ZiggyZag

It made me wonder why I met so many, or probably to some a tiny few people who are categorized as the difficult people. Is there anything I should learn from them? Is there something I should be aware of so to prepare for more difficult people that I bound to meet?

Difficult people are not only people who are cranky or people who want everything about you. I termed it broadly. In fact, whoever come across as blockers, rocks, pricks, and whatever we can think of as something hard and unbearable, I call them difficult people. Oh no, please don't get me wrong! It's definitely not the positive ones whom can make us into something better, like a strict teacher who will give us tons of homework or a principal who believe in corporal punishments. Difficult here are simply pricks...

I told myself, never shed a tear for these people. 1) I'm not proving the point that I have been victimized. 2) Why should I cry when these people are making fools of themselves by thrashing people to make themselves feel better?

I want to live by what I teach. I want to walk the talk. And I seriously am thankful to my friends who can be difficult at times, the reason? They are all nothing but for a good cause.

I have finally understood why some couple fought so much just for the custody of their child or children.

I used to think aloud in my mind that you can always have another child, need not to put up such a big scene to fight for the right. You can always check on your child on weekly basis and provide for your child even he or she is not staying with you. All this thought in my mind somehow was erased when I received a message from my sis. It read, "can you ask if any of your colleagues read Lian He Wan Bao? The copy, dated 24th March that we have is now lost."

To be clear, my bro-in-law is featured on that copy about his skills and professionalism in video editing and animation. He doesn't look charming in that paper, err not so much though even face-to-face :p but it was the write up about his work that weigh more than others.

I was thinking if my bro-in-law was mad at my sis, blaming her for losing the paper and worse, criticising and looking down on her coz she's pregnant, can be clumsy and of course she's not as independent now. My thoughts ran wild and that finally brought me to home fight and then the word divorce. What will come next? Child custody. Hmmm, I sure can try my skills in writing for drama serial.

At this point of time, my first reaction was NO WAY! And frankly, I was quite surprised with that note in my head. It will be a NO because it was very hard for my sister during this pregnancy period, her health is affected because of the baby, her movement is restricted and after all the sufferings and discomfort, the man wants the child? NO NO NO WAY!

Oh, my bro-in-law is quite cool with it. He is fine with it. It is my sis who got worked up with herself for losing the paper. And me? It was me who created all this nuisance in my head, which is good coz it led me to a big realization. Hmmm, sometimes thinking and imagining make learning too.

To the left or to the right? To go straight or to make a sharp turn?

I think I am all steered now ;)

I just read an article about managing life changes and I thought that speaks up the reasons behind my fatigue mind, poor health and recuring images in my mind. The images do not seem to fit into any puzzle that appear, no coherence whatsoever.

I become irritable, less patient with people especially and the recent victim if I may call it is her. SHE gave me a very good impression, a kind woman with people interests at heart. SHE doesn't mind spending more time to give the best for the people around and most importantly, she has no problem expressing her happiness or sorrow in front of other pair of eyes. SHE appears like a genuine, good woman and I thought this will be good for the nest.

When the news broke about my final decision, SHE was the first, so concerned of everything I was about to go through, leaving all space and minutes for me to think about things which needed to sort out. She seemed patient but she kept coming back to check on me. I thought she was just checking to make sure I was doing alright. It was not!

SHE is meticulous of her movements, her smell that trails the path she walked, the images she might left behind and every other belongings SHE owned will be carefully arranged or distributed that no one will ever notice the skin behind the masked face. Utter disgusting. Fake! SHE's a charlatan, no a humbug, nah a mounteback, wait, a faker? No SHE's everything...

Scary isn't it? Why do people turn ugly when we may have worked enough summation to conclude they can be beautiful?

Chanced upon this from a forwarded email and I thought I just put it up here to share with you :)

• Tip from police: The elbow is the strongest point on your body.If you are close enough to use it, do!
• If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. Toss it away from you....chances are that he is more interested in your Wallet and / or purse than you and he will go for the wallet or purse.RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!
• If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car:Kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody else will. This has saved lives.
• Women have a tendency to get into their car after shopping,eating,working,etc., and just sit (doing their check book, or making a list, etc.) DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go.
• A Few Notes About Getting Into Your Car In a Parking Lot,or ParkingGarage:
• Be aware: look around you; look into your car, at the passenger Side floor, and in the back seat. (And check out under the car as you approach.)If you're parked next to a big van you should enter your car from The passenger door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car,you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.) ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells areHorrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).
• If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ, RUN!
• As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT! It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking,well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women? He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked'for help' into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
• Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her 'Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door.' The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over The policeman said, 'We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do,DO NOT open the door.'He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby cry recorder and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they heard baby cries outside their doors ! when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on! and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby.

AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

I had sleepless nights the final week before school term started. I had this anxiety, only I know best how it felt. My first day of school was full of anxiety, and I have not found out the cause of it. My colleagues said, it could be my new batch of students. Some said I was too stressed out. Only one said confidently, this is my last term and therefore I had what I had.

