please donate to my "help Kon fly" campaign. thank you very much. you can send your donations directly to Tampines Street 11 Blk......( i dun intend to have a stalker tailing me after this post, although i know i won't )

Celia must be nagging away about how i have forgotten bout her. haha. definitely whining away. therefore, be glad that we are gonna catch up on Friday alright?! teaching kids has really improved my patience ( yes! just after two weeks ). some parents are among the factors though. parents are classified by me into three groups now: 1. the really nice and friendly ones. 2. the over protective and kiam pa bin ( asking-for-it-face ) ones,. 3. those where talking to them equates to putting your head in the lion's mouth kind.

a case of no. 3 came across me last week. although a little exaggerated, they were giving me a hard time while i was teaching their precious daughter ( who does not practice much and chooses song that she likes only ). i might not be that experienced but at the very least i can teach still. sigh. some people are just arrogant and stubborn. but i'm fine. i'll be happy if he pulls her out for the time being, till sis returns.

alright den, off to munching some food before leaving for work. a long day today cos the administrator did me a favour by not having classes yesterday and pushing them to today. which is going to eat away at my dinner time. oh god. i'm going to have to starve.

~k~

the day i ended up sleeping for 12 hours.

yes! i am so proud to say i have slept for a whole 12 hours today! what a pig i am eh?

well..i dozed off, as usual, within minutes of flopping around in my bed in the wee hours of the dawn. could not open my eyes when my ex-maid called. ( she comes to our house to help out once a week now ) forced myself to read Auntie Penny's msg ( the music school's administrator ), as i could not open my eyes still. and i continued sleeping till my ex-maid arrived. greeted her and gulped down a glass of water..and..went back to laze on my bed. amazingly, i fell asleep once more. i woke up and went strolling around the house talking to the siblings and the ex-maid. siblings then went out so i went back to my slumber party on bed. my ex-maid left not long after. therefore, i went back to snoring away as i was too bored. haha.

sighs...

wad a day eh? was waiting for some signs from the sun to let me tan. however, it seems that the sun is kinda moody these days? sis will be flying off tomoro. to her euro tour. i'm jealous. she had also asked me and bro to help her to cook tomoro. before she flies. we know she can't cook, thus we had no choice but to promise her in order to save our kitchen from any mishaps just before she flies. we need to rely on it for survival while she is gone. cause mum recently stocked up on some ready-made baked rice (which seems to be able to last months?) that only requires the baking portion to be done. which i had some trouble today. the oven seems to be more complicated than i expected. or maybe it was just my lousy skill.

anyways, mum has been nagging away since awhile ago. just because i'm not sleeping. it gets kinda annoying yet i can't do anything.

oh yes! lastly, i have a problem with this dumbass lappie of mine. WHY CAN'T I PLAY SIMS2 on this stupid technology gizmo. sigh. i'm deprived of stuff to play.

yes, i am that bored.

~k~

Project for success.Status: Completed

it has been sometime since exams had ended. so it means..end of school.

my aim to do well is over and all i can do would be sitting around and wait for the fruits of my not-so-hard-efforts. in the meantime, i have started relief teaching for my sister at her music school. teaching these kids requires certain patience. some are tempting me to use a rope, kinda k**ky eh. okies. no pun intended. just a joke. i might be fired if this goes out to the school's management. therefore, i shall keep myself safe by not mentioning the school's name.

anyways, the few days in the school had been rather fun despite some 'scary' kids who definitely cannot sit still.

finishing exams meant more time for me to do my stuff i guess. definitely sleeping more nowadays. so grateful for this chance to snore and drool away till noon. (okies..i do not snore much except for days where my sinus crops up and drooling..hmmm..recently..it seems that i have the habit of opening my mouth while sleeping. maybe it's the block nose?)

the traveling time to and fro from the school is also therapeutic. it takes me about 1 and a half hours to travel, provided that the waiting time is short and i walk instead of stroll. well, i walk rather quick so strolling to me would be real slow.

other than teaching and sleeping, it has been a bore recently. other than having a game of badminton on Monday with the brother and his fellowship. ( 2 cousins and a friend of my cousin's ) i have been neglecting the gym for some time. thus, i'm going to make it a point to get my growing ass in there again. i'm not getting fatter but i'm kinda growing less toned? compared to before.

while on the way home yesterday, i realised that i am really 'blinded in the night', in short night-blinded. i cannot see! okies, exaggerating, i can see but its not clear. especially when the light is low. sighs. good luck to me eh.

sis would be flying over to europe in the early hours of Saturday (3am), so we will have to be at the airport at 12mn or 1?? no idea. that rich ass is gonna tour euro for almost 2 months! envy and jealousy is all i feel.

alright. sighs. back to my slumber land and tv-land then. mum came back sulking and nagging. scolded bro for lying and nagged at dad for dozing off when he was supposed to fetch her. sighs. off to my bomb shelter before i'm decapitated.

kudos!

~k~