little miss may

Yet another EFND™ tag to be fulfilled, passed on to me by none other than L B in Albiewong.com or Bust!

At first I wondered and wondered what this tag was all about. After a couple of chocolate Easter eggs and a swig of sarsaparilla, it dawned on me that this could be a pretty good marketing ploy. Advertise yourself by tagging some very fortunate soul and having your unique domain name linked from their blog. And thus starts the chain reaction where your site “grows” in popularity via the links from all these other blogs.

Not that I really mind or care, but a little free advertising wouldn’t hurt, yea? So here goes:

Instructions:
1) Write a short introduction paragraph about how you found the List and include a link to the blog that referred you to the List.
2) COPY the ENTIRE List below and add it to your blog. To avoid duplicate content and increase the amount of keywords your site can be accessible for, go ahead and change the title of the blog. Just don’t change the links of the blogs.
3) Take the ‘My Adds’ and move them into the ‘The Originals’ list.
4) Tag 3 Brand New Narcissistic Bloggers that you know of, to a new ‘My Adds’.

My Adds:
Jo
Eeleen
Bernard

Originals:
may
simple american
velverse
Doris
Paris Beaverbanks
Albie Wong
Menj
Samantha Yeap
Chan Eileen
Chan Lilian
Liew CF
Andrew Wee
Hong Kiat
Gary Lee
Ed Lau
John Chow dot Com
Nate Whitehill
Stephen Fung
Michael Kwan
Jeff Kee
Stuart Hannig
Hannes Johnson
Nomar
AhSoon
Nathan Drach
Saman Sadeghi
Bob Buskirk
Jon Waraas
David Lithman
Matt Blancarte
Ryan Parker
Josh Buckley
Matt Coddington
Brice Wong
Leo Chiang
Tyler Ingram
Ah Boon

***STOP COPYING HERE***

And on another matter…

Yesterday I was in a bit of a hurry to get in and out of the loo — my colleagues were waiting for me for lunch and I didn’t want them to hang around for too long. As I got into the stall, I swung the door a little too hard and it was closing really fast, the kind which you know will have a loud BANG at the end. I dislike banging doors so I stuck my hand out to stop it from hitting the frame, and…

My left third finger got caught between the door and the frame instead, and I had to stop myself from cursing out loud from the excruciating pain. Didn’t want to sound crude in front of the other ladies in the loo. But oh, the P A I N was awful! My finger throbbed and ached for quite a bit, till it settled down somewhat after half an hour.

I couldn’t type very well after that, and neither can I type fast right now when it comes to the tapping the keys with my injured finger. Should I blame that for my lack of chupping, instead of my RSS feed konking out on me?

And why am I still typing so much?!

*whine* *whine*

~ Over ‘N Out ~

Easter weekend is coming up, and I can’t wait! Also because that’s the weekend I have full access to (soon-to-be) my apartment, really measure it up and see how much space I have for bulky furniture. Wouldn’t want to buy a 3-seat sofa and end up having to arrange it diagonally because it doesn’t fit any other way… eek!

I’ve been looking around but haven’t decided on which bed, sofa, etc to get. It’s also too early to buy anything much, as the shops would have to hold stock for me until the place is vacant (tenant is moving out on 3 April). Ikea charges $10 a day for holding bought stock. By the time I bought anything from their sale - which ends this Sunday - I would’ve ended up paying the original price once more, inclusive of the holding and delivery fees. And they only deliver on Tuesdays to the Northern suburbs. I’m beginning to not like shopping at Ikea much except for small items…

I just received a phone call from my Mom. I miss her so! And just at the same time when she was talking to me, my brother’s BMW bumper got cracked by the neighbour’s car when he (the neighbour) was backing out of the driveway. Gahhh.

The weather’s been humid lately, in mid to high 20s. Forecast says tomorrow would be a hot 31ºC, and right after that it drops to 21ºC on Sunday. What a big change! And I was thinking of going to the beach, too. Maybe a movie on Saturday, and beach on Sunday, yea?

