This week's word is.... "SpaZZing!"

Yeah, I try to use one catchphrase a week. Just to show that I'm capable of original thought. Go, me!

Anyway, this is like the third time I've tried posting since hubby left. And...ah-hah....blogger decides to make a flaming liar out of me...

Well, here goes. My 8th Anniversary pressie from hubby.



Normally, this gift comes in pairs. And so it is no different for me. Huzzah! :D

The first week he arrived... well, the plan was to meet him in Bangkok. But you know what they say about mice and men? Best laid plans blah..blah..blahhh....

Using some creativity, an apple and two tins connected by microfilament wire (bwahahaha...I so made that last one up!!), I booked us into a hotel up north. Where I do...SOLEMNLY...swear...that the drivers there ought to be destroyed by a handy-dandy bazooka that I shall henceforth pack along with my makeup the next time I visit that particular place :)



That was the view halfway up the hill. You'll notice I name no names, as my plan to blow the place up requires some stealth and discretion!!



Despite the recent session I did with the WP, you'll note, since I'm the subject, that I'm not the one who took this picture. There's an even cooler two-faced depiction of me which I find resonates with the bitch within. Unfortunately, it's a bit risque on account of the fact that I was a) on the bed and b) not dressed but for a well-placed pillow ;)

You get a view of the city at night though, aren't you lucky? :) Oh, and my point is: hubby snapped this all on his own, woo hubby!! :)



It's nice to wake up to this, yah? snapped a slew of this scene. After weeks of smog and haze, rainbows just make the world a prettier place. I don't believe I've had a holiday with my little family since...God knows when! So this was a fun trip for all of us. But especially Da Doll, the li'l stinker. She'd found her way into the pack of hotel-provided crisps while our backs were turned :)


"Thou art Kee-yuuuuuute, and henceforth shall be named.....

FLUFFY!"

So anyways, after this quickie holiday, hubby and I dropped the kiddy back home, hopped on a train and suffered the 9 hour journey down south, where we proceeded to spend every last cent of his hard earned money (as well as whatever credit he had left in his cards)....!

That's where he got me my earrings. Also, we discovered a Godiva tucked away in a little nook along the Raffles underground link. Naturally, I bought some chocolates back for personal consumption (hubby loved the mint twigs!!) and he made me eat the 85% Dark Chocolate squares without water to wash it down. SO MEAN!

Naturally, I retaliated by making him do it too, and he never touched them again. Bwahahahaha! He also took lots of pictures. But since they're on his camera and not mine, I can't post them :) Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, cuz...who wants to look at pictures anyways? :)

Okay, so after a week of that, we got home and boy, things didn't slow down one bit. I think I must've spent half a week in Low Yatt Plaza. Another few days in Sungei Wang Plaza. We finally got Celcom prepaids, as that's the only thing that works where he does. I got me a Lime Green PEBL to go with it, instead of the $200 phone I'd initially planned to go with the line.

I love my li'l PEBL! :D

And I used my N73 to snap this! Sans flash though, and really. I may have dropped it a time or two. So who cares if the piccie is grainy and muzzy? Huh? HUH?! :D

If you ask me: Did I spend all my time spending while hubby was home this time around, I'll have to plead guilty. But that's not to say that I only equate hubby with retail therapy. He got called back a whole week earlier, and I think he felt bad about being away so long. I'm glad he made it home for our anniversary. We exchanged gifts, and got to spend a lot of time together.

But he's going to miss my birthday, the WP concert in November, and quite possibly Christmas as well. I don't think things, in all their material glory, can make up for not having him around. But every time the boy gives me a trinket, a bauble, an electronic gadget...I remember the days when we were first married, and he beat himself over his head so hard for not being able to pay for my meals.

If you think the taking is easy, think again. The smile that lights up his face every time he sets eyes on the bling he put in my ears? It's enough for me. And believe me, I will never take his largesse for granted. I don't think a spouse ever should. It's a gift, but feeling his pride that he's providing for his wife, old-fashioned as that sounds...well, you just had to be there. All of 8 and a half years ago.

