Yesterday on my way home, I saw a SFK registered Toyota Vios along side the road, a lady was in the car, the hazzard lights were flashing. A man was standing behind the car trying to push the Vios. Trying to jump-start no doubt. I smiled to myself...

Green green grass

There is this new so called "reality" televion show. Can't remember the exact name of it, but think its called "Exchanging spouses" or something like that. The aim of the show is to answer the ago old proverbial statement, "The grass is greener on the other side".

pro·ver·bi·al (pr-vûrb-l)
adj.

1. Of the nature of a proverb.
2. Expressed in a proverb.
3. Widely referred to, as if the subject of a proverb; famous.


Its about 2 families, usually one better off than the other family in terms of material comforts. The 2 families exchange wives for a week. There is a cash prize of $20000 and the new wife will decide for the family how to spend it. Its a pretty duh show actually but nights can get a bit boring, so...

so is the grass greener on the other side? Perhaps it is, but it might be bitter at the same time. Or perhaps more difficult to digest. So the secret is to actually be contented. A simple life is way much better.

Upside down

Woke up with a splitting headache. Had to practically drag my butt out of bed. Whole world is spinning around, it feels like its gonna be a roller coaster ride today.

Whatever the case, beats being on a merry-go-round.

Weight on/off my shoulders

The experience of weightlessness is a pretty amazing thing. I figure the only time that any person can feel that is when he or she is floating in their mother's womb. The feeling of relaxation, passing time without a care... priceless. The other alternative is fly up to the moon.

I spent the National day weekend up in Malaysia, went scuba diving with some friends. It was a relaxing time away from the hustle and bustle of the world. Sitting by the beach, watching time go by, without a care. The experience of scuba diving was out of this world. Besides the feeling of weightlessness, the visual treat to the underwater world was simply out of this world.

The thing with scuba diving is that there is this huge load that you need to carry, the compressed air that allows you to stay underwater for an extended amount of time. The trips to the dive site usually takes a couple of minutes. We had to gear up, and clamour up the boat, which would then take us to the site. Its at those moments where we agonize over the burden that we carry. But the moment we enter the crystal clear waters, the focus changes to one of relaxation and of awe. Awe of the new world that we enter.

Ironic actually. Its the tank that allows us to enter a new world and yet at the same time, its the tank that gives us that burden to carry. I figure its because of the tank that makes us look forward to the experience under the sea and it's the burden that we carry that makes it all the more worthwhile. And the moment we step off the boat into the water, the instant feeling of weightlessness. Bliss.

We all carry our burdens. We all have them, the responsibilites that are placed on our shoulders and we fight gravity every single day of our lives. But its these heavy weights that give meaning to the rest and relaxing times that we are able to steal from the world. Our personal time away from the world, our weight, our air tank. Don't drown in your world.

Go on and pull me under
Cover me with dreams, yeah
Love me mouth to mouth now
You know I can't resist
'Cause you're the air
That I breathe (BSB)

Life most ordinary

Yeap, its good to be back after a short break. It was a definite good trip. Managed to catch up on much needed sleep. Spent the last couple of days as a beach bum just sitting around. Its pretty tiring work. Fortunately, I did manage to squeeze in a considerable amount of thinking and pondering despite falling into a deep trance (also known as sleep) many a times.

One of the interesting things that I realised is this. We usually use the word ordianry to describe ourselves (for me at least). But are we really ordinary?

or·di·nar·y
adj.

1. Commonly encountered; usual. See Synonyms at common.
2.
1. Of no exceptional ability, degree, or quality; average.
2. Of inferior quality; second-rate.
3. Having immediate rather than delegated jurisdiction, as a judge.
4. Mathematics. Designating a differential equation containing no more than one independent variable.

So am I really all that ordinary? Thought I might come up with the 10 craziest things I have done:

1) Parachuted from a C130
2) Heli-rappelled from a helicopter
3) Done scuba-diving at advance level
4) travelled to Afghanistan twice, once to the Northern Alliance and once to Kabul
5) Been to Tajikistan
6) Backpacked in Eurpoe for a month
7) Worked on board a ship for 6 weeks
8) Worked in -15 degrees environment
9) Held a photo exhibition in the History Museum
10) Climbed Mt Ophir

Ordinary? Hardly.

Milky milkmaid

One of my favourite things when I was young was the "Milkmaid" brand condense milk. My granny had this habit of having tea at 3pm in the afternoon. We would have tea and eat biscuits while watching re-runs of chinese dramas on channel 8, the mandarin channel.

The condense milk usually came in a can and my granny would open it and leave it in the fridge till she needed it. Once in a while, I remember, when no one was looking, I would slowly creep to the fridge, open it, dip my finger in the can and scoop out a generous portion on condense milk and lick my finger clean. Mmmm... it was heaven.

That was definitely a rush, not to mention the sugar high. Fortuantely I did not turn out to be some drug addict or something, and with all that sneaking around in the kitchen.

My love for condense milk has carried over into my adult life. The aunty in the pantry also stocks up on condense milk, to be used with the "kopi tiam" coffee which she brews every morning. Fortunately for me, I no longer need to sneak around for my daily dose of condense milk. I have it with my cuppa coffee every morning. But everyone in the office knows how much I love condense milk....

Life on the Fast Track

Driving on the highway can be quite an experience even for a seasoned driver like myself.Every day is a brand new journey to the destination where you are headed for. Sometimes, the right most lane is the fast-track, you zip by, on other days, its the slowest and you get stuck behind traffic. The left road, the road less travelled, somehow bocomes the express lane. But whatever the case, you live with the decision on which lane to stay in. Sometimes its a good choice, sometimes not. Sometimes you get stuck in it and all you can do is to just ride it out, it usually get better when you get over the Shears Bridge (I drive on the ECP by the way). On other occasions, a lane, an opportunity, appears and you filter into an adjacent lane and once again cruising, leaving the rest of the world behind. There are big cars, some with especially big butts, that block your front view totally. There are the reckless drivers, the sports cars, the lorries and trucks and no to mention the notorious Taxis. The beautiful cars, the ugly ones, the rare ones (like my Toledo) and of course not forgetting the common ones (like the Vios). The expensive ones and the rich ones. What a myrid of cars!

Interestingly, it does not matter what kind of vehicle you drive, you face the same challange as any car. Does not matter if its a 200bhp car or a conservative 78bhp car, a Subaru WRX STi or a Nissan March You are still stuck in the same traffic. You get horned at, squeezed out of your lane, overtaken, have someone cut into your lane, you jam your brakes, you curse, you move on...

Well, life is pretty much the same ain't it? We all face our set of obstacles, we all have to make decisions, we all have to live with the consequence of our decisions. Sometimes we get a lucky break, sometime we just have to ride it out, sometimes our future gets obstructed, sometimes its as clear as a cloudless sky. Whatever the case, we all have a journey to make... a destination to reach. How do you want to finish that journey. Personally, I wind my windows down, I blast my music, wind in my hair, wearing my shades and I take whatever comes...


I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
Like today never happened (Jon Foreman)