I had two nights of headache with last night the worst. I threw up twice enduring the pain in my head. I couldn't open my eyes and once I got the door unlocked, entered the house, the first thing I did was to throw up. After composing myself and took my shower, I rested on the couch for an hour before I could stand and reach for a cup of water. My tears were flowing, not that I was crying but it was just flowing when I opened my eyes. What the hell? I took a small bite of bun and within minutes I threw up again. I knew I can't have anything. I waited for another hour before taking two spoonfuls of porridge, its water in fact. I couldn't take in anymore so I popped in two Panadol Extra to soothe the headache. I couldn't lie down coz I would want to vomit again, so I had two pillows and rest my head on them.

If this is how my last term is going to be, I seriously have no idea how to go through it...

Miss C has finally given me that sick nod and her faint yes to this movie. It's starting on the 24th April, Thursday. Anyone interested? I'm thinking of going on a Friday night :))))

Check out Taxidermia or its trailer.

I couldn't really sleep for the past 4 nights. I kept tossing and turning only to fall into deep sleep much later. My muscles couldn't relaxed and I woke up pretty easily.

Was I nervous because tomorrow is coming? I think so.....

It was a good anticipation period for this Japanese buffet dinner.

Bro-in-law gave us a treat and all 7 of us happily drove to this restaurant last Sunday for the dinner.

The spread was so-so, because most of the servings are on a la-carte basis. Just clip on the card and put them on the small tray they provide, they will serve you once it's cooked. We had to wait for quite some time before food is served. So many of us will help ourselves with the limited sushi spread at the counter.

The company was perfect and we had good chat throughout the dinner until....

Kent got himself and mom ice cream to sweeten our palate at the end of our dinner. He got himself mint flavour and my mom's choc & mint. He was happily feeding himself a spoonful after another, and finally he tasted something funny in his tongue. He spat that out on the serviette and to his horror, it was a housefly.


I called out to the person-in-charge and told her what we found. She took a closer look and just said, "Oh hmmm maybe the housefly was trapped in it just before you scoop the ice cream from the tub" "You mean it's alright?" I asked in disgust after hearing that sedate reply. There was no sorry with non-apologetic approach from someone known as the person-in-charge of a restaurant.

As we walked out of the restaurant to make the payment, she was nowhere to be seen. Later, she walked out of nowhere to say "we feel bad for this, hope you don't mind" WHAT?? I asked for her name and if she was the manager but she said the manager was not around and she was just a receptionist. Right!! Her name was Sharon, which I doubt that was her name after all.

Frankly, a sincere apology or some expiring complimentary coupons might just help to appease my dissatisfaction. So my rating for this restaurant......

Friday was finally here :)) Met Kimmy and Miss C about 5.20pm, timing was quite good. They had quite a smooth journey here despite the congestion that I was worrying. In fact, no congestion at all as described by them. They both looked great, kimmy with her sunglasses and Miss C with her beauty charm and sporty-casual outfit.

We walked to my car which was parked in CS, and on our way there, I gave them a surprise instead, "We'll have dinner with my family later." Shocked and uneasy look I saw on their faces, they gladly joined or maybe they didn't have a choice. Aiks! I should have used open-ended invitations like would you like...? Is it cool....? I was too quick which of course with my overwhelmed excitement to show them what's in my hometown, its food especially. The dinner was good, everybody started off awkwardly but when we have warmed up with one another, the dinner simply tasted better. Too oily I thought for some of the servings, quality control doesn't seem to exist in small town like this!

We went to my sis's place and played with kazat. We spent some quality time and finally went back to the hotel. My initial planning to drive them around to see what some hot spots in JB town didn't happen as our butts and body seemed too heavy to move once we showered. We slept but occasionally woken by the noise from the next door and the main road. Not a fitful sleep :(

We set off for fishball noodles at Tmn Tasik. We were lucky to have found a good parking spot, managed to get our seats, had our noodles, fishballs and coffee. Yum! Miss C spotted a red piece of paper stuck at my windshield. What else? I need to pay summon, RM30 for parking without putting parking coupon. I forgot all about that, totally! Aiyaya....

Malacca was great. Limin's hospitality and thoughtfulness made the trip 100 times better. We had chicken rice balls in the hotel room coz she didn't want a chunk of our time in Malacca wasted on queuing for it. After lunch, we visited Christ Church Melaka, Kota A Famosa and finally shopping at Dataran Pahlawan. Dinner was cockles, siput, 'lala', charcoal grilled 'tao ki' and cuttlefish with kangkong. It was not in any expensive restaurant but this is definitely one of the must-go makan places if you visit Malacca. It was served at an alley behind a row of shophouses. Low tables and stools were arranged for customers. There is a hole in the middle of each table that can fit a small pail. All the shells, used tissue and wastes will be chucked into the pail. They will clean it before the next customers take the table. Very interesting! Kimmy feasted on her long-awaited see-ham, siput, and lala...Now that is what we call satisfaction!

Jonker Walk was our next destination. It was quite crowded and Kimmy had ABC, Ais Batu Kacang / ice kacang. Miss C had a spoonful of durian chendol and I had two spoonfuls of it. Very smelly but of course didn't taste that bad once you put that in your mouth. The durian, sticky gula melaka and the ice just melted in your mouth.

