Disgruntled Moos

Life often takes a strange twist, I'd say. Was reading the sunday papers on how Margaret Chan, former food critic, and dabbler of the arts as a stage actress (and also a brief and forgettable role as a cockroach-crussssshing matriach in a very forgettable tv series) is now a professor of media studies at SMU. Somehow she managed to work her way through a PhD. Wah. Even more astonishing is brief statement in the article which states her offspring Cara is now a lawyer in Tokyo. Blokes n blazes! Now how did that happen?! Cara was a schoolmate of mine since primary school, and she was well remembered as one of the most academically dis-inclined student who always performed poorly in her studies. She's fail several subjects or be borderline at most. Best of all, she's ditsy like an airhead. However no one will argue when one says she is an extremely pretty girl even at a young age. Pretty does not describe her, she is really quite stunning. But an airhead nonetheless. I vaguely remember she moved to England to study after Pre-U. Maybe it did her some good. A lawyer indeed. Brings to mind Reese Witherspoon in Legallyl Blonde. Maybe she's that kind of lawyer.

Which brings to mind another startling revelation. Another classmate of mine from Sec school - school bully, well known toublemaker, rumbunctious tomboy and fearlessly ill-disciplined student who is every teacher's headache at school. Now a crime journalist with Straits Times. Even won the most outstanding young journalist of the year award some 2 yrs ago. Tanya Fong. Saw a pic of her once in the papers, she's actually wearing a damn skirt and has make up on. Un-effing-believable. Her English scores were quite the pits then, not because she couldn't manage the language, but she's plain and purely lazy. Somehow things have changed since she went to Australia for further studies. I guess, the overseas experience does do all these girls some good; and it's true what they say about the overseas acadamia being more forgiving, and more encouraging of the creativity and innovative side. The Spore system doesn't bring out the best in some of them.

Here I am - bright, hardworking individual cultivated and groomed under the local school system. And where am I? No outstanding award for anything, no cushy job in Tokyo. Not even moderately successful in career, considering I am some 3 years behind my original goals and objectives. Even the despised ex-bf who was a truant-playing student at poly is now working on his PhD. Poly girlfriends look more glamourous and dolled up than me. I'm really falling behind. I've achieved Auntie-stardom. Probably the only thing I can show off are my Tod's. They must be my most famed possessions. Ha ha.

To give my already low self-esteem a further blow, a recent strange conversation with C about the last meal before dying, I professed a wish to have something he cooked (if we were still together of course). That was flat out rejected, because he was certain I would turn my nose up and complain about how the meal was prepared. Ok ok so I do whine a lot, but hey, it's my DYING wish. I mean, it's grin-n-bear-it-geddit-over-n-done-with, and then, eternal freedom for him. Cannot even tahan ah? C said if it's just a normal ordinary girl he wouldn't mind, but since it's me, he wouldn't, because I would whine about the meal so much I would depart a disgruntled soul and haunt him forever. Sigh. I don't even measure up to some unknown stranger.

Someone just bury me next to Bis and Holly please.

Equation Power

Men are funny, they make excuses that don't make sense, but at least C had the cow-sense to look sheepish. We arranged to hang out after yoga on sunday, as usual, he was late. Antipicating that, I had no problems. Here's the gist of the subsequent conversation:

2.51pm, C: are you done yet?
me: yep
C: on my way, would you like a cheesecake?
me: no thanks
C: I'll buy a cheesecake for you, it's special.
me: Err, ok.
C: what flavour would you like?
me: just the normal type. how long would you be?
C: I'm at the shop now, I'll pick you up at 3.45pm.

..............to cut the story short, C arrived at 4.20pm, sheepish look, apologise profusely. I grill him like a sotong of course, part of me likes play-acting the poor aggrieved gf, and I think I do it quite so well. C hands me a box of cheesecake.....

ME: how come there are 3 pieces? I only need 1...
C: i didn't know what you like so I got 1 for you, and the rest you can give ur mom and brother.
ME: I thought you specially went to get cheesecake for me. So you saying I have same priority as my MOM and Bro?! (balls busted #1).

There's something about the equation of cow-munication, because somehow:

buy 1 plain cheesecake = buy 3 cheesecake in various flavours except plain.

