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Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Today, I had a quite interesting conversation with two girls (call them A and B for privacy reasons) who were attending the same time management workshop as I did. We three had formed a group to discuss how to categorise our daily activities as namely: Urgent and Important, Not Urgent but Important, Urgent but Not Important and Not Urgent and Not Important. A said thus,"I think we should put sports under Urgent and Important." "Wow, you exercise on your own!" I exclaimed, not in surprise but rather in a manner suggesting her to explain her seemingly shocking statement. "Ya, I do pumpings and crunches at home." She then continued to talk about maintaining her abs flat. "Same! I also use that Osim thing to keep my abs flat!" B enthused. "Huh, crunches with that Osim thing?" I was incredulous. "No, no... That Osim thing which wraps around your stomach...massages your stomach and breaks down the fats. You know, one side of my stomach has sort of curved inwards because the Osim thing seems to work on one side..." "Orh...you are so spoilt, la!" A said in mock envy. "Ya, la. Oh my God, I would never have such luxury to work my abs! I still have to manually work my abs!" I said. "You do crunches too!" A said, her voice with an undertone of surprise. "Yeah, I do 4 different sets of crunches. Each set consists of 12 reps,"I explained. "Wa! You are so hardworking la! I'm very lazy one. One set of crunches will do," she declared. As she did, she reached over to touch my tummy, and then exclaimed,"Not bad!" I felt flattered. Her act inspired B to reach out to touch her tummy as well. "Ooi! B, you don't anyhow touch people's tummies! Haha!" A laughed as she tried to push B's hand away. I watched on, feeling quite amused. Let's face it. Slim girls are attractive. But slim girls with toned and flab-less bodies are more attractive. Fergie darling, can I borrow your abs for my washboard? Enough harping. Time management: I should go and do my crunches now. It's Urgent and Important. Posted by |z|r| at
It is raining now. I hear the muffled battering of the rain against the ground outside. At times, I hear the sudden, loud booms of thunder which then reverberates somewhere far away... The cold breeze teases my bare skin and slowly permeates my body. I feel its icy fingers wrapping around my heart and cruelly draining away all the possible happiness I might have felt minutes ago. Gloom settles in its new nest and breeds thoughts of misery and loneliness. I sit silently and listen. And then, I hear. Hear my own breathing. Inhale... Exhale... Inhale... Exhale... My thoughts of misery and loneliness are with me. But I have become acutely aware of a new presence - the rhythmic breathing of a human. There she sits quietly, her every breath sustaining the warmth of life in her. Each breath relights life in every present moment, never will be extinguished by the rain. I smile at the quiet realisation. And every thought of misery and loneliness evaporates with each Inhale... Exhale... Posted by |z|r| at
Monday, November 28, 2005
To any Miss LonelyHeart out there, here's a glimmer of hope for you to find someone you like, or make someone fall for you! Maybe for me too, huh? Whatever, but here's the good news. Science has proven that prolonged eye contact with your person of interest helps to make him fall in love with you. According to the iVillage article '5 Ways to Make Anyone Fall in Love with You', a Havard psychologist Zick Rubin did a research to discover a scientific method that could accurately measure the intimacy of a romantic relationship. It was found that, couples who are deeply in love with each other gaze at each other in the eye 75% of the time during the experiment, and are much slower withdrawing their gaze from each other when someone intrudes the conversation. What is the link to making someone fall in love with you then? Apparently, when you give him your eyes 75% of the time of conversing, his brain becomes tricked into thinking that he is in love with you. As said, very loving couples gaze at each other alot and so when you do that, he is misled into thinking that he is in love with because he thinks he is gazing at you too. His body will release a love hormone called phenylethylamine (PEA) which causes him to have a sense of well-being and contentment, characteristic of someone in love. The more PEA, the more in love he is with you. Hey presto! You now hold a rein to his crazy heart. Eye contact is a means of communication and a intensely emotional one too. You would have realised that you make eye contact with a stranger or anyone emotionally remote to you for less than one second. Even before half a second is reached, you would have torn your eyes away from that person. Unless you have intense feelings for the person -be it hatred or love- you won't bother even looking at them anyway. It is no wonder that eye-contact is such a powerful flirting tool. If you allow your eyes to lay on the person you like for more than one second, and if he returns the gaze, chances are he's interested in you. Better still if he acknowledges you with a grin! Com'on girls, give the boys an eye, man! Posted by |z|r| at
Sunday, November 27, 2005