49 Years, and a day of bummin' around...

Malaysia celebrates its 49th year of Independence today. Does it feel different from any other day in the year? Only the increased number of people in the house, and the constant buzz of activity, makes today seem like it is...

Most days, I get the house to myself while the sun's still high-in-the-sky.

The WP are having a day-time rehearsal. That starts in another hour and change, btw. And since it's at Nige's place, I reckon I'm gonna head out early with my cam, take a leisurely stroll. I don't wanna work up a sweat just yet. It's not nice to walk into a roomful of people smelling..har.

I skipped my day at the gym today. Hello?? It's Merdeka day! What're the odds that MV will be crawling with people who just haven't a clue what to do with their day off?? :p Anyways, I slept late Sim'ing...I get so caught up, I swear....

Anyway, there's this sense of unreality to the day. There's so much to do. A roomful of dust, grime and 4 months of accumulated knick-knacks to clear and put away. There are books to sort and read, and fuckin' 'eck... I got a call yesterday from my local bookstore telling me I'd won a Jim Brickman autographed book.

I'm hoping it's a music book, and not some autobiography, because...sorry, I'm just not a fan of Jim Brickman. But I'm always open to adding scores to my music library :) I've become an absolute fiend with hubby's $$.... the first thing I'll get is books. The second thing I'll get is books. And then the third thing I'll get is books. After that, I'll pick up whatever else catches my fancy.

Chalk it up to years of supressing my desires. Whatever it is, whether I'm spending his money or mine, my priority will always be the printed word. And printed music. Isn't that wonky? The bad thing about this is: I'm constantly loaning my books out, and not keeping a record of who has what.

I've lost many a book this way.

It's not the lending that bothers me, it's the fact that I don't get them back simply because I don't know who has what, so I can't call people to get my stuff back. And besides music, there are stories I love to read and re-read, nevermind that the trash factor breaks the scale at 13... (we're talking 1 to 10 here)...

Okay, I'm done ranting about that. It's my own absent-mindedness after all.

Note to self: Keep Riesling and Godivas safe for hubby's return this Sunday. Whee :D

Urgent Break Needed...

My life is made out of cycles. Not-so-random cycles of quasi-routine, built more like the seasons, than a fixed calendar.

For instance: I know when the edginess starts to hit me, that my claustrophobia that comes from living in a valley, needs the outlet of air and space. There are times when humanity itself is too overwhelming. The sheer press of human bodies in a contained space like this li'l Valley I call home is enough to make me want to lash out with my foot, in the hopes of knocking a circle around me wide enough to breathe in.

If you think this is irrational, you should hear the shit that starts to spew from my mouth when my brain literally shuts down. You know how it is, right? When you get surrounded by a wall of sound, and people, and oxygen suddenly seems lacking, you just can't focus.

That's me. And when my brain shuts down, the boundaries that keep my good manners intact disappear as well, and o...mi....GOD....!!! After the day is done, and I'm readying myself for bed, I cringe over the stupid things I said. The stupid and embarrassing things I'm so capable of saying whenever my self-restraint isn't safely in place.

I hate obligations that keep me tied down to this one space. I want to do a walkabout. Just pick up my wallet and not worry about duty, responsibility, the evil necessity of work (and thus earn money to survive and thrive)... The only thing holding me back is nothing....and everything... How do you work around something like that?

I need air right now. I need it so bad. I need to get away from people. How can I keep putting up a smiley face, when I don't have the time and space to repair the dents and cracks in that masque??? I don't want to call it a total facade, or even a farce... I enjoy being the clown. I enjoy taking life lightly.

But lets face it, even someone as monumentally shallow as me (isn't that somewhat of an oxymoron?!) can tell that life is about checks and balances. About light, and dark. About necessary opposites. And I'm telling you now, I need to indulge in my dark side because it's wearing at the part of me that's light, and fluffy.

Soon. I don't think I can hold out much longer.