I look in the box and I see only 2 cakes. So I enquired about the missing piece.

C: Ooops! wrong box, this is mine, so I got supper when I watched football tonite.

Me gives him the evil eye: So you actually went to buy cheesecake for YOURSELF, and to tried to throw me off by telling me you go all the way there to buy SPECIAL cheesecake for me.... (balls busted #2).

C stammers and yells, "but but but....ARRGHH...". Pulls his hair out. Oh yeah, I think I have him by the balls in a tight grip, twist them and squeezed them painfully. Fwahahhahahaha. I have the POWER. I am powerful. I am SUPREME. Bwahahahhaha.

C, sheepishly: Err......let's go buy durians.

Ok, let me rewrite that equation:

Busting balls = get super shiok durians

I have the POWER. I am SUPREME.

HA HA HA HA. Moo.

3 men and the real thing

My chinese drama chasing continues. It's a marathon of 1.5hrs per night and nearly 5 hrs on the weekend. Addiction is severe but not yet to the point of no return - still have enough sanity to go to yoga, walk and feed my dogs amongst other chores. Gotta admit, romantic twists in the plot makes the series a lot more watchable. After all, it's fairy tale living. In legend of Ping Zhong, the hero is suave, intelligent, capable, highly skilled, has integrity, will die for the female he loves, and still remains devoted like a puppy despite being rebuffed. Such men don't exist in real life. In Miao Cui Hua, hero is cool, stoic, highly skilled, level headed man of men, is a pillar of strength, but doesn't emote very well. But can be counted on to save the day every time. Such men hardly exists in real life. :P

Was having lunch on sat after yoga when a couple sat down next to me at the table, I didn't pay much attention since I had atom plugged in, reading a magazine. Not until the guy started conversing with his partner. Ohhhhmygaaaawd, what a voice. A deep booming baritone, so masculine. Very MAN. I soon realised they were japanese, his partner also a well turned out elegant older lady. When they stood up to move to another table, I managed to get a good look at him. WOWOWOWOWOW, what a man, rugged, chiselled looks, tanned, athletic and looks like a surfer type of the jaw-dropping variety. DROOL.

Actually, what I have for the real cow thing ain't bad either - tall, solid like a wall (no wind will blow him down, that's for sure), cool, smart, err...sneaky, funny, much loved by many women. Not sure about the will die for his beloved part but I'm nearly sure I'll be dead before ransom is delivered. Ah well, no one is ever perfect except in books and TV. Moo.

The Great Deceptions

Looks can be deceiving. While dining at a small jap curry joint tonight, C and I spied a sweet looking young lady at the corner with her partner. Fresh faced, good complexion and bright eyed. Aww, such a lovely lady. Until she opened her mouth, that is. Wahh, her shrill voice really grates. I mean, she speaks like a runaway train, poor C visibly winced each time she yammered on and on and on and on .....like she was powered by duracell. Apparently grated him so much his tooth hurts, ha ha ha. Listening to her tomboy speak, and her senseless debate, well, we figured out - either MGS, or Convent girl. Could be Rafflesian but lack the atas breeding, maybe SGS but they are more genteel. Well, still young mah. I think I was somewhat like that when I was in my early 20s too, NOT. :P

On the way home, we spied an ugly looking egg shaped car, a Toyota Porte at the Thomson rd junction. First time I ever seen this thing. There are some things that just need to be burnt on sight, says C. Looking at the pale yellow Porte, I definitely agree. It just looks like some 10 year old kid designed it, but wait, 10 yr olds have waaaaay better imagination and creativity than this. But while turning up to the PIE, C gasped in horror as he was suddenly overtaken by the ugly Porte. There's something to be said about a big guy driving a sporty car, there's an image to upkeep. And being overtaken but small little shits.....ahh....it's a sight to behold. Men and their pride. But lo and behold! Not 500m later we see the Porte coming up behind us again as we wait our turn at the junction. I had a belly laugh at C's yell of "Nooooooooooooooo!!!!!", the Porte kept following us till nearly the way home. Gotta admit, this young chap drives fast despite the teensy tiny wheels, but it's just so funny seeing my poor curried-beef's despairing expression as the little yellow fart tailed us. The whole thing was so ridiculous it's just hilarious. I swear if C belived he could light a fart at that moment he would, just so he could burn the thing down. hah.