We were very tired, all accumulated from the bad sleep, to the journey and the walking. Limin and I sent them back to EQ before we headed home. I put up at Limin's house. We chatted like there was no tomorrow, even when our eyes were super duper tired. I slept at 2am.

The next morning, we went out to get dim sum for breakfast. The long queue and mad rush to get the stuff just brought us more laughters especially on how Limin managed to get her way in and get the goodies from the dim sum uncle. I sent Limin off as soon as I reached EQ coz she would be late for the bus if she stayed on and kepoh. Kimmy and Miss C were awake when I got into their room. I had my 'lo ma kai' and read The Star. Miss C made very good coffee and we all had our good time before making our way to the car. We started our journey at about 10am.

After turning left and right for the right way to get to Ayer Keroh toll, our mind and body started to set in for another 2.5 hours journey back to Kulai. Their next excitement was to take KTM train to get back to Singapore at 1.15pm. I stepped on the accelerator and sped up to 100km/p once I left the Ayer Keroh toll. I was ready to speed up and overtake vehicles and get on with smooth ride at 110km/h back to Kulai. My heart started to tell me something.....

The road seemed to be quite errmm not bumpy, but it was as if my car was going through very rough road surface. The noise was evident and as I was negotiating in my mind, Miss C confirmed my suspicion. She asked for the noise and the reason why the ride wasn't as smooth as the one we had yesterday.

I found a the next stop in Ayer Keroh and checked the tyre. It was ok. There were nothing shown. All intact. Maybe it was engine. Everything was alright but the same thing occurred once the speed limit exceeded 80km/h. The noise was louder, and I could feel and see my hands trembled with the vibration from the steering. I knew things were bad this time.

The next stop is about 5km away and I went slower this time. I kept to the left and I told Miss C and Kimmy that things were not right. They were calm and composed which was definitely helpful as I didn't know what to tell them at that point of time. Once I reached the next rest house, all three of us got down from the car. I knew I needed help coz I couldn't find out the fault, tyre seemed alright to all 3 of us.

I walked to a man whose fruit stall which was set up on his van was just few steps away from my car. With my polished conversational Malay, I asked if the man could help me with my car. I told him the steering seemed to be on vibration mode but there was nothing could I spot with our naked eyes. He gladly came, checked the tyre and said no signs of puncture. He asked for my permission to test drive my car. Our bags were in the car. Our valuables were in the car. My instinct told me that I can trust him coz his van is still there. I obliged without discussing with Kimmy and Miss C. He took my car keys and started to test drive. I only managed to tell Miss C and Kimmy briefly about what he was doing when he drove off the car. Where did I get that kind of courage to allow him to test drive? I have no idea but I just had to trust him.

He came back with the car, his wife signaled to him the tyre on the front passenger seat had problem. When he parked my car, I found a nail stucked firmly in the tyre. Next to the nail was a big bulge, it looked like it was exploding very soon. I got a shock when I saw that but at the same time feeling so grateful that the tyre didn't burst, otherwise I cannot imagine what will happen to the three of us. I took out the spare tyre and he helped us with changing the tyre. While changing the tyre, he said, "Kita orang Malaysia, tak kira warna, tak kira bangsa, semua sama. Kalau ada masalah, kita memanglah tolong betul tak moi?" (DT: We are Malaysian, it doesn't matter what color or races, we are all the same. When there is a problem, we will definitely help. Am I right miss?)

I was so touched when I heard that. Why do people like to divide and draw clear lines to illustrate differences? We are just human being, we are all the same.

He then asked if two of my friends are from somewhere else. I told him yes, from neighbouring country. After he was done with changing the tyre, he asked if I was a teacher. I raised my eyebrow upon hearing that and asked him why that comment. He simply said, "coz you looked like a teacher!" I just smiled and nodded my head to agree with his curiosity. He seemed happy and all smiling. The cute part, he started addressing me as cikgu and not miss anymore. Even after Kimmy passed him some thank-you notes, he refused our gratitude and passed them back to me by saying, "tak pe lah cikgu....(never mind about it, teacher...)

I will never forget this trip. The journey home was filled with mixed emotions, not helping when the aircond started to protest by refusing to work in such hot sunny day. I was perspiring in my driver seat but even so, to recall, there was no regret at all in this trip.

There was big talk about global warming on the news and what more we can do to slow the process. And now it's the shortage of rice supply, worldwide.

"Rice is fattening. Don't finish it if you can't!" Ah, how familiar is that.

So to make things better, just askfor less rice when you make your order, be more specific if you want to, "uncle, one spoonful of rice please!"

My mom asked if we should start storing rice. I told her, no. No because we are not in dire state now. No because if all start stocking up rice supply at home, the price will increase due to high demand, short shortage, then to rumours, to riots, to economy downturn, to worse, war within the people in the country. Yes, I have exaggerated the situation but I'm pretty sure if all started to panic now and stocking up, I just can't imagine the situation that follows. Yes the news about the shortage is nothing but the truth, but I didn't think immediate action like stocking up rice is recommended. If only the rice that you stock could be kept well before the bugs / insects / whatever you call it started to live in it and spread to the rest of the sacks of rice that you keep....