On Sunday we turn back our clocks by 1 hour. Daylight savings will come to an end. So remember to remember that Sydney is then only 2 hours ahead of KL, 8 hours ahead of Italy (if clocks are fast forwarded on the same day for daylight savings), and 9 hours ahead of London. I could never remember other time zones beyond that.

And to finish this going-nowhere post, my homework submission for the Long Roads From A - Z tag from L B:

[A is for age] Less than half of 69, and still qualified to be called JieJie.
[B is for booze of choice] Coffee liquor. I like them sweet. Some wines are ok.
[C is for career] Producer. Wear jeans to work. Point fingers. Surf net all day.
[D is for your most dreaded] Cockroaches, and bad news.
[E is for essential item you use everyday] Lip balm.
[F is for favorite song at the moment] Too many, can’t decide.
[G is for favorite games] Chupping on blogs, though I’m not doing very well these days.
[H is for hometown] Petaling Jaya.
[I is for indulgence] Everything I don’t need but want is an indulgence.
[J is for favorite flavor of juice] Mango.
[K is for kids] None.
[L is for last hug from husband] N/A. Last hugs were from mom and brother.
[M is for years of marriage] N/A.
[N is for name of your crush] Pooch. Hoops & Yoyo. My new Ikea bear, Kiki.
[O is for overnight hospital stays] None that I can remember.
[P is for phobias] Not having a toilet to run to when I need one urgently.
[Q is for quote] Forgiveness is the sweet scent of a flower on the heel that has crushed it.
[R is for regret] I didn’t get to know my grandparents better.
[S is for status, married or single] Single.
[T is for time you wake up] Weekdays, 6.30AM. Weekends, it depends.
[U is for underwear] Cotton, all sorts of colours, usually plain, not patterned.
[V is for vegetables you love] Broccoli. French fries (hey, potatoes are vegetables).
[W is for worst habit] Over-eating. Self-berating.
[X is for x-rays you’ve had] Maybe twice at full medical check-ups. And on broken tooth.
[Y is for yummy food you make] Muffins, brownies, cookies. Time to bake again soon.
[Z is for zodiac sign] Taurus.

I lack imagination and energy for the second D E F tag tonight… Another day perhaps, yea?

Kisses for the weekend!

p.s. Don’t be alarmed if you can’t access my blog on Saturday right till early morning Sunday. I think there might be some maintenance work going on with the servers… Blind bat me. It’s for April! KKK!! Thanks for picking up my glasses for me, L B…

Not a long, long time ago, in another country far, far away… Raychin tagged me with 10 things I want and do not want on my birthday. What, only 10?! I’m such a greedy person, I want more! Ok, so I have to prioritise. Or maybe squeeze a few things into one line, yea? Still counts as one if they’re in logical groups… *grin*

These 10, I want:
01. A lovely HEMNES queen bed to sleep on.
02. Maybe a KLIPPAN sofa, and BILLY bookcase. Or better.
03. A cool-looking, breezy-blowing old-fashioned Princess desk fan for hot Summer nights.
04. Some Jamie Oliver cookware like the Tefal silicone muffin tray and sparkling pans.
05. JBL Creature speakers for my Mac. Just because they look good.
06. Apple Airport Express, and if I were bold enough, I’d ask for the Base Station instead.
07. A wildcard… surprise me! Are you coming to Sydney? Yes?
08. That Paloma Picasso© Loving Heart necklace by Tiffany & Co.
09. Copious amounts of spooning and *ahem*.
10. Lots and lots and lots of hugs, kisses and love from you!

These 10, I do not want:
01. Lousy, second-hand furniture for my new place.
02. Single bed. How to fit both you and me on it leh? Double-decker?!
03. No phone calls or emails or SMS-es or Twitter-ing from anyone… *sigh*
04. Bad news.
05. Really bad news.
06. Anything that needs repair, including broken hearts.
07. To feel like it’s just another ordinary day.
08. Indecisiveness. Like trying to decide what the other things are that I don’t want.
09. To feel that, no matter how great the day had been, something’s still not right.
10. All of the I-do-not-wants above.

