My female owner went for a cheapo health check-up the other day ($5 only). In only 20mins, she got her BMI, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels checked. To her surprise, in spite of her unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle, her blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels was still within the normal range. Not surprising but still depressing to her, her weight has ballooned while her height remained constant.
Ah, so in summary, after one year, the main change in her health status is that she put on about 5kg. Oh wait, and her dodgy knee. It acts up once a while now, especially after she goes jogging or plays badminton.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
scheming
One of my female owner’s Impromptu Frens suddenly told her recently through msn that “you are not scheming enough”. Yah, all of a sudden, she seems to be receiving random social feedback from people around her!
Unfortunately, he was not able to articulate any specific examples or reasons and said it was “just a feeling lor”.
My female owner agrees that despite five years of working, she failed to pick up skills in manoeuvring office politics. She won't even know if she's being taken for a ride by her friends, much less colleagues. What a failure!
Unfortunately, he was not able to articulate any specific examples or reasons and said it was “just a feeling lor”.
My female owner agrees that despite five years of working, she failed to pick up skills in manoeuvring office politics. She won't even know if she's being taken for a ride by her friends, much less colleagues. What a failure!
lifts
My female owner has been wondering about social conventions with regards to car-owners sending people home. It seems as if different people have different concepts.
It all started when her friend bought a car. Unless something crops up, he never failed to send my female owner home no matter what time of the day/ night it was. It puzzled my female owner, coz she always felt that getting a lift home is a privilege, not a right, even if you are a girl and it is past midnight. When she asked him why he always sends people home, he expressed the view that he thought that those with cars (unclear if he was referring to guys only) have a duty to send people home. Although my female owner feels pai-say at the inconvenience she caused to her friend (since they don’t live near each other), she has learnt to accept his kind gestures.
Anyway, and then, she observed that there are guys who do not offer to send anyone (including girls) even though it is past midnight. They only give lifts to people who live nearby (i.e. “by the way” concept) or girls they like or if bo-pian (i.e. someone is drunk). My female owner has no problems with this.
There are other guys who do not actively offer to send you home, but would send you home, if behaviourally you assume that he is going to send you home (e.g. follow him to his car), or if you are too drunk. If you explicitly say that you are going home by yourself (e.g. coz it is out of his way), he is happy to allow you to go back on your own, but would follow-up with smses to check that you are home. Again, this is not an issue for my female owner.
In Brisbane, things work differently. People are usually happy to give you a lift home (even if it is out of the way) or drop you somewhere convenient. Things are even more well-organised among her church friends. Because only a few own cars, there will be a transport I/C who would be tasked to organise car-pools if the group is going out for activities (e.g. meals or outings). The drivers would be responsible for driving his passengers to the location and most often, sending the same passengers back to their homes. My female owner had problems adapting to that kind of arrangements when she first arrived. It was as if there was an unspoken rule that those with cars were required to ferry people around. Although my female owner was sure that majority did it out of love for their friends, she was conscious of not taking such lifts for granted. I mean, it is such a privilege to have your transport needs taken care of by someone. No need to use the undependable public transport system!
It all started when her friend bought a car. Unless something crops up, he never failed to send my female owner home no matter what time of the day/ night it was. It puzzled my female owner, coz she always felt that getting a lift home is a privilege, not a right, even if you are a girl and it is past midnight. When she asked him why he always sends people home, he expressed the view that he thought that those with cars (unclear if he was referring to guys only) have a duty to send people home. Although my female owner feels pai-say at the inconvenience she caused to her friend (since they don’t live near each other), she has learnt to accept his kind gestures.
Anyway, and then, she observed that there are guys who do not offer to send anyone (including girls) even though it is past midnight. They only give lifts to people who live nearby (i.e. “by the way” concept) or girls they like or if bo-pian (i.e. someone is drunk). My female owner has no problems with this.
