today i witnessed the epitome of what is considered skill in riding. i was riding up Holland Road past the old Ulu Pandan military camp, pillioning a friend who's not exactly the lightest of guys around (despite his lean frame), on the way to town when we stopped alongside this old veteran of an Ah Pek revvvving on a rickety-WW2-looking RXK bike at a red light. when the lights turned green i moved off leaving him behind, chuckling away at the sight we just saw, because the poor old man was balancing this huge stack of fresh newspapers strapped onto the seat behind him, reaching up til almost the top of his helmet, along with another pile which was resting on the tank in front, while he conveniently rested his chin on it. his arms were like improvised to stretch for the handles, and i doubt if he could barely see the road with his sight blocked. well, i was wrong! not long after moving off, at a point where traffic was pretty fast, he zoomed right past us and a few other cars on the rightmost lane, with that high engine shriek you can typically hear from those racer mats on bikes. and the Ah Pek was interchanging in and out of lanes damn smoothly, without even using his gears nor clutch at all. well i presume he didnt la since his left hand was on top of the papers in front, rather than the left handlebar! hahahaha... damn terror man.. r-e-s-p-e-c-t *salutes* ..

there's a soccer match this sunday at ntu, and i am quite excited about it. though i dont think i am really in great shape these few days. my right butt cheek still hurts, after getting jabbed by an opponent's knee in the most recent street session. the left calf muscle which cramped isnt back to its tender softness yet either, so that's another worry. the knee's still as dodgy as ever. whats been bothering me alot though is my lower back, its been kinda aching lately, and pains if i stand for too long. not too sure if its a muscle or bone problem. so its pretty uncomfy sometimes. shucks this sucks. how i wish there's a thing like a workshop for the human body or something, where you can service yourself every now and then. ok that sounds really wrong.... but ahh well you get what i mean..

i heard the other day that one of my friends and her bf got mugged whilst in JB. i was quite shocked coz i never expected anything of that sort to happen to anyone i know. thankfully they suffered no harm, apart from losing valuables and money. guess we should all just be careful yeah, especially those who frequent there often. its getting more risky these days.

ok i also found out today that wearing anything that is not really 100% fully dry is a bad bad idea. i did that when i grabbed the jacket which my mom has so kindly helped to wash off the rack in the kitchen, stuffed it into my bag, and went out. thinking that it was dry enough. well wore it when i was riding back home at night and realised that there was a musky stinky smell permeating from around me, and it was quite nauseating! so lesson learnt, wear dried stuff. always.

aniwaes, before i go i shall quote from something someone wrote that made me think. "why is it that the US can send out hundreds of aircraft and soldiers at the drop of a hat, but cant send enough rescuers to New Orleans?" hmmm i wonder why..

pooped..

i have been feeling damn tired. i dunno why. perhaps the late nights im keeping is playing a part. not that i want to stay up, but somehow i cant get to sleep sometimes. its weird la. mebbe im experiencing some form of insomnia. and its causing me to feel sleepy more often than i usually would while in lessons. subconsciously, sometimes i would just end up snoozing without wanting nor realising it. the scrawly squiggly scribbles at the tailends of my sentences in the notes are testamony to that. terrible la. whats worse, im detecting signs that i might be falling sick. you know, tense neck, heaty eyes and the sorts. hope it wont develop any further la. sigh. this is no goooood..

the past week passed pretty quickly. did quite a fair bit of stuff quite different from my considerably routine life. went to indulge in waffles and ice cream on half-priced tuesdays at gelare last week, with the missus. things are looking up, in some ways, and i hope it stays that way la. reality check #1 - it pays to focus your attention on the ones who actually matter.

on wednesday i was down at holland village again. this time i was meeting up with a former lecturer of mine, where i had the good fortune of getting a lovely lovey treat from him. well, before anyones thinks of anything, just for the record i must state that he doesnt teach me anymore, so that throws out any possibility of favouritism and watnots. it was interesting i feel, shared quite a few thoughts and insights on several life concerns. i guess its different listening to views from someone who is mature, foreign and is an academic, compared to things we typically hear from our peers. total polarity. reality check #2 - the simple things in life are what i should be most thankful for.

thursday i accompanied Bo to the hospital before heading to the Asian Civilisation Museum for an assignment. we visited a friend whose dad apparently had a stroke recently. this despite being generally normal and healthy all along. his age was close to my father's, and it struck a chord in me. it could have happened to him, i wouldnt have known. nauzubillahminzallik. again it reminds me of how short life is, anything can happen especially when we least expects it. shudderrr. reality check #3 - treasure my parents. they aint that young anymore.

finally, on saturday it was a mini-reunion with my friends from the now-defunct Jurong Institute, albeit at a wedding of one of the guys. he's a firefighter, so i guess he must be stable enough to be ready to embark on a journey on life's yellow brick road. meeting them was great, since its been ages since we saw most of each other. caught up on news, current affairs, and gossips. not forgetting laughing at the old lame jokes and reminiscing our dopey days. i was awestruck when the bride and groom was sitting on the pedestal, looking ever so happy and proud, in their grand outfits. and it occurred to me that the groom was a friend my age whom i went to school with! somehow, it brought whole rush of thoughts and sentiments to me. of fear and anticipation. you get what i mean. it is indeed a scary prospect.reality check #4 - i am growing old. too fast.

well, that's about it. had along day, lessons from 8-6pm just now. very very pooped to the max. though i did find time to squeeze in a session of soccer with the guys. twas a good workout, though my skills still suck. ok never mind that's a different matter all together. need sleep now. gd nite people.

my reasons to smile

i finally received enlightenment and figured out how to post pictures down over here. i think. am still trying hard to understand the technicalities and jargon that comes with it though. abit jumbled up. so this will do la for now. so here goes. my belated introduction to my nieces..... aite, gd nite everyoneee.

peek-a-boo!
the look of fearful confidence
the cabbage patch kids and gang
sarah & sabrina
a cheeky innocence belie their appearance

nothing is more nerve-wracking than riding up to a red-lighted junction, just before entering the expressway, and realising that right beside you is the ROV car waiting there too. and moments just after that, 3 TP bikes rode up alongside mine in the next lane. so there i was, desperately wishing for the light to turn green as quickly as possible. it was just a tad intimidating la. i never rode on the AYE so slowly in my life before.

i gotta say this before my life ends because i never know when that will be. i just wanna say sorry and apologise to all the people out there whom ive ever antagonised and touched a raw nerve before, at any time of my life. ive grown to realise that in this life, we can never please everybody, nor be in tandem with everyone. people are different, and i guess ive stepped on too many toes than i have on myself, often without knowing it, until the damage's done. whatever it is, i offer my apologies. the least i can do i think. to me, life's too short la. better to make the effort to clear my dues before its too late. next up, the difficult part. prayers.

i have an addition to my list of mantras - i shall never get dragged into a blogging war.

life's been pretty rough for the past couple of weeks. on every single front for me. bummer. but somehow, the family never fails to provide that solace and warmth whenever i need it. thank god.

par·a·noi·a (n) :
1. A psychotic disorder characterized by systematized delusions, especially of persecution or grandeur, in the absence of other personality disorders.
2. Extreme, irrational distrust of others.

again, i seriously do not know whats the deal with you people. please oh please for the love of God please stop thinking so pathetically narrow in perceiving things based on what you think it appears to be. must every single thing i do point to that? sorry to say this, but i have much better things to do aite. you'd probably be the last id even care to bother about. each and everyone of you. and for that matter, none of you are in a position to judge me either. so go figure.

to me, being nice just doesnt pay. ive learnt my lesson.