Mahjong, Mahjong
This morning, I saw a sale in the papers and something caught my eye: Giant supermarkets were selling mahjong tables at $39.90 each and they also come with a set of mahjongs each! Being a mahjong fan, the offer was too good to miss. What's more, we didn't have a proper mahjong table at home. So I called my brother and we set off to buy one later in the afternoon.
Luckily, when we reached the supermarket, there were still lots of tables for us to choose from. From past experiences, items on sale were known to "vanish" very quickly, so we were quite surprised, yet happy at the number of tables left. We chose one after trying a few, paid for it and left.
When we reached home, my brother and I opened up the table and mahjong set and tried them out. My brother and his friend invented "2-people" mahjong sometime ago, and he taught me that today, as we were short of another 2 people. So we both had a few rounds of "2-people" mahjong, and I was very satisfied to be able to play on a proper mahjong table, finally! Haha!
My, oh my! What a fruitful day! :)
The Importance of Respect
The other day, when I was at the bank, I saw a man at the next counter, shouting at his wife. He was scolding her so loudly that everybody turned to look at them, and I could see that the poor wife was very embarrassed. She tried to calm him down but to no avail. I really pity the wife. Fancy marrying a jerk who doesn't show her any respect, especially in public. I don't think the man knew that it reflected very badly on him too, otherwise he wouldn't have done what he had done.
Sometime back, my mum was travelling on the MRT, and sitting opposite her, was a couple. The man was thin and the woman was fat. They were talking when suddenly, he reached into her blouse and caressed her breasts! My mum was shocked! The train was crowded at that time and those who were near them, also saw the "free R(A) show". The woman said something to the man and he withdrew his hand quickly, and he was smiling all the way! My goodness! Doesn't the man know the word "respect"? Did he think that it was very "man" to do that in public? Did he ever consider how the public might view them by doing that? "Mister, shame on you!"
Moral of the above stories: If you want respect, respect the others first, especially in public!
Narnia
Last night, my sis and I, together with 3 friends, went to watch "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe". It is a very nice and interesting movie about 4 siblings and their advantures in a magical land inside a wardrobe. The animals could talk like humans, and there was even a magic potion in which a single drop will heal any kind of injuries. It seems too good to be true, but unfortunately, it only happens on screen.
I'm thinking that it would really be so wonderful if there is such a magical land in my wardrobe. Anytime that I feel bored with what I'm doing in real life, I could go into my wardrobe to the other world. It would be so interesting to talk to animals, to know how they feel, and also do things that I would never get to do in real life, such as having tea with a pair of beavers in their burrow, and going for war against a wicked witch and her troop in order to save the kingdom, and lastly, being crowned the queen after victory! Wow! I think it would be really wonderful to be able to do that! At that moment, I really wished that I was one of the kids in the movie!
In general, this is a great movie, and those of you who haven't watched it yet, go watch it. It really brings out any childhood fantasies that we had as kids, and it is a "too-good-to-be-true" escape from the real world. And to the producer of the movie, "May I have the wardrobe?"
To Float or To Sink?
The weather today was warm and stuffy and I wished I could jump into a swimming pool to cool off.
Unfortunately, up till now, I can't swim. Rather, I sink better than I float.
When I was young, I could lie at the floor of the swimming pool and stay there for a while, but I can't make myself stay afloat, except with the help of floats. I could "dog paddle" with my head below the water but I would start sinking the moment I brought my head up to the surface. Therefore, my attemps at learning the butterfly stroke and frog-style were total disasters. Before my head could rise up above the water to gulp in fresh air, I would be gulping in big mouthfuls of water.
Years ago, my dad brought us kids to a public pool in the west, and seeing my dad and cousins swimming to the deeper end of the pool, I waded after them. Suddenly, I lost my footing and sunk beneath the waters. In my panic, I flailed my arms about and caught the first thing that I could catch hold of to steady myself. I clung on to that "thing" and pulled myself up to the surface, and I saw a young man glaring down at me fiercely, while pulling up his swimming trunks. I wanted to tell him I didn't see anything when his trunks was down, but he swam away before I could open my mouth. I was very lucky he didn't punch me in the face.
Now, I'm into another type of swimming: "dry swimming". The other name for it is "mahjong". I don't have to worry about pulling at someone's trunks or getting drowned anymore.
A Test of Patience
This afternoon, my sister, brother and I had a game of Scrabble. It is now the "must have" game whenever my brother visits. It is addictive and it really tests your vocabulary.....and patience.
As the game slowly progressed, my patience started to waver. A few times, my sister took extra long to decide where and what word to put, and I had to ask her to hurry up. My brother will then say "patience, patience". Then when it's my turn to think long and hard, where and what word to put, my sister will take revenge by asking me to hurry up or miss a turn. My brother will then repeat "patience, patience". In the end, my brother won the game.
So the moral of the story is:
If you want to win a game of Scrabble, don't say "hurry up". Say "patience".
Sick Bay
I'm down with flu and sore throat since yesterday, and it really is not a good feeling. My nose was running non-stop and my throat hurt when I swallowed. Fortunately, after a nap yesterday afternoon, my sore throat went away.
This morning, I woke up to a still-runny nose and a deep voice. I tried to cure myself by taking whatever medicine I could find in my house, and also drinking lots of herbal tea, but to no avail. As the day progressed, my voice became deeper and deeper (and sexier and sexier ;P), and my nose was still running. Nothing could stop the flow. Finally, out of desperation, I went to see my family doctor in the afternoon, and I asked him to prescribe for me, the strongest medication that was available in his clinic.
