Home Alone

There is nothing to do on a lonely Tuesday night, and nothing interesting is airing over the radio tonight!! I'm dead bored… Someone save me!!! Since LZ kept bugging me to update my blog but I’m always too happy to write, I shall attempt to write something tonight. =) Dinner was great with his company and the long way home triggered deep thoughts. So deep I had forgotten to put the groceries into the fridge!!

I was captivated with the general mindset of guys, which I think is predictable. To put it simply, there is less emotions to talk about, and their actions follow a flowchart. They were programmed and engineered to function in a certain way, like in the dating scene, guys switch to the default mode to look for girls. Basically like computing program.

The computing module from years back is haunting me tonight, so let me try k?

#include (courage)
#define (ladies)

int main
{ scanf (ladies = real boobs + butt)}

if (lady= I_think_she’s_the_one)
{printf (can I date you?) }
if (reply = ok)

Start dating:

Go_to_Shopping Mall;
Shopping Mall:
{smile; hold hands; evaluation}

if (lady= not_really_my_type)
{printf (Let’s break up)
return to main}

else (continue dating)

Go_to_Movie;
Movie:
{Hand on her shoulder; popcorn; smile; kiss}

if (someone better comes along)
{scanf (that girl better than this girl?)
if (answer = true)
{dump present girlfriend}

else (continue dating)

dating period > x years
{printf (Will you marry me?)}
if (answer = yes)
exit program

else (choose option 1 or 2)
{option 1 = continue dating; option 2 = dump girlfriend}

return {home}


The program is my thoughts and probably wouldn’t work if you copy it into a compiler. =P Writing this is killing my brain cells!!

Oh yes!! Before turning to bed, I have to say that LZ treats me the best!! (smiling from ear to ear) I had a sore throat, slight fever yesterday and a pimple in my ear. LZ bought me herbal tea and delivered it in person to my office (a big deal for someone to travel all the way to the ulu-est part of Singapore you know)!! What else can I say? I feel sorry for the rest of the women as I got the best guy out there. Hehehe… Ok, I'm so childish.

Nitez. Yawn~

Down with flu

What an exciting way to start the year. Was suppose to head back to school this morning but I reckon it should be alright to leave my experiment running till Monday. Thought of reading up the book - basic concept in immunology, but my head started spinning. Thus, I had been doing nothing!! If I had been doing anything at all, it would be blowing my nose furiously. SNEEZE!! What a better way to wind down this last long holydays…

The last few days of 2009 were simply amusing. It was the first time I ever stayed out till dawn with my girls on Xmas, and never gotten a scolding back home. We had steamboat cum BBQ and dessert at Bugis before hanging out at King Albert Park’s Mac for an overnight chat and camwhore till breakfast at 4am. A straight 12 hours non-stop chat session, I’m impressed!!

Christmas was spent completing a jig-saw puzzle I chose at LZ’s place and a simple dinner with his family. On the 26th, we attended a heartwarming wedding solemnization at an art gallery before heading for a Christmas party at Charlotte’s place. There was enough food for an army thus explaining why we almost died from food overdose. The party was one of the best I’ve ever attended in years, because the people (plus Mika, her dog) were really fun!! On the 28th, my BBF (backside best friend, Jeremy) decided to give me my long overdue birthday treat. You see, he is my BBF not without a reason. We had some Thai specialties at one of the award winning resturants at Chijmes, and BBF tried to impress the Filipino waitress with his hopeless tagalog. Hahaha!!! I almost died laughing.

Countdown was without LZ but nevertheless, it was an unusual one. We were contemplating on where to go after dinner since most places would be overcrowded and before we knew it, we were playing card games and admiring the fireworks at Rus’s rooftop. That’s not the end yet. That night, I inherited a 2 dollar note on my way up the lift back home. Someone’s bad luck is my good luck!! Happy new year and that sums up 2009.

Pretty excited to meet my girl-friends tomorrow for games and even more delighted to learn that LZ will finally be coming back after his trip. Was actually quite upset when I slipped an opportunity to chat with him yesterday. It was my fault. For now, I just wish that the flu bug would get off my back before I blow my nose away. AarhhhChooo~!!

31536000 seconds of ecstasy...


525600 minutes of encouragement...


8760 hours of devotion...


365 days of comfort...


52 weeks of bliss...


12 months of joy...