There are other guys who do not actively offer to send you home, but would send you home, if behaviourally you assume that he is going to send you home (e.g. follow him to his car), or if you are too drunk. If you explicitly say that you are going home by yourself (e.g. coz it is out of his way), he is happy to allow you to go back on your own, but would follow-up with smses to check that you are home. Again, this is not an issue for my female owner.
In Brisbane, things work differently. People are usually happy to give you a lift home (even if it is out of the way) or drop you somewhere convenient. Things are even more well-organised among her church friends. Because only a few own cars, there will be a transport I/C who would be tasked to organise car-pools if the group is going out for activities (e.g. meals or outings). The drivers would be responsible for driving his passengers to the location and most often, sending the same passengers back to their homes. My female owner had problems adapting to that kind of arrangements when she first arrived. It was as if there was an unspoken rule that those with cars were required to ferry people around. Although my female owner was sure that majority did it out of love for their friends, she was conscious of not taking such lifts for granted. I mean, it is such a privilege to have your transport needs taken care of by someone. No need to use the undependable public transport system!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
blue
My female owner realised with a heavy heart that she won’t be able to celebrate CNY with her family next year, since it falls in mid-Feb: 14 Feb to be exact. She would probably be back in Brisbane by then, to embark on her year-long thesis and third placement.
Ah, another reason to feel miserable…
Yes, you guess it. My female owner is developing her traditional pre-departure blues. If you can imagine a balloon being filled with air, her blue balloon is probably almost filled now.
Ah, another reason to feel miserable…
Yes, you guess it. My female owner is developing her traditional pre-departure blues. If you can imagine a balloon being filled with air, her blue balloon is probably almost filled now.
zodiac
In Chinese astrology the zodiac of twelve animal signs represents twelve different types of personality.. I’ve always wondered why there is no Turtle year. Having nothing much to do, I decided to come up with my own description.
The Turtle person is a thinker and observer. He is often regarded as wise and intelligent. Although he is often looked upon to provide guidance and support to people around him, he tends to be a loner and prefers quiet company. He works well independently, which can frustrate those who prefer teamwork. The Turtle person avoids confrontation at all cost. Under unwanted pressure or attention, he tends to retreat and keep to himself, only to emerge when things have calmed down. Slow to respond to changing circumstances around him, he is often mistaken to be blur and ignorant. In fact, the Turtle person is integrating information through his senses and internal thought processes before taking calculated steps that will see him through any crisis. Known for his tenacity and high goal-orientation, the Turtle person is likely to complete projects that he has committed himself to and to work through any difficulties that cross his path. The Turtle person makes a good philosopher, writer, teacher and consultant.
The Turtle person is a thinker and observer. He is often regarded as wise and intelligent. Although he is often looked upon to provide guidance and support to people around him, he tends to be a loner and prefers quiet company. He works well independently, which can frustrate those who prefer teamwork. The Turtle person avoids confrontation at all cost. Under unwanted pressure or attention, he tends to retreat and keep to himself, only to emerge when things have calmed down. Slow to respond to changing circumstances around him, he is often mistaken to be blur and ignorant. In fact, the Turtle person is integrating information through his senses and internal thought processes before taking calculated steps that will see him through any crisis. Known for his tenacity and high goal-orientation, the Turtle person is likely to complete projects that he has committed himself to and to work through any difficulties that cross his path. The Turtle person makes a good philosopher, writer, teacher and consultant.
Monday, January 26, 2009
multi
My female owner celebrated the first day of the Lunar New Year by visiting her maternal grandmother’s house. Ever since her grandmother passed away in 2002, the extended family stopped celebrating CNY together. It is such a tragic outcome, that when the matriarch/ patriarch of the family passes on, the younger generation tends not to gather during CNY.
Anyway, for probably the third time since 2002, my female owner stepped into the house that forms a large part of her childhood. Weekly visits to grandma’s house where two unmarried aunties also reside, celebrating birthdays with grandma, not being able to speak grandma’s language but still able to feel her love, buying ice-cream for her oldest auntie who is slightly brain-damaged due to yellow fever during her teenage years, interacting with her younger cousins etc.