* Between, sung by Vienna Teng in album Waking Hour (Virt Records) We are not together here though we lie entwined, to make room for the other presence. We both draw back in our minds. An image creeps to the listener's mind: a couple (possibly married) snuggling up against each other on the bed, shrouded by the cold darkness of the night...and a palpable taciturnity that chills their hearts still. None speaks. It is so quiet. They look asleep. Yet, both are wide awake, their minds in turmoil, and they suffer in silence. I have a prophecy threatening to spill into words. This growing certainty of over. She knows. There is this another person. No doubt of that. A separation seems imminent. But she shall keep quiet, refusing to declare this painful truth and accept it into her existence - just yet. There once was a time I was sure of the bond, when my hands and my tongue and my thoughts were enough. We are the same but our lives move along and the third one between replaces what once was love. Memories pass in her mind as she savour each one with a sweet-bitterness. Oh, the carresses! The kisses! The husky murmurings of sweet-nothings! ...All but splintered fragments of the past... They all gradually faded away into nothingness as she melted away from his life - while everything seems to remain the same. Freedom is being alone. I fear liberation but something more alive than silence swallows conversation. No pleasing drama in subtle averted eyes. The swelling fermata as the chord dies. She is scared of being alone. A fear courses through her body whenever she sees him, leaving a ghostly trail of haunted thoughts. He seems to read her thoughts and he shrinks away from her presence. The distance grows as they drift apart deliberately. The fear threatens to swallow her up as her world dims and slowly engulfs by a lonely gloom. There's no denying we feel the third one; we do I'm tired of hiding and so are you. He moves slightly. She jolts back from her thoughts and suddenly becomes aware of the moistness near her eyes. Pain is the reminder of reality. Courage is the healer of pain. Posted by |z|r| at
Saturday, November 26, 2005
 Whose butt is this? (NOTE: No prize for correct answer.) Activity: o5S21 Chalet Stay-over Time: 22 Nov - 24 Nov Venue: Downtown East Fun factor: fuckin' good time! http://photobucket.com/albums/a370/elfianel/05S21%20chalet/ By the way, I have some pictures taken at 05S15's chalet. Oh man, it's freakin' good! Two words. Wicked fun. Posted by |z|r| at
Monday, November 21, 2005
First, I bought a pair of black career pants costing $49. Second, I bought a black sleeveless formal shirt (with some elaborate patterns of course) for $43. Lastly, I bought a black bag from Bega for $29. It's quite nice actually. I spent so much (I know it may not be exorbitant for some richies) and I have serious doubts whether my dad would be as willing to give me $60 more this week for my chalet outing.... Argh! Posted by |z|r| at
Saturday, November 19, 2005
This evening, I went home by the usual route which is along the sheltered pathway leading up to the traffic lights. Near these traffic lights was the ice-cream auntie. She is a common sight every day. But one has to see through this common-ness to feel the slight prick of compassionate pain at the heart. From afar, one would observe her short and plump figure, carelessly clad in an oversized t-shirt and baggy knee-length shorts. She is a lady well in late middle-age. And age did not seem to bestow any bliss on her for if you care to examine her. Her already swarthy countenance is disfigured by an unsightly birth mark -an ugly brown formless shape- permanently embedded in the depths of her skin. And oh her eyes! Her eyes always seemed to conceal a silent, stoic suffering for they emanated an ineffable sadness. This industrious lady would always unfailingly set up her small ice-cream stall at the traffic-lights area in early afternoon, and as she sits or stands, depending on how tired her legs are, she would ring the bell at almost regular intervals to attract attention to her stall. People would walk past her, seemingly oblivious to her presence while occasionally, some would stand at her stall, purchasing an ice-cream waffle or other products. Sometimes, I would buy ice-cream from her and try to start a short casual conversation with her as she prepares my ice-cream. Her stall would stay there well into the late night and I must emphasize the word 'late'. Many a time, when I come home from late outings or prolonged stays in schools at around 11 pm, she would be there still, as if wistfully expecting more customers. And so she toils all day long, earning as much as she could, however meagre her earnings may be. One must wonder what could have necessitated or even motivated this lady to work such long gruelling hours, regardless of rain or shine. I don't know but may I speculate that it could be because she has to maintain an expensive education of her son. I once saw this young teenage boy, not more than fifteen years of age, in TCHS uniform, helping that lady out at the ice-cream stall. It would be natural for anyone to assume the boy to be the lady's son and I did. It was indeed an interesting sight to behold. For one, I would not expect anyone from that prestigious school to have such a humble family background. Also, it surprised me that she had such a young son, considering how aged she looked. Yet, reality suggested a truth far from my imagination that perhaps, she is supporting a disabled family member. Whatever the facts are, I would never know. But I do remember vividly one incident when I bought an ice-cream waffle from her. As I took the waffle from her hands, I commented in Mandarin,"Auntie, it must be tough for you." She did not reply but smiled. A smile that spoke volumes of...sad truths not known to me and perhaps other people, including her family members...her son too. So on this evening, I walked with my mother along this sheltered pathway and saw her...and not far from her, was this ice-cream stall manned by two much younger women in their thirties, selling ice-cream cones or waffles at one dollar for two. At this new stall, it was very much apparent that it was more popular than the auntie's for a small crowd was gathering at this stall. At the auntie's stall, there was none, not a single soul was there to buy her ice-cream. What a wretched sight! My heart took a hard stab and bled. The wound then festered into a new anger. An anger at those thoughtless, selfish women (fucking bitches!) who deliberately set up a competition for an evidently struggling auntie. Yet, anger is helpless. And that gives way to another pain. A pain seeking an answer to an age-old question: Why is there suffering in this world? I know the answer and the knowledge brings tears to my eyes. Posted by |z|r| at |
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