A year of love.

Life is beautiful…again.

09 09 09

It had been a year, a month and a day since 08 08 08, where gamblers and the like pooled resources in hoping for a windfall. Just like a year ago, where the date favors gamblers, today is an auspicious day that carries the meaning of longevity for couples to dive into the tomb of love. I thought bragging about how auspicious today seemed tasteless, but moving away from the conventional topic isn’t easy either.

Since today will be a special day for many to consider marriage, I suppose a marriage need some suspends and little secrets to keep the flame burning? Now, I have a question – What will you lie about, towards your partner?

Let’s be frank, even the holiest man on earth lies, thus I lied too!! Yes, no doubt lying is wrong, and whatever you have fabricated might come back and slap you twice as hard. Though this might be the case, lies still spurt freely from the mouth… In my opinion, women will most probably lie about their bank account while men, their whereabout.

I realized I will NEVER find out how much my girl-friends have in their bank accounts, neither would they ever find out about mine. Though it is quite common to hear us complaining about the serious drought in our accounts, we will still splurge when we come across nice shoes, bags, accessories etc… How ironic. I am not sure if any of them dig into their next pay check, but so long as they are happy, and don’t borrow from me, I’m fine with it.

As for my guy friends, I realized they are pretty hard to locate. Take for instance, my good friend, J. A typical scenario would be:

Me: Where are you?
J: Oh… coming…coming…
Me: Ok, how long will you take?
J: Reaching soon… on my way already. Give me 5 minutes.

5 minutes later

Me: WHERE ARE YOU??
J: Chill… don’t be angry. Coming soon…I just left my place.


Ok, perhaps I am stereotyping. Guys and girls lie equally much about their bank account and whereabout. Is that privacy?? LZ refused to tell me how much he’s earning, and each time I probe further, he will give me 4 random digits and suggest that I should rearrange them the way I want his salary to be like. -_- If I do a permutation, there will be 24 combinations and only 4% chance of getting it right. He surely knows how to play this game ya?? Either that, or he will shove me away with a number that seemed politically correct, but I doubt so. Is this the little secret awaiting to be discovered?? As for me, I can hardly lie about my whereabout because I am too predictable. The places I go are quite limited and I never bother to cover my traces.

So I guess having mutual trust and constant guessing games are ways to keep a marriage/relationship alive. If the lie isn’t going to hurt, it will make the bond between 2 people stronger. If it does hurt, say two timing, it isn’t hard to decide on a banana split down his pants!!!

What will you lie about, towards your partner??

Bye bye, cells

This week has been a jittery sort for me. I’ve been everywhere trying to sort out my work and it hasn’t gone anywhere. So I guess what happened yesterday should have come as a no-surprise. When I stepped into the cell culture lab in the morning, the carbon dioxide indicator on the incubator reads 9% instead of the usual 5. I shuddered. Now, the lab I was working at isn’t exactly new, so it was no big deal for equipments to go haywire. Anyway, the cells had been incubated over the weekend and I have to take them out since changing the medium and checking on them is a must. Happily, I got everything prepared and peeped under the microscope. To my horror, I see no sign of life or any sign of cell proliferation. Perfect. I stoned for a minute or two, thinking of what could have gone wrong over the weekend. When my mind clears, the word “incubator” popped up. Ahaa… Apparently my intuition is a spot-on. Seeing 9% carbon dioxide in the morning meant trouble.

Now, I’m no expert. And I have no idea what excessive carbon dioxide can do to those delicate cells. So I took out my phone and texted the expert, waited for minutes before she came hurriedly. It was an agony. It felt like a drama - waiting outside the operation theatre for the doctor to announce the patient is dead. Ok, I am exaggerating but you get the gist of it right? Yes, the cells were half dead, not fully dead yet. I reported the fault and the earliest the vendors could get it fixed is today. And this morning, I checked. My cells are dead. There goes my effort. Anyway, sacrifices are necessary in cell work and no point blaming anyone because everyone’s experiment failed!! After the entire episode-of-the-day, I had a rolling good time at the welcome week. It was a total waste of time, but having free lunch and taking a stroll around school thereafter with some friends was refreshing. Before long, it was evening and my wonderful LZ was waiting to go home with me. Wow…I didn’t know it take so little to make my day!!

Another thing. I was drying some powder dissolved in toxic solvent and in a flurry, I slammed the oven door on my hand just now. Don’t ask me how.