Eating steamboat with a couple of her relatives today, she realised that her humble family is quite a rojak mix. There are nine siblings in all. Her mother is the third youngest. There is an auntie who is a Muslim and thus, eats only halal food while an older auntie who is a devout Buddhist does not eat beef. Her eldest uncle is a health freak who advocates plant foods and another uncle married a Muslim twenty years younger than him. His children (forgive my female owner for not knowing their names! She probably can’t recognise them on the streets as well.) are of course, mixed and more Malay than Chinese. So many potential disputes over food preferences!
Happily, when CNY comes, the family shares the Chinese part of their lives together. When Vesak Day comes, the Buddhist auntie would cook lotsa food to bring to the temple and distribute her food afterwards. Come Hari Raya, the Muslim uncle would deliver home-cooked yummy food to their home. Ah, the family just needs an ang-moh and an Indian to make it truly multi-racial/ multi-cultural.
Anyway, for probably the third time since 2002, my female owner stepped into the house that forms a large part of her childhood. Weekly visits to grandma’s house where two unmarried aunties also reside, celebrating birthdays with grandma, not being able to speak grandma’s language but still able to feel her love, buying ice-cream for her oldest auntie who is slightly brain-damaged due to yellow fever during her teenage years, interacting with her younger cousins etc.
Eating steamboat with a couple of her relatives today, she realised that her humble family is quite a rojak mix. There are nine siblings in all. Her mother is the third youngest. There is an auntie who is a Muslim and thus, eats only halal food while an older auntie who is a devout Buddhist does not eat beef. Her eldest uncle is a health freak who advocates plant foods and another uncle married a Muslim twenty years younger than him. His children (forgive my female owner for not knowing their names! She probably can’t recognise them on the streets as well.) are of course, mixed and more Malay than Chinese. So many potential disputes over food preferences!
Happily, when CNY comes, the family shares the Chinese part of their lives together. When Vesak Day comes, the Buddhist auntie would cook lotsa food to bring to the temple and distribute her food afterwards. Come Hari Raya, the Muslim uncle would deliver home-cooked yummy food to their home. Ah, the family just needs an ang-moh and an Indian to make it truly multi-racial/ multi-cultural.
squeeze
My female owner has lost the "shutter-happy" vibes. Hence, she doesn't really take many photos nowadays. Still, I managed to squeeze out a few shots to share with you.
Arranged in rainbow colour by my female owner, she couldn't help but be mesmerised by the reflection of the bears in the windscreen.
My female owner found this artefact in one of the shops along Arab Street.
Ah, homemade pineapple tarts. Joint labour of love by my female owner's parents and her who split up the work to bake more than 300 tarts.
Praying hands of a three-month old baby. Prayer warrior in the making?
My female owner finds this packaging (of a wet tissue) dodgy and dated. Apparently, it is a photo of a real beauty queen, advertising for the restaurant's famed black pepper crab.
Arranged in rainbow colour by my female owner, she couldn't help but be mesmerised by the reflection of the bears in the windscreen. 
My female owner found this artefact in one of the shops along Arab Street. 
Ah, homemade pineapple tarts. Joint labour of love by my female owner's parents and her who split up the work to bake more than 300 tarts. 
Praying hands of a three-month old baby. Prayer warrior in the making?
finally
My female owner finally celebrated Chinese New Year with her family. She had missed the previous two years for different reasons. Two years ago, she was sent on a business trip to USA by her non-Chinese boss over the CNY period. She had to travel with someone whom she could not get along with and well, basically endure a cold winter in a foreign land with unwelcome company.
Last year, she was in Brisbane, so her family was kinda split across two continents. She spent CNY with her host, who cooked up a great feast, but there’s really no place like home.
This year, there were 7 people present for the traditional steamboat reunion dinner. Her parents, brother, sister-in-law, paternal auntie and the choir director from her parents’ church. A foreigner, he was not able to return home to be with his family. Hence, my female owner’s mother extended an invitation to him.