Moo-moos of the Moo-lahs

GCB = Good Class Bungalows. New acronym I learnt while C was driving through the dark lanes of Chancery area on our way home. I've seen bungalows near the Caldecott Hill place, and they are huge. Chancery Road area....wow. It's almost criminal to own a plot of land and house (bungalow) that big in Singapore. GCB is not just any bungalow, it's THE bungalow, complete with sprawling gardens, long driveways and swimming pools. Bedrooms the size of my HDB flat. The houses are big, but on a huge plot of land, it looks like a tiny house in a big green field. They look like expensive, exclusive resorts. Very classy. I even saw one that has 5 luxurious cars in it's driveway. Man, they are so rich they can maybe even buy an island.

So here's the criminal part - some people have 5 luxury cars, some of the lesser ones have 1 continental car, and here I am, I don't even own a bicycle. That's a really sad state of things. Huge sigh. Ok ok so maybe I have 5 Tod's bags (err...actually only 4 I think). Man, they have so many zeroes in their bank account I can't ever imagine how I could make this much money except marry or murder for it. Cows for sale anyone?

Moo-moos of the Moo-lahs

GCB = Good Class Bungalows. New acronym I learnt while C was driving through the dark lanes of Chancery area on our way home. I've seen bungalows near the Caldecott Hill place, and they are huge. Chancery Road area....wow. It's almost criminal to own a plot of land and house (bungalow) that big in Singapore. GCB is not just any bungalow, it's THE bungalow, complete with sprawling gardens, long driveways and swimming pools. Bedrooms the size of my HDB flat. The houses are big, but on a huge plot of land, it looks like a tiny house in a big green field. They look like expensive, exclusive resorts. Very classy. I even saw one that has 5 luxurious cars in it's driveway. Man, they are so rich they can maybe even buy an island.

So here's the criminal part - some people have 5 luxury cars, some of the lesser ones have 1 continental car, and here I am, I don't even own a bicycle. That's a really sad state of things. Huge sigh. Ok ok so maybe I have 5 Tod's bags (err...actually only 4 I think). Man, they have so many zeroes in their bank account I can't ever imagine how I could make this much money except marry or murder for it. Cows for sale anyone?

Zen of Kong-Fu Cow

I love kungfu movies, I just do. Chinese martial arts films are my fav, always prefer them over the angmoh movies. Tsui Hark and Yuen Wo-Ping, yeah! Love their movies.

Now I've revived my dormant interests in wuxia drama serials. Was watching the Legend of Ping Zong on cable and the story is really not bad, too bad didn't follow the original novel by Liang Yusheng. Think the original tvb version by Michelle Yim and Damien lau better - had vague memories of the show in my young young days. Maybe I was around 10-12 yrs old then. Darn that cable only shows it once per week!! Waiting for the next episode my neck long long like giraffe leow. So, for the first time in 10+ years, I ventured into a the video (ahem, i mean vcd) rental stores of Poh Kim. Wah, really feel like a mountain turtle. Stood outside the store for like 30 secs before I even lifted my foot to tippy-toe in. Felt as if I was going to be swallowed whole. This reminds me of my first public library experience some 3 yrs ago after a 15 yr hiatus, and my first popular bookstore experience with the correction tape just recently. The world has changed and I'm still in twilight zone. Wah, the last time I rented anything it was still in VHS format. Now it's vcd leow wor. :O

They didn't carry the Ping Zhong series. So disappointed. But ended up with another wuxia series. Ok, gotta admit C is right about one thing - when I get engrossed with my drama serials, hygiene does drop a tad bit. Yesterday rushed home after work and sat down on the sofa from 7.30pm onwards to chase the series, didn't even move my arse until 10pm when I had to switch to Desperate Housewives. Poor dogs didn't even get their walk. After a rushed shower between commercials, switched back to the drama series 11pm till midnite. If I could, I would use my "inner strength" to propel my dogs to the kitchen to get fed so I wouldn't even have to walk there and leave the sofa. Guilty as charged. Hieee-yah!!

