Complaints

#1
Traffic was slow; I was sluggish, lethargic; a sudden, unexpected flitting object falling to the road directly in front of my car caught my eyes. I forced myself to focus. Some IQ-deficit, irresponsible occupants in the car in front just flung something out of the window. Blatant littering in broad daylight! I could not believe my eyes! Was I seeing things due to not having rested enough the night before? Was it all a figment of my imagination? How could it be possible that there are still people so indifferent? People are moving towards conservation and recycling big time - owing in parts to the "publicity stunt" that Earth Hour was - and I still see this? We're talking about carrying our own water bottles, buying food in reusable containers, bringing shopping bags when shopping, turning the water off in the shower when shampooing / lathering, reusing laundry water to flush the toilet... and I still see this?!



#2
There I was, standing, balancing my shopping bag bursting and incredibly heavy with cartons of low-fat milk and soy-milk, and bottles of shower foam and body lotion, on one foot (for it weighed way too much for a single shoulder to shoulder, and the floor didn't look clean enough) waiting for my waffles. Out of nowhere, an unruly bunch of kids (I usually refrain from referring to children as kids because kids are baby goats, but this bunch were really full of butts anyway, so...). They wanted snacks, and they wanted different types of snacks. They were running in circles, pulling at each other, pushing at and around each other, bickering, squealing, shrieking, and threatening to throw me and my precariously perched shopping bag off-balance. And for heaven's sake where was their mother? I looked around and saw her standing a couple of meters away, barking out orders. She had in her hands a trolley full of plastic bags of groceries and a tiny toddler, barely a year old, in the child's seat. She screamed and ordered her children to leave, and proceeded to walk out of the hypermarket. The kids tumbled after her, some dragging their feet, one dragging a younger sibling, some whining, some crying - all FIVE of them. I will never be able to comprehend a mother who has SIX very young children, all looking just a year apart, who dared take the entire brood out shopping, without her man to help herd his young. It is absolutely her right to do so, and it is absolutely absurd!

#3
The dress is red - a bold, bright, Chinese New Year red - and it was hanging there in front of my bookcase, right under my nose! I had been waiting for the chance to return it to Bee Ree for ages now, and today was the day - and I left home without it! I remembered to take the tiny paper bag containing the wrong-size knitted baby blanket, half-hidden in a corner, but I missed that bright red dress glaring at me! Just what was the matter with me?! Is it sleep-deprivation? Is it really? Fine! I'll go to sleep!

Grrrrr......

Sleeplessness

It is ironic how the person whom one loves most alone has the power to drive so much hurt into one's heart, to the point of sleeplessness. It is ironic that one rarely gets infuriated by the people who one doesn't care about so that being a loved one would mean having to face wrath every now and then. It is even more ironic that though one understands the irony, one cannot escape it; therefore, tormenting oneself with nights without sleep.

Being Neighbourly

I heard my neighbour was installing grills in his unit. I heard, literally - the tremendously loud drilling and knocking early mornings, several days in a row. It was the faithful wake-up call which did not fail to greet me the past few mornings I wasn't working, and could sleep in. I also heard that he liked work done only in the early mornings because after an hour or so from the first drilling, the noise would cease altogether, and I won't hear anything for the rest of the day. Grand way to get to know one's neighbour's likes and dislikes with regards to grill-installations.

I also heard another neighbour supports child freedom and child's freedom of expressions. Every so often I'd hear his children running around free of adult supervision; laughing, crying, shrieking all their might, as much as they please. I'd hear it too, when his friends and their children drop by for visits. Lovely children, no doubt. Unfortunately, they are more often heard than seen, which isn't exactly the way I like children to be.

At times, I wonder if I ought to let my neighbours know more of me too. I'd love to let them know what kind of music I like. I really wouldn't mind sharing, especially Sarah Brightman's lush, magnificent music - but especially pieces that showcase her astounding vocal range and prowess. How about that new Josh Groban's Awake Live DVD that I got recently? Live concerts are always exciting because of the abundance of cheers and applause. Oh, and Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess Live on Earth too - great songs, resounding with thousands upon thousands of screaming fans! It's also been quite a while since I had a fill of Phantom of the Opera. I'm feeling rather generous right now...

February 14

We celebrate love, being loving, and having loving beings around us. We celebrate having loved ones, having had a good loving year, and having a brand new loving year ahead of us. We celebrate having not been solitary in our laughter, tears, frustrations, successes and failures because we love and are loved in return.

We celebrate the start of the Year of the Tiger. We wish this year will bring us more joy, health and most importantly, love. Of course, we wouldn't mind abundant fortune and wealth either.

Happy Chinese New Year to us all.

Cliches and Conundrums

"You Learn Something New Every Day"
Actually, you learn something old every day. Just because you've just learned it doesn't mean it's new. Other people already knew it, Columbus is a good example of this. Edison and Einstein are the exception.

"The Sky's The Limit"
Well, how can the sky be the limit? The sky never ends. What kind of a limit is that? The earth is the limit. You dig a hole and what do you keep getting? More earth. The earth is the limit.

"You Get What You Pay For"
Clearly this is not true. Have you been shopping recently? Only a very naive person would believe that you get what you pay for. In point of fact, if you check your purchases carefully, you'll find that you get whatever they feel like giving you. And if corporations get any more powerful, you soon might not even get that.

"Everything Comes in Threes"
Not true. In reality, everything comes in ones. Sometimes, when three "ones" come in a row, it seems like everything comes in threes. By the way, in medieval times it was widely believed that everything came in twenty-sixes. They were wrong, too. It just took them longer to recognize the pattern.

"Nice Guys Finish Last"
Not true. Studies have shown that, on average, nice guys finish third in a field of six. Actually, short guys finish last. By the way, in medieval times it was widely believed that nice guys finished twenty-sixth. You can see how limited those people were.

"If You've Seen One, You've Seen Them All"
Do we even have to talk about this one? This should be obvious. If you've seen one, you've seen ... one. If you've seen them all, *then* you've seen them all. I don't even understand how this one got started.

"It Takes Two to Tango"
Sounds good, but simple reasoning will reveal that actually it takes only one to tango. It does take two to tango together, maybe. But one person is certainly capable of tangoing on his own. He just might look a little silly.

"If It's Not One Thing, It's Another"
No, not always. Sometimes if it's not one thing, not only is it not another, but it turns out to be something else entirely.

Darn right!