Ahh… the aroma of the different foods activated the hunger pangs in us turtles. Nanook, in her usual paranoid self, asked if the family was going to serve turtle soup. For some BIG reason, she always feel insecure that her status as the largest family pet will flip to become the most nutritious family food.
Last year, she was in Brisbane, so her family was kinda split across two continents. She spent CNY with her host, who cooked up a great feast, but there’s really no place like home.
This year, there were 7 people present for the traditional steamboat reunion dinner. Her parents, brother, sister-in-law, paternal auntie and the choir director from her parents’ church. A foreigner, he was not able to return home to be with his family. Hence, my female owner’s mother extended an invitation to him.
Ahh… the aroma of the different foods activated the hunger pangs in us turtles. Nanook, in her usual paranoid self, asked if the family was going to serve turtle soup. For some BIG reason, she always feel insecure that her status as the largest family pet will flip to become the most nutritious family food.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
peeves
My female owner has a few pet peeves. Literally, they are PET peeves.
For example, she doesn’t like us to bite each other (even when it is purely accidental, example, during feeding when we get over-excited). Whenever she brings us out for walks in the Living Room, nothing pisses her off more than if we hide ourselves in a corner to snooze (defeats the purpose of a walk, she says). Also, she gets annoyed if she sees us in the same spot in the morning and at night when we return home. To her, it means that the offending turtle(s) has not moved a single inch the whole day – a clear sign of laziness.
For example, she doesn’t like us to bite each other (even when it is purely accidental, example, during feeding when we get over-excited). Whenever she brings us out for walks in the Living Room, nothing pisses her off more than if we hide ourselves in a corner to snooze (defeats the purpose of a walk, she says). Also, she gets annoyed if she sees us in the same spot in the morning and at night when we return home. To her, it means that the offending turtle(s) has not moved a single inch the whole day – a clear sign of laziness.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
contentment
A story was told of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat.
“Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.
“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.
“What would I do with them?”
“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”
The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”
“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.
“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.
__________________________________________
My female owner spied this story in a church newsletter article, written by her Goat Fren. Half-way through the story, at the point when the rich man as the fisherman why he didn’t catch more fish than required, my female owner thought it was an article about the perils of laziness.
Reading to the end, she realised it was about being contented with your present life. The moral of the story hit her like a sudden big wave. For a while, she had already chastised herself for not being happy even when she is probably the envy of many people who lament that unlike them, she is so lucky, being able to go overseas to study, to get postgrad qualifications etc etc. And consistently in her life, my female owner had said “I would be happy only after I achieve XXX” or “I would be able to enjoy life only after YYY is completed.”
More and more, she realise that her friends are generally not happy as well. It doesn’t matter that they are highly educated, good-lookers, come from a complete family, hold secure or well-paying jobs, healthy with no physical limitations, free from family problems etc. They are just not happy or satisfied with their current state of life.
My female owner feels ashamed of the way she treats life. She is blessed in many ways – loving and supportive family, secure friendships, able-bodied, relatively cerebral, a little flabby but still ok, financially stable, able to pursue a range of leisure activities to occupy herself. Of course, there is more she can ask for, the sky’s the limit, but hey, why isn’t she contented with her current lot in life?
She figures that it’s all in her attitude, her values in life and what she chooses to focus on. She has learnt, contentment starts from within, and not from what one possesses. Discontentment does not come from what one lacks, but from what one perceives to lack.
alarm
My female owner found out today that her parents do not intend to go visiting during Chinese New Year. Ah, so much for reserving the first two days of CNY to meet relatives. Her alarm bells started ringing. She needs to find things to occupy herself, or else she might die of boredom. The forecast is bleak, considering that almost all of her friends are Chinese and among the already small number of friends she has, many are newly married/ parents (i.e. sure no time to meet her).
Sighz.