Zoom Zoom

Cars is a really good movie. I think it's one of the best animated film in a looong time. The little bonus cartoon at the start of the movie (One Man Band) was really quite amusing too. The little girl's miffed expression is just like mine. Ha ha ha. My fav character in Cars is the little blue italian that is Luigi's assistant. Small but packs a mean punch. Oww. "Cows" made an appearance in the movie too! Represented by tractors. Really dumb but funny.

Had to sacrifice Tod's VIP sale to go to the movie with C. Late as usual, and me miffed as usual. Maybe if I had one of those screwy drill things the little blue italian has I would have drilled holes into C's head, and I might just find a little sand-timer in his head that's actually broken. That may explain why his time management sucks. Hmm, on second thought even without a real drill I'm sure he can feel me boring holes into his back and fanning a fire under his butt while he's some 60km away speeding his way to my destination because he knows he's late. Feel my power. Yeah. I don't need to be a ferrari but I can sure light a fire. Didn't I say something yesterday about fart combustion? Ha ha ha. Oh wait, maybe next time I needn't get too upset, I'll just gas him instead. Probably a more effective way of ensuring timely arrival. HA HA HA HA. Poot to you. Moo.

The Wiks of Farts

A Fart is....

(According to Wiktionary - a wiki-based open content dictionary)

Etymology
Old English feortan < Germanic *fertan, *fartōn < Proto-Indo-European *perd- (to fart), probably of imitative origin.

Pronunciation
fä(r)t, /fɑː(r)t/, /fA:(r)t/

Noun
fart (plural: farts)
An emission of digestive gases from the anus

And in Wikipedia the free encyclopedia...."Flatulence is the release of a mixture of gases known as flatus produced by symbiotic bacteria and yeasts living in the gastrointestinal tract of mammals. Flatus is released under pressure through the anus, often accompanied by odor and sound. Releasing flatus gases is colloquially known as farting. The average human releases 0.5 to 1.5 litres (1 to 3 U.S. pints) (measured at NTP) of flatus a day by flatulating 12 to 25 times."

Err, 1.5 litres? that's as much water I drink in a day. Wah. So what....do we take 3 empty bottles of Ice mountain 500ml to measure our bodily gases? LOL.

"Nitrogen is the primary gas released. Methane and hydrogen, lesser components, are flammable, and so flatulence is susceptible to catching fire."

O...K....so technically we can light a fire by farting. No need to fire up the stove to cook leow, just fart as needed.

"Livestock are a significant contributing factor to the greenhouse effect, accounting for around 20% of global methane emissions".

So, Cows = More Farts. Techinically we cows can light an even bigger flame.

"Livestock in New Zealand account for 60% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock in Australia contribute approximately 14% of that country's greenhouse gas emissions."

Lucky I'm Singaporean (cow) lor. Apparently there is a New Zealand Fart TAX??!!

Had enough farts yet? If not, check out the FART GAME

Poot. Err, Moo.

The Cow of Zen

Nearly 4.5 hours of yoga today (with an 1hr break in between), and I'm energized. My stamina is getting better, I think ever since post-Ana Forrest workshop I am able to survive up to 6hrs of yoga work with a 1hr break in between. Of course as I become a regular at workshops, one realises that the workshop attendees are more or less the same people. LOL. But that means everyone's level is improving a notch at the same time, and a lot of them are really really good. From the way they move and their strength, a lot of them should be teachers. The only time I see teachers flail is at Ana's class. Let's see how it goes at David Swenson's. Matthew's masterclass is quite fast paced, he doesn't explain much but a couple of the postures are quite different from the usual stuff we do. Loosely adapted from the 2nd series he says. Next week is 3rd series. Interesting. :)
C brought me to a new place to eat today at Amoy street - Kah Soh. Really good fish head beehoon. I think beats the Holland V one hands down. After much fuss about dinner location (thanks to a zen stomach post-dyanamic yoga class), the fishhead beehoon is just the right touch. Happy Yogi Cow.

Wandering Criticisms

Exam today. First thing - I need a new pen. Free pens from hotel conferences don't write well and pilot pens with a 0.5 tip annoy me too. My handwritten has been reduced to a primary schoolkid's unsightly scrawl - a victim of too much keyboard usage and too little handwriting practice over the last 4 years. Depending on the type of pen used, my handwriting can change. I think the redleaf ballpoints are best. Just need to nab one from the office lor. Ha ha.

