i am cranky and i know why!

i have been receiving some weird calls on my house phone. this person is seriously getting on my nerves because it is disrupting my peace! the prank calls are made either really early in the morning or terribly late at night. just this afternoon, i received 2 from this prankster. the first one was pretty freaky where he/she just said some random rubbish in a coarse voice into the speaker.

and i endured it for two weeks.

something happened to my laptop 2 weeks ago; the mouse pointer, instead of an arrow (the traditional kind yes), became a mickey mouse hand.

it totally screwed up for life and my doing work on my laptop as i cannot click on something without moving the entire screen! the mickey mouse hand was supposed to move the entire screen to whichever location i need (tech-idiots, stay with me!) and apparently it ate away my arrow!

i spent my 2 weeks in silent and ridiculous torment and feeling seriously stupid. where was my arrow?! and since i couldn't click on anything, i had to use my tab button and my up-down buttons to help me get to the input boxes. i thought of getting junming or weiliang to help but it always slipped my mind because it wasn't a BIG thing though it was a quietly torturous one.

just 20 minutes ago, i decided i could not stand it any longer. even though i had a brief thought that i might not solve the issue considering how tech idiot i am, i knew i needed to get rid of the mickey mouse hand IMMEDIATELY. i quickly went to every single buttons i could find on the main screen/computer/control panel/personalize to identify the enemy (the mickey mouse hand) but to no avail. my dejected self was demoralized and it didn't help that my search efforts were constantly affected by the #$%^Y& mickey mouse hand! i went dejectedly back to the IE page.

and guess what? right at the top right hand of the IE page, i saw the mother of the mickey mouse hand! it was RIGHT ON TOP of my explorer page ALL THESE while laughing at me while it played my mind upside down. the moment i depressed the button, my arrow (imagine dramatic music and vapour smoke) reappeared lovingly into my life, my tormented and cursed computer life and the computer screen. i love you, arrow.

this mickey mouse hand whom i affectionately call @#$%^&* taught me many things, not only the technicalities of my hp TX1000 laptop, but in life. there are so many issues that are ridiculously taunting us without our knowing. small as it is, it acts as a silent tormentor and slowly eats into your time, your energy and your brain juices. many often than not, we don't know how to solve it; we don't think we can ever. yet, many times, the solution to our problems is right in our face - we just have to open our eyes to it.

do you have any mickey mouse hand in your life?

i know i've got to face it somehow
the giants and i.

i just finished watching "Facing the Giants". it is a christian production that a friend bought for my birthday. the thing about this is that: i have already watch it before and it would not make sense for me to watch it again. i was thinking i'll let it collect dust somewhere.

but today, for some out of the world reason, i picked it up and decided i was bored enough to watch it again instead of doing my assignments, finishing my piling ove stuffs etc. well at least it was more interesting, that's for sure. the show is around 1.5hours and no, i am not exaggerating, i teared for the entire 1.5hours straight. i was reminded of how God spoke to me through this film a year ago when i was in china. that day, i received news that i didn't make it to nus fass. the Lord promised that He would walk me through life's difficulties; and that He would give me the strength to face the giants in my life.

as i was watching the show today, i couldn't help but be reminded that the Lord who spoke to me a year ago is still the God today. i was so comforted by the show (and so swollen from crying)! facing the giants isn't just relying on your own efforts and strength; it is truly about how God works in our lives and our midst. i am so grateful that i had nothing to do on a friday afternoon and decided to use this to end my misery; and yes, it didn't just end my afternoon misery, it ended an entire month of misery since school started.

thank God we have God (especially when you are in ntu).

you know what will be more disappointing? if you can't see why.

the superheroes who live amongst us
are you one of them?

there are many circumstances in life when you will probably see different people in different lights. the times when you see exceptional heroes rising up are in times of desperation and frustration; and when they do appear, their presence simply assures and matters. i wouldn't say i have a niche at identifying them, but they do exist at close proximity around all of us. they are normal beings with extraordinary minds.