She decided to jio people for badminton on any of the two days (ha! Her you-never-know-until-you-ask spirit kicked in) and guess what?! By the end of the day, she managed to round up three others to play.
Looks like there are people who don’t really celebrate CNY too!
Sighz.
She decided to jio people for badminton on any of the two days (ha! Her you-never-know-until-you-ask spirit kicked in) and guess what?! By the end of the day, she managed to round up three others to play.
Looks like there are people who don’t really celebrate CNY too!
Friday, January 23, 2009
difference
My female owner, with her idle mind, wonders what's the difference between an intelligent, a clever and a smart person.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
ex-colleagues
My female owner had dinner with some ex-colleagues just now. Hmmm.. it’s beginning to sound as if she has lotsa ex-colleagues. I should take some time to clarify the different categories of ex-colleagues.
The real ex-colleagues are the people who are still working at her former workplace and whom she detests to varying degrees.
The unfortunate ex-colleagues are her friends who are still working at her former workplace for various reasons (i.e. stuck).
The remaining ex-colleagues are her friends who are working in the same organisation or have worked with the real ex-colleagues, and hence, shared a common (often unpleasant) working experience (e.g. some of her Impromptu Frens who are still in service).
The comrades are those who used to work with her but like her, have left the place for greener pastures. Together, they have many years of working together in the same office and survived many classic moments.
Tonight, her dinner was with the comrades. They held different positions in the same office (e.g. some were the lowest life form while one was sandwiched between layers and two others were the lowest life form of the highest class) and together, they shared their individual stories about the horrors of working with inefficient colleagues, mimicked the bosses’ idiosyncratic movements and once again, groused about their “best friends” in the department. It’s funny to see how different people developed different “best friends” even though the collective group of “best friends” was common enemy.
Although the five of them have not gathered for a long time, their shared past made the fellowship was so comfortable, heart-warming and free-flowing that there was an obvious reluctance to say good-bye. Ah, it would be at least 10 months before they would meet up in such a capacity again. Kudos to the organiser for persisting through conflicting schedules to arrange the meet-up!
The real ex-colleagues are the people who are still working at her former workplace and whom she detests to varying degrees.
The unfortunate ex-colleagues are her friends who are still working at her former workplace for various reasons (i.e. stuck).
The remaining ex-colleagues are her friends who are working in the same organisation or have worked with the real ex-colleagues, and hence, shared a common (often unpleasant) working experience (e.g. some of her Impromptu Frens who are still in service).
The comrades are those who used to work with her but like her, have left the place for greener pastures. Together, they have many years of working together in the same office and survived many classic moments.
Tonight, her dinner was with the comrades. They held different positions in the same office (e.g. some were the lowest life form while one was sandwiched between layers and two others were the lowest life form of the highest class) and together, they shared their individual stories about the horrors of working with inefficient colleagues, mimicked the bosses’ idiosyncratic movements and once again, groused about their “best friends” in the department. It’s funny to see how different people developed different “best friends” even though the collective group of “best friends” was common enemy.
Although the five of them have not gathered for a long time, their shared past made the fellowship was so comfortable, heart-warming and free-flowing that there was an obvious reluctance to say good-bye. Ah, it would be at least 10 months before they would meet up in such a capacity again. Kudos to the organiser for persisting through conflicting schedules to arrange the meet-up!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
nua
My female owner is tired of asking people out. So she’s either going to wait for people to jio her out or wait for herself to get out of this anti-social phase.
And so, she stayed home today, with great plans to nua and do some spring-cleaning. It’s amazing to see how similar she is to us turtles. Sleep in the same position for hours, wake up and move around for a while, find some random snack, munch on them, go back to sleep (in the same position), wake up, move around, find other random snack, munch for a while… return to same position. I had a field day just watching her.
Needless to say, she managed to accomplish 50% of her plans – NUA. Spring-cleaning? Maybe tomorrow. I will keep you updated.