Wandering around town after the exam, I had nothing much to do. It's a strange feeling not having to go to yoga class and then have a whole afternoon free. I literally nothing planned, no agenda, and feeling a little lost. Decided to reward myself with a pedicure; costly at $37 but well, it's not often I get one these days. I went to the bookshop, bought some groceries, and ran some errands, and wow, only 4pm. Still not much to do, so headed home. Strange to be home at 4pm on a Sat. For the first time in eons, I actually had time to do my laundry in the day time, and give myself a manicure. Really really rare.

Not going for yoga on a sat is really wierd, I mentioned that already. Even to a point I'm lost on what 'non-yoga' clothes to wear. Took a good 15 mins to deliberate over my clothing while the clock was ticking away (it was 9.20am and exam starts 10am). In the end, I had an opportunity to wear a french-style baby doll I had bought a year back and never worn.

Final thought - isn't this the Great singapore sale??? So where are the bargains?? Went into M. Dutti boutique for the first time, nothing impressive for their price range. Saw a sequined skirt I don't mind having but it looks like it's made for bigger mamas, and at $155? Fergeddit. Zara at Liat Towers was even worse, it's my first and last time there, because frankly, I wonder what the zara hype is all about. Crappy designs with blah fabrics that scream major ironing needed, and extremely overpriced. For the $100-$200 they charge on their clothes, I rather buy Dutti. Why do people even waste their time on Zara? 1/3 of Singapore wears Zara and the other 1/3 is Mango. Can't people get more original than that?

Early bird catches no worm

Tried my first ever Mysore class today. Wah, I actually woke up at 5am fresh, had time to snooze for 30mins before going about the daily dog chores before heading down. Mysore starts 6.45am onwards and I'm there 6.55am thinking I may possibly be 1 of 3-4 students. Wrong. First approaching the studio I was startled to see already a good number of shoes lined up outside. Obviously there are birds earlier than me, and from the looks of it, 70% of the room is filled and majority are already a good 20 mins into their practice. Apparently a lot of students wanted to take advantage of Matthew being around and thus packed his mysore classes. Since I didn't know the sequence well enough I was only given poses up to Navasana before finishing. A little disappointed but hey, yoga is not about how fast one can get there (in terms of doing the pose) but it's an inward journey, and more important a journey of the mind and inner self. Of course, since I'm still a novice at the inner journey, my somewhat egoistic self can't help but peek and marvel at what some of the other students are doing. And gosh, there are a lot of students pretty advanced in there, mostly doing the full Primary already. Even Damien who started yoga only months ago, is much further along the series than me. His practice is actually quite good considering his limited experience.

I must say the uncalculated but good advantage of having a membership there is, I got to use the lounge area as a study facility for the whole day. I nabbed the corner space, lush seats with plump cushions and full view of the scenary outside. And very quiet, much better than any library. Shopping and food is easily available within the building. A definite plus. Can see myself coming here each time pre-exam to study. Couldn't help but snicker when I saw some students studying at the noisy coffee bean, loud music blasting and ear-deafening chatter of its customers. Next best thing today was that I used my coffee bean card points to redeem over $20 worth of F&B today. I am extremely pleased how much I got today for so little. heehee.

F for Yoga Teacher

Had a strange dream this morning, that I was a newly trained yoga teacher leading a hall (and I mean a large hall) of yoga students through an ashtanga practice. But not quite. As I led the chant through the opening prayer, I started to flail as I forgot the words to the next phrase in the prayer. A deadening silence descended upon the hall. Everyone seemed to hold their breaths (really sucking it in and hold!) as they waited for me to remember. I struggled, and sweat beaded my forehead. Can't remember how I fumbled the rest of the way through, and then I woke up. Guess it's a sign from someone above that maybe I should just be content being a yoga student. I sucked at my first teaching class. Sigh. What a crashing ending for a career aspiration that's not even started. Om.

Ticket to Auntie-land

The truth is out - I'm officially under the "auntie" category now. Yes going to tekka market and bargaining with stall uncles for discount on meats, and bitching kopi-shop talk with tekka gang is auntie activity. But tonite, tonite, I think I finally have to admit I've gotten a full qualifying entry ticket to Auntie-land. The cause of all this lamenting, well, a gathering with my gang of poly girlfriends whom were my best buddies during those 3 memorable school years.

