A True Story: E is for...

Once upon a time, there was a 21 year old guy who had everything going for him. He passed his driving test at the first attempt, and a snazzy photo for his driving license. Within a month of his getting his license, a relative was going out of town for a week and asked him if "would you mind terribly taking care of my car for me while I'm away?"

Of course, he said it's no trouble and happily kept vigil over the cute yellow Hyundai by driving bringing it wherever he went.

All was fine and well until one night, he ventured up the highway with his happy family in tow when suddenly, the car coughed and sputtered and stalled while still on the highway exit.

"Oh no!" he cried. "What am I to do now? There is no one else in the car who can help me!" Suddenly, he had a brain wave. "I know! I'll call my friend and ask him for help!" And so he did.

"Dear friend! I need your counsel, I need your help! My car died suddenly while going up the highway and I don't know what to do!"

"Eh dun panic dun panic. What happened? Any lights blinking?"

"I don't know what to do! The car just coughed and sputtered and stalled! All the lights on the dashboard are blinking and I have no idea why!"

"Eh... so everything was okay until you got up the highway ah? Your fuel tank okay or not?"

"Yes it's fine! The fuel tank is fine!"

"What does the metre say?"

"The needle is at 'E'! 'E' is for 'Enough', 'F' is for 'Finish', right?"

~The end~




Yes it's a true story. I really didn't make it up. This really happened to my friend this month, I kid you not. Somehow, I have the quirkiest collection of quirkie friends, eva.

Anticipation!

Switchfoot is coming to town!!

SWITCHFOOT! They of "The Beautiful Letdown" fame!

I'm SO going to go for their concert.

*barely suppressed grin and excited little squeal*

A Fab Birthday Present

I was spending a quiet Christmas afternoon unwrapping my presents when my brother and his motley crew of friends came home to spend the day cooking and playing computer games. Among them was F, the Geek Shifu whom the gals in his church would date. Before F came in, he said to my bro...

(At the door)
F: Is your sister in?
Bro: Yup.
F: Oh no. QUIRKIE! Before I come in, I need you to promise me something!
Me: No I won't! What is it?
F: I need you to promise me that you won't laugh! See, the thing is, my hair colour is... different.
Me: Come in! Come in! I wanna see! And I won't promise you that I won't laugh!
F: Argh! No! Argh! Okay fine whatever.

(Walks in, with a blue halo around his head.)
Me: HAHAHAHAHHAHA! OH GOSH! YOUR HAIR! IT'S BLUE!
F: Yes it is.
Me: Hahahahaha!
F: Don't you want to know why it's blue?
Me: No I don't! It's just you!
F: No it's not it's... Look, if it's green, you can say it's me. But! it's! BLUE! Don't you want to know why?? Ask me why.
Me: No I won't.
F: Ok fine anyways, I'm gonna wash it off now.
Me: No you can't! It's my birthday wish that you keep the hair colour on for the whole day!
F: WHAT?! That's your BIRTHDAY wish?! Ok ok fine. *exasperated look*
Me: I need a picture of this.
F: NO!


And that was the quirkie birthday present from my brother's quirky cool geek friend =) Apparently, having your birthday on Christmas allows you to get away with pretty cool stuff ; ) me likes.

My Blessed Christmas

I am so blessed this Christmas =)

I managed to spend time with people who mattered to me, and that was really precious.

I managed to catch a nap this afternoon, which refreshed me physically.

I ate the stuff I wanted to eat =) Yumz. Am happy.

I got lots of birthday wishes from friends, even an overseas call from Gara in NZ =)

I've got some new books to read and admire.

And a new set of batteries to use, yes.

A tonne of chocolates to fatten myself on, and a monster of a birthday chocolate cake from my favourite baker: My Aunt =)

And I sang the one Christmas carol that really hit the spot in my heart: O Holy Night.

O Holy Night

O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

He knows our need, To our weaknesses is no stranger.
Behold your King, before him lowly bend!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

And that made my Christmas, Christmas.

Where is Christmas?

The past two months have been a crazy period for me, at work and emotionally. Am drained.