Our Weekend, Zack Style

Sis had some themed do at our house, so she got the parental unit + Doll to take a road trip down south to visit relatives. OtherSis had a gig, and I zipped off to meet friends and catch a singing competition. AND HAVE CAFE CAFE din-dins! :D

*BIG CHEESY GRIN HERE*

So yeah, here's a pic of her tabletop decor:



The hanging candles. Zoom...



Zoom-out....



Zoom-out some more...



Old-fashioned armoire with decorations,
and a new-fangled lappie + speakers to jazz it all up...



Random lily-piccies. Didn't even look at view-finder.
Hoped for the best when I pressed! :D



Another fluke shot.



Berkibar Bendera, Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-49, Malaysia!



My kitty's babies! A kitten-puddle!

And that ends my picture contribution for the next few days. Next up will be a story about how my sister almost got kidnapped in front of our house, and also SD's transfer to Sudan, of all places in the world....

Aari @ The Attic

For the life of me, I still can't properly explain why I agreed to this. The money wasn't even a factor (but I got paid something, so it's good!)....I don't think I have anything to prove, except maybe a need to fulfill my curiousity.

Anyway, I personally thought I sucked, but under the circumstances, I did as best as I could. With better circumstances, and a wee bit more rest, it would be a different story, but the fact is: I gave it my best shot.

And I accept that my efforts were below par :) I don't think I'm being too critical of myself, either. You just know when you've made a blunder up there on stage, and I think only my cheesy energy was keeping things going...for me, at any rate :) AND my hired mob, lets not forget those great people out there I forced to attend hehehe :)

This is me, emo'ing. Pfft.




A painting I liked lots...guess my preference for the color blue
hasn't faded off as much as I'd thought :)




Part of my hired mob! Love hired mobs, they do great jobs
making a gal feel good about herself :D




Llew, peekaboo!!! :)




My arse. Can you see my red underwear through the white
capris? I'm hoping not :p Really!

So, to give credit where it's due: Sis (one of the hired mobsters, go figure out which one she is..) did my makeup, and helped me with my uber casual wardrobe. Kewl! Shoes were my fav Nine West clogs, which I'd strapped on wrongly (the right side), and only realized AFTER the show was over and done, hawhawhaw!! *guffaw*

Finally, a bonus piccie of my kitty puddle. My mamma cat had the weirdest pregnancy this time around. She gave birth to her two babies in the morning, then placed them in the washing machine where they'd be "safe", lepak'd around sharing some love and affection in the garden, before dropping another two babies sometime during the night. I've never seen her NOT drop the entire litter at one shot. Or at least during the same period of the day.

Ma kitty puddle!!!

Can't resist a silly li'l Quiz!

Your Celebrity Baby Name Is...

Diva Rogue

What's Your Celebrity Baby Name?

This quiz result is slightly embarrassing, considering that I take my Libran traits seriously. But there you have it. The sad truth!

You are 53% Libra

How Libra Are You?

Oh Fucken' Heck!

I thought my tongue had finally decided to rebel against the instrusion of my tongue stud. The right side feels like something broke in there (yes, duh, silly...but when in pain and all that...) and oy!!! It is ANNOYING!

So, okay. I finally took the time to look in a mirror today. After about a day and a half of swirling my tongue futilely in my mouth, I decided to assess the "damage" :p Fucken' heck, it's a flamin' ulcer. On the underside of my tongue. When I stretch my tongue out, it pulls on the ulcer. Ow-ow-ow!!!

The parental unit have taken themselves off for a well deserved island holiday, so it's just me and Da Doll at home, with a crappy buncha sibs lolling around. I've stocked the friggie, but with the sibs, the supplies will last two days if I'm lucky.

Hubby is still stuck in the boonies. Like: "What the fuck?!?!" right??? On standby, konon. Pfft. Hssst. Boo. Etcetra...

It's only been like 3 fricken months. A whole extra month more than his contract states he should be away from home. By rights, if they don't have any jobs for him to do off-shore, he's entitled to come home.