Eileen, the prettiest amongst us, looks like a real hot mama. Despite only giving birth 5 months ago, she is now back to her svelte 48kg frame. And I mean flat abs, small butt and all, looking like a 24 year old fresh faced girl. Leona, all flawless in make-up and professional looking in her outfit that just screams, "don't mess with me" especially in her tall, built, 1.77m frame. Even Susan, who was more dowdy during our school days, looks like a japanese popstar icon that just stepped out of a magazine in her jap perm hairdo, and street clothing getup like those you see at Far East Plaza. And here's Wen - black pants and a white sleeveless blouse with a couple of safety pins, makeup that has washed out and not touched up during the day, with a shiny forehead (forgot to even blot my face, argh!), and really plain in contrast with 3 colourful women at the table. In short, AUNTIE.

I should have known better, really. I could just hit myself against the wall for not remembering that for a group of women, good buddies, that only see each other some 2x per year, I should have made more effort to dress up and play the part. Having become so used to my sloppy yoga-wear only attire on weekends, I become even lazy to dress better at work. Not to mention hanging out with school buddies. So what's the point when I have over $500 in cosmetics sitting around at home when all I use everyday is powder and lipstick? And I don't even bother to touch up during mid day for that matter. Aieeee. Laziness has it's price and I've just paid it. I dreaded the moment we had to take a group photo, wah, I really looked washed out and yellow-faced next to the 3 of them. Sigh.

Auntie-dom here I come. No turning back for me now. Aunty Moo.

Grocery Euphoria

I'm a grocery junkie. I am. I get immediate gratification just walking down the aisles of supermarkets. Not just any supermart, but gourmet ones. Last week I headed down to Jasons to buy some bread and a can of soup, and wow, think my eyes just glazed over as I floated along the aisles with a silly expression on my face just like a junkie who had a recent drug fix. All sorts of pretty things in pretty packaging. Ooooh soooo tempting. Canned soup is not just Campbells. But we're talking Heinz, Waitrose and godknowswhatother exotic brands. The packaging is so impressive. Juice section is another wow wow wow. Oh and look at their exotic cheeses. They have pies, quiches and samosas too. Hmm, great for dinners on those days I get bored tah-pauing from the zi-char stall. Kerching! Jasons is some $50 richer thanks to my 15 min junkie operation.

Yesterday night the same thing occured. I just wanted one teensy bread roll (only 60 cents) after yoga, but hmm, brie looks nice. And wah, the multigrain bread too. Oh might as well build my own sandwiches with extra tomatoes etc. Oh they have bagels! Must get cream cheese. Hey they have Arnott's fruit rolls. Oh I've never seen this type of sweet potato chips before.

$30 poorer as I floated my way home. Still floating today. Some days I dream of having a large stainless steel freezer from Armana. I drool.

But UH OH...if I'm not careful this might end up being a 60 cents breadroll become $5000 refridgerator project. Remember the SIMS game? Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee. GULP.

The Science of Poo

Woke up in the wee hours before dawn today, and made a feeble attempt to do some meditation, suceeding for all of 1 min before flopping back to bed again. My mind and body battling between waking and sleeping, the angel on the right suggesting I could do a couple of sun salutes, the devil on the left saying oh how good the bed feels. I took the coward's way out and did a Uttanasana and Supta Padang. Easy stuff and none of the hardship, and at least I didn't feel so guilty.

Daily Poo Index is Baaaaack!!! This time with a horrofic twist. Holly was spotted licking some other animal's early morning dump. It was grey, soft and squishy and smelt foul. The stooooopid gal managed to give it a few tentative licks before I yelled at her. YUCKKK!!!!!! I am soooo not going to kiss her or even put her head near my face this morning. Ugh. Part 2 of the Poo Index involved some fast flying dog poo - in our evening walk today Holly was squatting down and emitting a long produce when Bis suddenly sprinted. Stupid girl of course didn't want to loogi, and her competitive streak compelled her to chase after Bis despite not knowing what the heck for. Of course whipping around in a 360 deg turn while pooing halfway meant the offending particle was flung from it's original intended spot. I'm sure someone can explain the physics of it - blah blah force and blah blah velocity = poo flew xyz distance from resting position. Or something like that. Anyway it flew so fast I could hardly see where it landed. Kinda reminded me of a short putter.