Time is zipping by too fast, such that everything was a blur right up to 17 Dec 2007. And then suddenly, Christmas is around the corner and I haven't done any shopping nor gotten any Christmas cards. So off I go triapsing around town to get some shopping done, except that the whole of Singapore had the same idea as me and I end up trying to avoid crowds (I'm allergic to crowds; I break out in extreme irritation) by hiding out in cafes, nursing a cup of coffee and some donuts while trying to eke out time to practice my rusty sketching. Plus it's been too long since I last walked around so much; my heels are killing my feet, slowly and painfully.

Church has been a whirlwind of activities: Anniversaries, Carnivals, Dramas, all in the space of 2 months. Some of us haven't managed to catch a breath since early Nov. Gosh I need a break.



In the midst of all the activities and busyness,

I kinda miss The Reason behind the season.

*wistful sigh*



Presents and activities and the presence of many people cannot, should not, will not replace the One thing we all need,

the only thing that satisfies the deep longing in our souls:

The Child born 2000 years ago on Christmas day.



Blessed Christmas.

Back to the ol' drawing board

Last month, I was hounded asked to teach the young 'uns in the student care centre to do some sketching, mainly to "fill up some time slots to get them off our hands", said J, so I hemmed and hawed and finally agreed.

I don't know why I agreed to do something I've never had any experience in; maybe it's a form of payback for the poor art-teacher who faced a dwindling class of uninterested students when I was understudying The Great Seb.

So come this morning, I was going to the classroom with two volunteers (D and E) who were helping me bring in a white-board. D is a mild-mannered, soft-spoken guy, while E is... just an Es. :P

D: Have you done this before?
Me: No, I have zero experience. *nervous grin*
D: Ok. *smirk* Are you prepared to shout?
Me: Err...
Me: They are pri 3 right? How much can they understand har? I hope they'll be able to understand what I'm saying.
D: They understand Fear.
Me: You're not helping.

And then J came into the room to help me get settled in and asked me...
J: Do you need tables? Maybe it will be good hor?
Me: Yah I think so. Do they usually draw on the floor?
J: Hmmm... maybe we'll set up the tables and chairs lah. So that they won't roll around and run around...
Me: O_O

Before long, I heard the noisy footsteps and shouts and clatter of the little uns and they filed into the class. I did what I could, I taught what The Great Seb attempted to teach me: Basic Shapes, Using Basic Shapes, Seing Basic Shapes In The World We Live In. I ATTEMPTED to teach as much as I can. The keyword is ATTEMPTED.

At that young age, you can already tell who are the precise ones (use rulers, will erase, use ruler, draw again, repeat) and the not-so-precise ones (a scrawl that passes for a circle, a scrawl that passes for a face).

I drew a basic structure of a human body on the whiteboard made up of circles and squares, and one boy copied the structure, then proceeded to fill in the finer details, sans clothes. How that brought back memories of being in co-ed pri and sec schools.

Anyway, as a reward for my hard work this morning, I have a piece of fan-art, thanks to the instigation suggestion of Es, who asked a boy "Hey draw the teacher lah. See her specs? Earrings? The Hair? what color, what parting?" Apparently, Shortstop taught him well.

If there is any iota of truth in this picture, I have a few lessons from it:
1. Look in the mirror before I step out of the house.
2. Go easy on the blusher.
3. Grow more hair on the other side of my head.
4. I have funky specs. Which, actually, I do.

My very first portrait. *sighs*

Christmas Wishlist Part Deux

Dear "Friends" Who Read My Blog,

1. Battery: An Object Or An Objectional Behaviour?
Yes yes, you do indeed pay close attention to what I say and what I don't say. I should be so flattered! Offers of buying me ONE battery and dinner treats at coffee shops have been coming in fast and furious from The Select Group and my, don't I just feeeeeeel the luuuurve! Just be careful that I don't forget myself in my overwhelming um, joy, and take the word "battery" to be an action point.