I realized it’s only Tuesday, and it is already so eventful.

Diamonds

I realized age is finally catching up with me when fine crow-feet start appearing at the corner of my sparkling eyes. It no longer frightens me when kids came calling me auntie, because I had come to term with me being “no longer very young”. At the gathering recently with LZ’s friends, the topics brought on the table were indeed frightening – career, housing and marriage. I was like – I beg your pardon!?! Those were my parents’ conversational topics I never bothered to take part in. I should cherish every moment from now lest before I knew it, the next topic brought on the table would be retirement…

However, I totally enjoyed the debates between me and LZ on diamond rings when it comes to engagement. For the fact that my guy thinks buying a costly piece of stone is not worth the sincerity of love, is annoying. No, I am not getting hitch, but it started off with that sparkling diamond on the finger of one of his female friends.

LZ think diamonds are overrated, for the fact that he could buy more with the same amount than a piece of shiny accessory. That is true but diamond are expensive not without reasons. In my theory, diamond possesses an aura that is undeniable, to wand off potential predators on your territory. The bigger and brighter the diamond, the more secure is your territory. It’s like telling predators to fish off, even when you’re not by her side. Hahaha!!! I know I’m lame but it’s true.

Ok, be serious. From past experiences buying diamonds, I’ve learnt quite a bit from the jewelers. Basically, all women know that there are 4 Cs that make diamonds expensive. They are – carat, colour, clarity and cut.

If my memory didn’t fail me, carat refers to the size of the diamond. Obviously the bigger, the better, very straight forward.

Colour is no doubt - the colour. It ranges from colourless, grade D being the best and most expensive, to tinted yellow, the cheaper ones.

Clarity refers to the amount of impurities seen under the microscope. Flawless diamonds are the most expensive since it do not interfere with reflected light within the diamond.

Lastly, the cut. No matter how good a diamond is, it need the prefect cut to enable it to shine to its greatest potential. The prefect cut will reflect 100% light through the top after reflected from the bottom to give it a glittering shine. Jewelers call that brilliance.

But of course, prices vary with the final design and brand. And yes, certification of diamond is important too. Do not try imitating a diamond using a swarovski crystal. It won’t work. You will not only lose your future spouse, but also her trust. The perfect proposal would be having the guy go down on one knee and propose with a diamond ring so bright that the girl has to wear shades in order to keep her composure.

Anyway, guys have nothing to loss when it comes to diamond because flowers will wilt and chocolates will melt. But diamonds are forever!!!

Suddenly, it feels so good to be a woman!!! Wahahahaha……

Back from the dead

I’m not dead to begin with and in fact, nothing close to dead in any way. But I have to admit that the long absence has made me quite rusty on the keyboard and blogging once a month had somehow become a habit. Though greasing the gears will be easy, making the engine run to its once optimum pace will be hard. The reasons for my absence are aplenty, some really trivial but exciting. So this blog of mine is as good as dead. I’ll try to revive it, to the best that I can.

I’m currently sitting in my office, sipping on my green water bottle while typing this. I had just finished writing the “Experimental” part of the paper, so here’s a short break. Thinking back, I’ve not had a proper break for the longest time. Life had never been as exciting/busy/enriching as compared to the last couple of months.

I’m hyperventilating!!! So happy with too many things!!! Forget about weekdays, those are days I’ll be committed to work and nothing else. But when it comes to weekend, I’ll be drained with activities. Be it shopping, gatherings, sports, or any other random activity, I just felt blessed. Am I crazy or what???

Last Saturday, I was in heels when I was out. It wasn’t high, not at all. Just 2.5 inch or so I thought. It was among my favourite pair among the 10 other odd pairs sitting on the shoe rack. Within hours, there was a burning sensation on the fourth toe on both legs!!! Blisters, damn it!!! My heels were not even new to start off with. I ended up taking off the back strap to allow more space for my toes and prevent exaggerating the already swollen toes. My feet were usually accustomed to flats, sandals or shoes on most occasions, but is there a way to wear heels without getting blisters?? Do I really need to tear my hair and wear heels till my skin is thick enough to counter all blisters, or are heels not worth the pain?? Even those silicon gels sold in pharmacies were not a bit helpful for my poor feet. =(

Some girls said heels can trim the calf, and good for exercising balancing skills. It’s crap!!! I think it is more like training leng zai’s back and arms. When my feet suffered, he offered to piggyback me home. Since I think I’m not very light, I was afraid I’ll break his back. I didn’t wish to become a liability, really. But I admit that I enjoyed the piggyback ride home. =)

Maybe I'll consider wearing heels again. *wink*

Happy Mummy's Day

I was browsing through Facebook when I realized how time had flied. Quite a number of friends are already happily married and had started their family at my age. Some are already parents for a few years now and another couple is on their way to parenthood. I am really amazed by how much they had grew over the years, from pampered youngsters to tomorrow’s parents.