After taking the medication, my nose seemed to be a little better although it's a little blocked now. Well, I prefer to breath through my mouth than to blow my nose non-stop! As I'm writing this post now, my voice is nearly gone. I'm having problems getting audible sounds out of my mouth. My sis said the cough medicine doesn't seem to work, but I hope it'll prove her wrong.
Hopefully, I can recover completely before Christmas, as I don't want to spend my Christmas consuming medication instead of festive goodies!!!
Road Courtesy II: Roadhoggers
Last night, on my way to a friend's place for accompaniment, I encountered a roadhogger driving on the outer most lane. It is a traffic rule that if you want to drive slowly, you should keep to the inner most lanes. The outer most lanes are only for those who want to overtake. So last night, when I followed behind him, I flashed my headlights at him to indicate that he was driving too slowly, but instead of courteously filtering to the inner lane, the driver purposely stepped on his emergency brakes before driving off slowly again. Luckily I was a short distance away from him, and I wasn't driving fast (how fast can you drive if you're following behind a roadhogger???). In the end, I had to use the inner lane to overtake him. I also saw a few more cars overtaking him, and one also flashed him with headlights, but the selfish driver simply refused to budge, even after the "hints" given by other drivers. I think that this driver really needs to do some self-reflecting. If he has kids, is this what he's going to teach them?
Another time, I was travelling along a main road when I saw a traffic jam ahead. Just as I was wondering whether there was an accident or a vehicle breakdown, I found out the cause of the jam. A big lorry and two vans were occupying the three outer lanes each and they were driving so slowly that other vehicles were left with only the inner most lane to overtake. Those that couldn't overtake had to follow obediently behind them, thus creating the jam. In the end, after much honkings from all around, only did they move aside for the other vehicles to pass.
I just can't believe the selfishness and arrogance of these drivers. They really create tons of inconveniences to other drivers. I think fines should be imposed on all roadhoggers, and demerit points should also be deducted from them. Only then, we could, hopefully, have a more pleasant journey on the road.
Road Courtesy I: Giving Way
Some time ago, on television, I saw an advertisement about courteous driving on the roads. The ad was very nicely shot, and the good behaviours of the motorists looked too good to be true. I'm sure such gracious motorists do exist but only a minority.
A few days ago, when I was driving home, I saw the driver of a silver car in front of me signalling to indicate that he was going to filter right to the outer lane. As he was about halfway into the lane, a sports car literally "zoomed" right up to the car, trying to prevent the car from "entering his lane". Unfortunately for the sports car driver, the gap was too narrow for him to squeeze through, so he had no choice but to quickly step on his emergency brakes and follow obediently behind the car. But a while later, when he had a chance, the sports car overtook the silver car, and I guess he must be feeling very "shiok" then, having taken his "revenge". I've seen many such cases and I find them really amusing. However, I'm surprised that a little action, such as giving way to others, is so hard to achieve. What is wrong with these people?
Well, so much for courteous driving. There's still a very long way to achieve that!.
Beansprout "Feast-ival"
During one summer vacation years ago, when I was still a student in Paris, my sister and I had a 1-week stay at a friend's hostel situated on the outskirts of Paris.
One day, she brought us to a nearby mini supermarket to buy food for the next few days, and we saw a notice, saying that their beansprouts were on sale. We went to check them out and found that they were so cheap (I can't recall the price) that we bought 1kg right away (typical kiasu Singaporeans). As beansprouts are very light, you can imagine how much there were at 1kg! In the end, we didn't buy much of other stuffs as we had to carry bags and bags of beansprouts.
That day and the following few days, we had beansprouts for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and we were having a countdown of how many more bags of beansprouts to go. As they couldn't be kept for too long, we had to finish them fast, by hook or by crook, and it would be a waste to throw them away. Luckily, we managed to give a few bags away. As for our beansprout meals, we mainly cooked them in soup or fried them. Those few days, we had only beansprouts, beansprouts and more beansprouts, and we were so overwhelmed by the amount that we had consumed that we felt like puking just at the thought of it.
When we finally finished up the last bag of beansprouts, we swear that we would not be so greedy in future, and for a while, we steered clear of them.
"Hair" Supply
I rebonded my hair two days ago, and now, it looks like it's plastered onto my head. It makes my head look like an egg. And my fringe, it's so short that I look like a moron (not that I didn't look like one before).
Sigh! I have to wait for about two weeks for my hair to look more normal. In the meantime, I'll keep a look-out for advertisements on Beijing 101 and Yun Nam Haircare...just in case......
Mini Typhoon
This morning, I experienced a mini typhoon at me ex-cello teacher's 4th-floor apartment.
I was doing piano accompaniment for her student, when we felt huge gushes of wind. The windows and her main door were opened and things in her kitchen and sitting-room started to fall to the floor. Her main door nearly slammed shut. When I helped her student close the door, it felt as if the door was being sucked from outside. Even when we closed everything, we could still hear the howls of the wind and the trees outside swayed so violently that they looked as if they were going to be uprooted. It was quite scary. My teacher said it happens quite often in her area.
Fortunately, after about 10 mins, the wind died down and everything went back to normal. My sandles were outside her apartment, and I was very relieved that they were still there. For a while, I was afriad that I might have to go home bare-footed!