2. Conversation with Intuition:
*****
He: Eh I think you should take down your blog post on the wishlist.
Me: Why?
He: What if you get multiple copies of the same gift?
Me: No lah, unlikely.
He: Really leh. You should take it down. What if you get a few repeats?
Me: Why are you so concerned? Have you bought me anything from the list?
He: No, I'm just saying. Maybe it's a bad idea, like maybe you'll get a few copies of Niel Gaimond's books.
Me: Then I give you one of them lor?
He: That's not the point. Anyway, why you post up that list?
Me: So that my friends will know what to get me this time and not end up buying funny gifts for me.
He: Sigh. *looks a little uncomfortable* I don't like your list leh.
Me: *surprised!* But why?!
He: I already thought of what I want to get you for Christmas to show that "See!! I've been paying attention to what you like / need / want!" and now you show the list to everyone. Takes the surprise out of the gifts.
Me: Oh! So you bought something from the list oredi? What is it? "Stardust"?
He: ...
Me: You bought me Stardust already?
He: YES. I hope you get many copies of Stardust.
*****
So please don't buy me Stardust ^_^ Thank you!

Christmas Wishlist :D

Dear Friends Who Read My Blog,

Thank you for being interested in what I want for my birthday and Christmas. Thank you also for being interested in making the distinction, that I get a birthday gift AND a christmas gift. You are truly the best.

Before I launch into a greed-fest of what I want, let me begin by telling you what I don't want. This is important because I am The Queen of Clutter, and I'm in the midst of de-cluttering my personal labyrinth, as I'll be moving soon.

Please don't buy me these, because I have enough to last me two life-times:
- Bags
- Make-up
- Perfume
- Books
- Earrings
- Wallets
- Coloured pens & notebooks (I like these, but having received loads of these the past 2 years means that I've still got a few to go through =)
- Figurines, photoframes, soft toys.

I lust after would really like a macbook and a Canon EOS 400D, but it's highly unlikely that these will appear under my christmas tree anytime soon. *wistful sigh*

iWant:
- Intuos 3 ^^
- Inner-earphones
- Rechargeable AA batteries, as I've lost all of mine =( Please don't get Sanyo, those don't last. GP is fine, and at least 2300mh. :P
- U2 album: All That You Can't Leave Behind
- Scrabble set
- "Stardust" or "American Gods", by Neil Gaimond
- Sunglasses
- 2GB thumbdrive (mine died)
- Casio digital alarm clock
- those colourful t-shirts / tank-tops at Dorothy Perkins. Size 8, please =) No black though, that's just not my colour. Bright colours are fine ^^
- Shoes :D Bring me shopping for shoes! There is no such thing as too many shoes!
- Vouchers (Isetan, Robinsons, NTUC are all favourably looked upon.)

When in doubt, give me the gift of your time and good food =) Bring me out for a nice meal, and I'll be a happy girl =) Please do not bring me to the following Overpriced Yuckyfood Establishments otherwise it will severely test our friendship:
- Cafe Cartel. I won't even speak to you.
- Pasta Mania. Pure ebil.
- KFC / MacDonald's / Burger King / Pizza Hut.

And here is the list of QuirkieKai Approved Eating Places For Her Birthday Treat. If you dunno these places, nevermind, just choose one and I'll bring you :D
- Pregos
- The French Stall along Serangoon Road
- The Tuckshop
- Kuishin Bo
- Olive Tree
- Carl's Junior
- Werner's Oven
- Waraku
- Tomton
- Victor's Kitchen (cheap and good!)


Note: I realise that my wish-list is rather geeky! I is Geeky Gal 8)

Just Shoot me.

The last thing you'd ever want to see

during your peak period,

rushing artwork after artwork,

staying back late day after day,

is a

&#@$*%#

typographical error

on 9000 flyers.

Ten Kliks Part Deux

The morning started at an unholy hour of 4:50am. I slept at 11pm the night before, with vague anxieties like "Will I run halfway and need to use the toilet??" haunting my mind before blessed sleep took over. My brother left a bit of a sweet potato in the fridge for my high-energy slow-release (something lidat) breakfast and I had a mug of glucose water to perk me up. My veteran runner friends told me that coffee is a Bad Idea as that will dehydrate me further, hence the glucose.