Fed Holly some durian just now in hopeful bid to negate her early morning poo breath. Salmon for dinner. I think the combination of the 3 things must make her breath even more foul should she burp. Aiieeeee. Gross factor 9/10.

Weekend Zen Warrior

This has been a really busy weekend. Starting Friday night, where C and I out of the goodness of our hearts (and the evil intention to be the first to bond with Nicole's new pet), helped Nicole pick up her new 'son' from the Changi Airfreight Center. Truly, without our help she would have been lost, trying to find her way to and around the macham ulu place. Her shiba inu, named Tiger (aka "tai-ker" in chinese, aka taiwan-hokkien for "lame") has arrived at last, after more than 6 months of waiting and searching. Honestly, Tiger is really cute. And wah, very zen-like. Very calm. He just sat in his crate calmly like a zen master in meditation. He neither yelped or bark nor moved around. He just sat and watched us. Tiger was REALLY smelly, having probably sat on wet papers infused with his own pee on the long flight. But nevermind, C and I cuddled him anyway, while Nicole whined, "You're so cute!! EuuuWWW!! YOU STINK!!". Poor fella is probably getting his 3rd bath since landing in Singapore as we speak. Nicole has this fetish for sanitizing things. That's a separate story for another time.

Back to Tiger - he calmly sat in C's lap while we drove from Changi back to Nic's home. Just sat there patiently. Until I started singing. Maybe he didn't enjoy it so much. Err, maybe it disrupted his peaceful state of mind. Suddenly he climbed over to me , scrambling to the window in what is possibly a cry for "GET ME OUTTA HERE!" or an apparent bid to take a flying leap to the outside world to escape my yodling. Ummm. Hmmm.

Ashtanga weekend on Sat and Sun, starting with led classes at Pure, and Dena Wiseman's workshop immediately after. Part 2 of her workshop this morning. This really calls for some serious stamina as we went thru the full Primary Series. My 2nd, in my entire yoga lifetime. I was doing pretty well until the last couple of poses where I've never learnt them, but wah, there it's just quite interesting to watch the other students who can, do it. Trying to pluck up some courage to attend Mattew's mysore classes while he's here. Since it's free, musn't loogi mah.World renowned teacher leh. Dena is a fantastic teacher, not what you'd expect in an ashtanga teacher. Her teaching is very precise and infused with a lot of iyengar-like precisions. The class loved it. Would hope she comes back again. Today is one of the few times I'm completely exhausted after yoga. But it's so good. Om shanti. Oh yeah, and Om Moo.

Flying Yogi Rescue

Attended the meet Matthew Sweeney event at Pure Yoga earlier tonight with Yvette and YP. Boyo it was really well turned out by >100 people, all packed and crammed into the reception area. Matthew gave a 20 min demo and it was really quite impressive. It was as if he was a featherweight flying between poses, it was all so silent and graceful. Quite unlike the elephant landings u hear when a yoga student is attempting those vinyasa jumpbacks. And watching him forward and backward bends (into urdva danurasana) repeatedly, ouch, my back just hurts watching that. His spine is like rubber. But well, he started yoga at age 16, and I guess it pays off. I think for me, it's pretty hopeless as I don't think I'll ever get to such a stage. Hamstrings too tight lah. YP brought Lenny along and to his credit he slept throughout the noise of 100 pple chattering and barely fussed. Maybe he has some potential to be a yogi too. Good to start young. Already can put his foot into his mouth. :P

Attended a first aid course this afternoon, sponsored by the office. A lady from St. John's gave the talk, it's just basic first aid but wah, her use of singlish is macham powderful. My Englishman colleague could barely understand her. But she's real funny. Ok honestly, I don't think I will remember all those steps I need to do in an emergency situation where I might have to give first aid. I'll likely just panic and start yelling and screaming and flap around like an anxious hen. But I guess if I HAVE to give CPR, I could probably do it. Just hope I don't break any ribs. Errrm.