And so, she stayed home today, with great plans to nua and do some spring-cleaning. It’s amazing to see how similar she is to us turtles. Sleep in the same position for hours, wake up and move around for a while, find some random snack, munch on them, go back to sleep (in the same position), wake up, move around, find other random snack, munch for a while… return to same position. I had a field day just watching her.
Needless to say, she managed to accomplish 50% of her plans – NUA. Spring-cleaning? Maybe tomorrow. I will keep you updated.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
dubious
My female owner has boundary issues. She thinks that Facebook makes it even harder for her to manage those issues. Being “tao” and passive, she hardly requests to be added to people’s accounts. Majority of the people on her FB took the initiative to add her and my female owner has her fair share of dubious requestors.
- The colleague-turned-insurance-agent who resend his request after being ignored once [ignored, again]
- The ex-boyfriend [ignored]
- The old church-mate of her younger days whom she doesn’t remember knowing and who sent her a FB message to confirm my female owner’s identity [accepted]
- The ex-boss [accepted, on good terms then]
- The young daughter of the third most powerful man in her previous workplace whom my female owner was tasked to help in her research on psychology [accepted]
- The research coordinator of a project she participated in Brisbane [accepted, to prevent awkwardness]
- Someone from my female owner’s JC but she has no idea who she is [neither accept nor ignore]
- The JC class-mate who never failed to be the topic of discussion at every gathering (without her knowledge of course) [neither accept nor ignore]
- People from her first church whom she doesn’t really know or whom she is sure she doesn’t know [neither accept nor ignore]
And the latest, an ang-moh forensic expert who once trained her ex-colleagues and her in possibly criminal profiling or something. My female owner cannot remember. [neither accept nor ignore]
Monday, January 19, 2009
hungry
My female owner’s mother commented that we turtles suffer when my female owner is back home. The reason being that my female owner doesn’t take care of us, whereas at the same time, her father transfers the responsibility back to her. So in other words, no one is claiming responsibility of us!
Sob. Her father tells her to clean the tank and feed us. My female owner stares blankly at him… and forgets about his instructions quite quickly. Even though she plays with us at times, it somehow doesn’t register in her that turtles = living things = need food and clean water.
So we are perpetually hungry these days.
Sob. Her father tells her to clean the tank and feed us. My female owner stares blankly at him… and forgets about his instructions quite quickly. Even though she plays with us at times, it somehow doesn’t register in her that turtles = living things = need food and clean water.
So we are perpetually hungry these days.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
personal
My female owner spent six hours playing the same card game with her Impromptu Frens today. At the end of it, my female owner was horrified to observe how people could take things personally in a game which had no real consequence, leading them to respond with a vengeance and irrationally. It shocked her to see how emotional people can become, to the point of gloating over others’ misfortune, being vindictive in one’s actions, and cheering when others faltered at their turn or get attacked by others. She mused that one could tell a lot about people’s character from watching how they play games.
An eye-opening experience indeed.
An eye-opening experience indeed.
truth
Her Functional Fren told her through sms today “u r 2 trusting”.
Ouch to the correct assessment.
Must have been a continuation from a conversation they had the night before. My female owner had reacted with an incredulous look on her face (i.e. she couldn’t contain her reaction) when she realised that he had bluffed her about something. He, in turn, was shocked that she believed him (hence, it was clear that whatever he was claiming was just a joke but my female owner took him for his word). Although my female owner was quick to dismiss that joke (I can’t think of a better word to describe that piece of inaccurate information), she blurted out “why would anyone lie about that?” For the first time since she knew him, her Functional Fren apologised profusely.
Being too trusting has been one of my female owner’s Achilles’ heels. Other close cousins would be being too accommodating and indecisive. When she was a child, my female owner’s auntie once told her that she was too naïve. Twenty years later, my female owner is still naïve and gullible. Her preferred style of relating to people is with sincerity and truthfulness. That’s why my female owner hates to make small talk with strangers or diplomatic conversations with people she don’t like. She hates having to put up a front and would rather just skip such interactions altogether.