Bringing up a child must be really tough, and I’m sure not many are up to it. Parenthood will change a person habit, attitude and social life. Not just the parents, the grandparents also have to make sacrifices. I was touched when I heard Leng Zai dad’s determination to quit smoking on account of his grandchildren. It meant giving up a habit he held for years to exchange for the better health of little lives. Awww… So sweet.

Mummy had given up working in the society ever since she got married. She chose to work from home so as to spend more time with me and my brother, and make sure we don’t mix with bad companion. She’s protective and make sure whoever bully us will lane up in deep shit. I remembered once where there was a guy who picked on me and pulled my hair. I went home crying and the very next day, mummy confronted him. She made him missed his school bus and that had left him stranded in school. Hahaha!!!!

In today’s society, not many married woman are willing to stay at home, especially when expenses are so high. However, they show their love in other ways. Hiring a maid, for instance, ensures that their kids are taken care of, but those mums also take safety precautions such as installing a CCTV to monitor the maid. As for me, I’m still very much a kid myself and wouldn’t be ready to take on the role as someone’s mum for many years to come.

To all the women who had dedicated their lives to their kids and family, Happy Mother’s Day!!!

An unexpected fling

What can be worst than sending a text message to unintended recipient?? And I mean sending a text message meant for a boyfriend to another guy!! Silly me did just that!! I left my friend dumbfounded for a second and laughing out loud for the next couple of hours…

I was lucky enough that he is my good friend and it’s impossible between us. That had saved me from a lot of embarrassment. Still, I need to clarify things with him and drag him down from cloud nine back to earth. He seemed overjoyed to realize I had a “crush” on him!! Wahahaha!!

Here are some screenshots to show you how evil my friend had been…

He laughed and laughed and laughed…

oops!!


If I said I love him or I miss him… I won’t know how to face him anymore!!!!

So he wants to threaten me with that message and refuse to delete it.


Anyway, he knows who should be the intended recipient so I guess it’s alright after all. =)

Hahahaha!!! But still... I think this is funny...

Smile

It has been quite the hiatus, but I'm back with a sprained right shoulder. To make matter worst, I had to load an 8kg mold set onto the lab press machine situated so high up all by myself!! This had gravely agitated the muscles on my shoulder and I can hardly move it now. The knocking of bones against each other disgust me!! I felt as though my arm is dislocated, but I’m pretty sure it is still intact and very much attached to my body.

Breaks are pretty much the best invention ever, thus I am taking a break from lab work today, sitting at my desk and typing away. Many thoughts crossed my mind but I cannot decide on which I should be penning down. To be honest, life is quite mundane and always revolving around work, work and more work.

Freak not, I’ve had enough of work and I wouldn’t use the space here today to update on the progress of my project. Suddenly, I don’t know what to write. It seemed like I’ve lost all inspiration within seconds as I’m staring hard at that smiling yellow cow on the table. Oh yes… Cows… Ever wonder why I started this blog and named it Tatty Cow a few years back??

Seriously, I can hardly remember now. All I know is that it tells a story, whether or not you hear it is another matter. I have been through a lot over the years, aged and had grown wiser. Sometimes, I feel older than my actual age, when my actions in dealing with certain situation stunned myself. In fact, this blog had taught me to believe that I have to respect myself before gaining the respect from others.

And yes, I know I’ve done it when I took the first step in walking out of the shadow that once tied down my self-esteem, realizing that I still love myself and happier than before. No, there is no secret to happiness. Why get affected by others who deemed I’m useless or not up-to-their-mark?? I live life once and I’m determined to make it colourful. I set the standards, I achieve them, and I feel proud of myself. That’s more than enough.

I looked into the mirror to welcome a different me.

I smile.