Seriously, they are so playing fast and loose with his rights. And he can't leave on a whim. Customs and laws in that country are corrupt and skewed. A flight out costs the earth, the moon, and a planet in Alpha Centauri.

Pfft squared.

I finally sent Pang something he could use, and I'm glad it's over. I'm usually quite at ease with my writing, but for some reason, this event and this article really had me digging my heels in.

I'd sent him like 3 (or was that 4) versions in a mixed up jumble of thoughts and impressions. I don't envy his job as editor, and am quite certain he would have cheerfully liked to have strangled me to death after he'd run me through with a pencil for the stress and delays I put him through.

Dunno if he's ever stumbled across my blog, but this is an official and public apology :)

Da Doll is currently sobbing her heart out at my desk. It's rather late, and we've both had a long day, but as punishment for her sudden display of temper (she flung a book at my bed and pouted mutinously), I'm making her finish her homework.

Yes, I'm inhuman. La-dee-da. That's news how?! I know the school holidays officially started yesterday, but I don't care. If I leave this alone, she'll be doing her homework next Sunday, and we'll be going through this exact same scene, except at a later date.

Anyway, that's it. I'm going to shut down here, let the munchkin off the hook, and read a book before I go to sleep. I'm reliving my childhood by reading the first of the Forgotten Realms Avatar series.

Argh, sometimes I'm just full of shit...

I can hear the hisses in the background already :p Sometimes you say??? Perish the thought. Try MOSTLY :p

Yes, thank you. Moving on. I keep telling myself and whomever's unfortunate enough to be within hearing range, that I'm a very self-aware person. I pretend my EQ is higher than my IQ (which isn't saying much, because I'm only a few points above Forrest Gump. Really)...

And I have chronic foot-in-mouth disease.

*sigh*

I didn't start my day mad, but I definitely built up to it. And by the time I went out for lunch, I was unreasonable. Was it my friend's fault? Not really. I'm a real jerk without even trying. But I tend to nurture my discontentment, and have problems putting old issues away.

I made a comment about being true to oneself. I'm afraid I only practice what I preach when it's convenient to me. Isn't that usually the way? I'm much too shallow and self-centered to be able to commit to that philosophy 100%, but I'm at least giving it the ole college try.

And now I'm going to irritate myself with these lame self-justifications.

If you're gonna ask me what the fuck I think I'm doing, I'm gonna tell you I dunno. I don't. But at least I've recorded my day with some accuracy, if not coherency. Thank you, that is all.

p/s: I am NOT ranting. I'm just emoting. Babbling...whatever!!! :p

Ohhh...cute test thing from Hagge.

I took the short, informal test. You can take it here. This other one's longer. And I haven't done it yet. But you can give it a go.

And you may have already guessed, but according to the short test, it looks like I'm an all-out ESFP. Details here.

Okie, nap time!

Pictures of my new phone and other shtuff..

As promised! Piccies of ma neue PHONE! :D

The back, complete with active-slider function.
The real cool thing is there's an auto-focus function too,
like you get with digital cams. Something that I've not
experienced with a phone cam before :)




My phone, in white. The standard unit carried in most shops
comes in silver. I paid extra (stupidly) for the novelty.




If you squint, you can see hubby's nekkid bod. Hur-hur-hur!!
I edited it mildly with the phone's edit function. Even lit up,
it's not a crystal clear view of him, but I swear...I can see
the definition of his butt cheeks. Bwahahaha!




Piccie of the moon a few days back. Unfortunately, didn't recharge
my batts, so I managed to only get a few shots off, and not from a
great vantage point, either.





Of course, this picture I snapped on the walk back up the
street to my home, proves to me that the moon affects animals
in strange ways :)




Evening sun on a darkening garden (flash)..




Sans flash...




Air quality yesterday. Damned tree-burners.




(Somewhat of a bonus)..The street where this house I've been
eyeing is located. I could never afford it, and it's not even
on sale. But it's a tiny little thing. So cozy!




The front gate of this cute li'l fixer-upper. Wonder why the
previous tenants moved out.

Okay, that's another long, SPAMMY entry. Enjoy!