How does one learn not to trust others too much? How does one stop giving people benefit of the doubt? How can one learn to be firm and decisive in light of conflicting observations, evidence and gut feeling? Why can't people relate to one another in truth and honesty?
Ouch to the correct assessment.
Must have been a continuation from a conversation they had the night before. My female owner had reacted with an incredulous look on her face (i.e. she couldn’t contain her reaction) when she realised that he had bluffed her about something. He, in turn, was shocked that she believed him (hence, it was clear that whatever he was claiming was just a joke but my female owner took him for his word). Although my female owner was quick to dismiss that joke (I can’t think of a better word to describe that piece of inaccurate information), she blurted out “why would anyone lie about that?” For the first time since she knew him, her Functional Fren apologised profusely.
Being too trusting has been one of my female owner’s Achilles’ heels. Other close cousins would be being too accommodating and indecisive. When she was a child, my female owner’s auntie once told her that she was too naïve. Twenty years later, my female owner is still naïve and gullible. Her preferred style of relating to people is with sincerity and truthfulness. That’s why my female owner hates to make small talk with strangers or diplomatic conversations with people she don’t like. She hates having to put up a front and would rather just skip such interactions altogether.
How does one learn not to trust others too much? How does one stop giving people benefit of the doubt? How can one learn to be firm and decisive in light of conflicting observations, evidence and gut feeling? Why can't people relate to one another in truth and honesty?
Saturday, January 17, 2009
adolescence
My female owner says that she is regaining her lost adolescence (and it is not just because she is still 18 years old). She is doing things that youths do, such as hanging out and boozing at chill-out places and just last night, she tried smoking sheesha. A bit overaged for her maiden dose of nicotine. My female owner is also gaining more knowledge about what makes guys tick by asking her male friends and observing what they say to each other. What she has learnt is both enlightening and distressing. Enlightening because finally she has some answers to her confusion. Distressing because she realises that indeed, all guys are bad! Carbon copies of one another.
prickly
My female owner was slightly emotionally prickly today. It must have been the accumulation of the recent meet-ups where, for some reasons, she found herself discussing about her ex-bf at almost all of them.
The climax came during today’s dinner. While asked for her opinion over some relationship matters, my female owner felt a wave of depressive aura come over her. My female owner then realised that although she is over her ex-bf, she has yet to process certain emotional baggage.
Later, she had a short chat with her Clever Fren who sent her home after dinner. He doesn’t know much about her past relationship but eventually asked why the relationship made her feel hopeless about the future.
My female owner was stunned at the direct question (but you know lah, clever people usually cut straight to the chase). She didn’t realise how negative she had been, Her reply was that at the end of the whole saga, she realised that she doesn’t really understand guys very well.
Her Clever Fren replied in a way that no one ever had, “well, it’s not entirely because of you, he didn’t really understand you”…. That sentence absolved some of her self-blame. When she insisted that she doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable again, the Clever Fren asked her to wait for someone wiser to find her.
Is that possible?
The climax came during today’s dinner. While asked for her opinion over some relationship matters, my female owner felt a wave of depressive aura come over her. My female owner then realised that although she is over her ex-bf, she has yet to process certain emotional baggage.
Later, she had a short chat with her Clever Fren who sent her home after dinner. He doesn’t know much about her past relationship but eventually asked why the relationship made her feel hopeless about the future.
My female owner was stunned at the direct question (but you know lah, clever people usually cut straight to the chase). She didn’t realise how negative she had been, Her reply was that at the end of the whole saga, she realised that she doesn’t really understand guys very well.
Her Clever Fren replied in a way that no one ever had, “well, it’s not entirely because of you, he didn’t really understand you”…. That sentence absolved some of her self-blame. When she insisted that she doesn’t want to make herself vulnerable again, the Clever Fren asked her to wait for someone wiser to find her.
Is that possible?
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My siblings and I
From top left: Dodo, Dona, me (Nooki) and Nanook