In the car, my colleague and I were lamenting...
Me: Why are we doing this?
She: I don't know! Why are we paying $40 to torture ourselves?
Me: I don't know! I just know I want to sleep!
She: Yah me too!
We: *Wail!*

When we reached there, however, we were singing a different tune. The atmosphere was charged with energy as the DJ blasted fast songs into the air and thousands of people stretched and did their warming up. All sorts of people were there: the old and saggy, the young and lithe, the pale and pasty, the tanned and toned. The sky was a clear blue and the cool breeze invigorated our senses as we stretched every discernible muscle group. Believe it or not, we were SO PUMPED to start running.

As we waited in the holding pen for our run to start, the DJ and the camera man flirted with the thousands of ladies, getting us to smile and wave for the camera or to do the "YMCA". At one point, the DJ dedicated this song "to all you sexy ladies out there!" and blasted my perennial favourite: "I Got It From My Mama" *rolls eyes while brain cells commit kamikaze*

Finally, the run begins! I started with a slow jog since I didn't want to tire myself out too early. The side of my stomach started to cramp up and I was like, Darn it! Am I gonna walk all 10km?? but I soldiered on and thankfully, the pain subsided before long. As I maintained my comfortably slow pace, I can't help but notice (and be a tad demoralised) that a lot of people who... who look decidedly less fit than me are over-taking me. With ease. My ego took a bruising, but I decided that I will not be foolhardy for once and just keep at my pace.

The route was a pleasant one, going from the Esplanade to Marina South before doing a U-turn back into Shenton way and finishing at the Padang. As I approached the half-way mark at Marina South, I kept thinking to myself: Hit the 5km mark before walking! 5KM MARK! DO NOT STOP! and when I got there, I realised I could still go on for a bit, so I did some self-pep-talking. "Hit the next lamp-post. Hit the next bush. The next water-station. Go on, go on, go on."

Beyond the 6km point, I started to walk and realised that once you start walking, it's so hard to get back into the jogging mode. I just walked, then jogged for about 50m, then walked, and this continued until I reached the 9km mark. When you feel like walking, only a few things can keep you jogging. One was whenever the route was on a down-slope. Jogging then becomes a breeze. Another was whenever you spy a camera pointed in your direction. The thought of a picture of me WALKING being taken spurs me on like nothing else can. *Jog, pant, jog, look cool for the camera, pant pant*

At the last 500m of the run, you can hear the loud music and the cheering (jeering?) in the distance. The leaden legs pick themselves up reluctantly and start to jog again. When you reach the Padang, hear the crowd cheering, the music blasting and see a big sign "FINISH", the adrenaline starts to pump and you jog ("don't walk, don't walk. go on."). 200m. 150m. 100m. 12 seconds before the next minute. My vision tunneled and all I saw was the ticking seconds and I sprinted to the finishing line, just as the timing registered "1:15:00".

Ten kliks

UPDATE: I DEEED EEET! My timing is a respectable 1hr 15min *beams* RAWR!


Yup.

I've not done anything more than 5km so far, and tomorrow, I'll be stretching my muscles and my limits to 10km.

My preparation thus far:
- Buy shoes. (check)
- Buy jogging shorts. (check)
- Get the goodie bag. (check)
- Try on the t-shirt to see if it fits**. (check)
- Carbo-loading. (oooh yeah, check ^^)
- Training. (umm... hmmm...*rubs neck*)

Still, it's something I've been wanting to do since last year. It got written down in last year's list of "Things To Do This Year" but it didn't happen, so this year I try to make it happen so that I can feel better about myself =D So come this time tomorrow, I, QuirkieKai, can say I've experienced going through 10km! Even if I walk to some extent!



** : YES I'm doing this so that I can get the cool t-shirt can?? So that next time when I go jog my measly 2.4km rounds, I can wear that and everyone will look at me with respect, CAN?? Happy? There, I've said it.