i met a few over the short weekend. one left an indelible mark in my memory. you see, every year at this time you will probably see me holding up a big bag; and no, they don't contain books that i have to read nor is it presents that i have received. it is a bag full of mid-autumn "goodies" that i will have to sell to raise funds for ove (haha, now you know).

this person isn't exactly the kind of person that everyone will look for when he/she needs help. perhaps everyone sees the cheeky and goofy side of him more than what you will read about later. to be honest, he did gave me surprise with his gesture. as you know, i am a terrible saleswoman. when it comes to sales, i will either force-sell something or i will just "bao" it myself (cos i don't really dare to earn people's money). so, i kind of just shoved my mini-mooncake to a few people's face and expect to chop chop deal the sale.

when i did that to him, he just gave me a pretty reluctant face. he took out his wallet and picked out a S$2 note. i was already more than happy to say thank you when suddenly he put it back again. puzzled, i reached out for that S$2 note and told him it was the right amount. but guess what he did? he took out a S$5 note and said "this is for your overseas volunteering exp right? take it". for that moment, i was taken aback. i rejected and said that it was okay; but he pressed that S$5 into my hands and said "just take it".

you may think that it is a small matter, but it meant a great deal to me. and this isn't even his only giving story. these people are like superheroes in their own little ways; though hidden and at times, unseen, they play their roles in the best way they can; even without the just credits. there are of course, many other stories of unsung heroes; this is just one of many.

i hope this story has inspired you to buy the mini-mooncake from me (haha). remember it is for a good cause whereby you can contribute to our volunteering expedition to a less fortunate country. it is a baby step to a big vision!

but of course, this aside, start being a superhero to the people around you. lend a listening ear, talk to an old lady sitting alone, buy a packet of tissue from a visually-impaired and perhaps, sayang the irritating little girl who has been crying nonstop on the mrt train. the world needs superheroes; and what's the best thing? there's a superhero in all of us.



thanks wenqi!

the science of love
reader's digest said it, not me (just in case someone beats me up)

[ed's note: the following entry does not necessarily means the writer's stand]

1. like seeks like - someone who is like you will increase the possibility of love; research has shown that we gravitate towards people who looks like us! problem for me is, WHERE ARE ALL THE CUTE GUYS?!

2. declare your desire - this is simple; your chances of love are higher if you flatter and is nice to the person you like. rather than throw barbs at your object of interest, the good feeling of someone liking him/her will give you a better go.

3. the eyes have it - the longer you look into someone's eyes, the greater the intensity. dilated pupils are supposed to have a part at this. but if you have small eyes, then too bad for you. and if you're swc (my prof), who can't look at people in the eye, then get a funky hairstyle like his (will post on blog one fine day; he is SO cute)

4. body language - work on looking feminine; preening your hair (lola does it best), smiling affectionately are ways of showing interest. don't overdo it though, you'll look constipated.

5. naming game - names do have an effect of the impression others have of you. if you have tragic names like hitler or hello kitty, then too bad. sarah is not bad, i guess. just think of sarah michelle gellar the kickass buffy with her hot bad and hot face and associate all sarahs will her.

6. keep them happy - try to make your object of interest feel happy whenever they are with or around you as this will condition them to feel positive whenever you are there. if she sees an accident when she's with you, chances are that you will end up like that too: crash and burn.

the science of love is straightforward and it really does give us a formula for finding a partner. but science will always be science (it's an innate dislike for science, sorry), it can never achieve perfection in any ways; so, my take is that we learn to trust the matchmaker from up above.

you believe?

6degree of separation
a cool fact that everyone reading this intelligent blog should know!

a person is separated from another individual in this entire world by 6 people (ONLY)

i am clueless as to how accurate this is because i haven't met any one from east timor who is a friend of a friend who is friend of a friend who knows this friend and who is my friend (that's 6 people in between). but i do find this pretty amazing; it really does seems like we are not too far of from one another huh. apparently, this degree of separation in singapore is even more pronouncedly minute. it is 3degree of separation instead of a 6. so that means, between you and some random geek from RJC lies 3 totally uninspired individuals.

so why do you want to know this, you may ask.


i guess it's a want, on my part, to let you (whoever you are) know that we aren't actually that stranger to each other. cheers, friends.