How leh? Most people have already been tagged with this. Hmmm… I must tag! Kenot not tag wan. Since I don’t kacau these people often enough:

King’s Wife
moz monster
Sin Ling

Today marked the 75th Birthday of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Isn’t that just grand? 75 years old! I’m not sure if I’d still be looking this good when I turn that age.

The bridge was closed from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. today for us humans to cross over on foot. No cars, no buses, no trucks, nothing on wheels, not even skateboards or inline skates (except for wheelchairs and strollers, of course). Just our own two feet to bring us from the North of the bridge to the South, one way traffic. The only way back up is via ferries, trains, or if you do want to drive, the underwater tunnel.

Being my usual kiasu self and wanting to be part of the statistics that made up the 250,000 people who crossed the bridge, I signed up for the 5.30 p.m. slot (the morning ones were taken already). I got there a little earlier at 5 p.m. instead, and since they didn’t check whether it was your turn to walk or not, I just got on the bridge and started my journey. Darn! Should’ve started earlier in the afternoon so I could’ve had more time walking around the city after that…

It wasn’t overly crowded on the bridge itself; lots of space to prance and dance about. Some even laid down on the road for the sake of having done something bizarre on this special day. And if you’re even more eccentric, you’d come dressed in 18th century fashion with wigs and shocking pink suits.

It didn’t feel like a 3.6 km walk; I definitely did longer and farther in Ikea and at the shopping mall yesterday! With multiple stops and photo-taking, however, it did take me a good 1 hour to complete the journey. The weather was a comfortable 21ºC with a light breeze blowing, which made it even nicer. Too bad there weren’t blue skies, but lucky for us it didn’t rain either.

And the portable toilets didn’t stink at all…

How was your weekend, my dears? Happy Sunday Thoughts™, hmmm?

It’s been such a busy week for me, I haven’t had much time to write, let alone have any idea what to write. Now that the weekend is here, my brain is in such a state of relief that it stopped thinking and allowed my feet and fingers toddle off to the stores and splurge a bit of my first salary on a new black leather bag, two pairs of sandals and a couple of cardigans on sale. “More tomorrow, more!” they cried. And the brain is staying silent and comfortably numb.

Do you know how lucky you are to get unlimited bandwidth for a fixed price? I subscribed to a wireless broadband-like service just 6 days ago, and was shocked to learn how fast and how much bandwidth I actually use up in a day. I took on the 600MB allowance, 512kbps speed subscription which I pay $49.95 every month, but in just 5 days I had used up 80% of my limit. Once I use up the bandwidth allowance, my speed would slow down to 32kbps — akin to KL’s dial-up service. And we all know how crap that is.

Calculating with my fingers and toes, the next higher package of 2GB wouldn’t suffice either. I’d have to go for the 12GB option, which I have to fork out $89.95 for per month. And I’m only allowed to change my subscription on my next billing date, which means I have to wait till 10 April to get back on track. For now, I’ll have to “borrow” my uncle’s bandwidth again, and slow down on surfing. My apologies if I haven’t been around your homes lately. Now you know why, apart from really having a busy and stressful week. Plus it’s a rather interesting world out there beyond this screen and keyboard…

Some of you might have heard the news — I’ve finally found a place of my own to live in, starting Easter weekend. It’s a one-bedroom flat in a suburb called Crows Nest, where it’s opposite a fire station, next to a church, and has (if my guess is correct) and chiropractic practice on the ground floor. I’m on the third, no lifts, just stairs, with a shared rooftop terrace where you could see a small bit of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the distance. More of this another day.

Furniture-shopping is so much more fun when you know you’re definitely gonna get a piece or two or five for your home. And anything that’s new toilet is always exciting. I’ve been checking out the essential bed and sofas, bedding, kitchenware, white goods, bookcases, tables, chairs, even dustbins. The variety is vast, and prices vary as much as they do back home, though it’s not as cheap. I was surprised at how much a queen bed costs over here — more that $1000 for a frame and good mattress. All for a good night’s sleep, eh? It had better be worth the investment.

Anyone for Ikea this weekend?