:: Tough Sh*t ::

I came across the above picture cuppla years ago.  But I did not know the story behind the picture until a few months back. 

The picture was taken in 1993 by Kevin Carter while on his way to UN food centre during the Sudan famine.  He stopped and took the picture of a little girl crawling towards the centre (which was reported to be a kilometre away) while she was stalked by a hungry looking vulture.

A year later, in 1994, this picture won a Pulitzer Prize.

During the press conference he was asked “what happened to the child?”
   
He could set his camera for 20 minutes and waited for the vulture to spread it wings, but it did not happen. He left the emaciated girl after he chased the vulture away, and yet he did not help carry the poor girl to the food camp. 

He got depressed of what he had seen over those years, he committed suicide 3 months later.  Died of carbon monoxide poisoning.  Google him out.  His life story is very interesting. 

Maltbie Babcock once said, opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them.  Kevin carter has had the opportunity to help her but as scarce as the oxygen, he failed to see it.  

So chickadees,  if opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.

p/s:  I'm watching Shutter Island while composing this.  

:: Bah Humbug! ::

I been getting weird questions from guys that I’ve come to know over these few years.

I was once asked by an online friend if I wear watch on my right.  I answered I’m right-handed, I have watch on my left.  Asked him why, he said he just dig a girl who wears her watch on her right wrist.  Odd I must say, but that would probably just him.

I was even asked if I have piercing in any other part of my body besides my earlobes.  I replied I do not enjoy torturing myself.  Furthermore, having rings on other part of your body especially your face makes you look trashy.  Idk.  It’s just me maybe. 

I was asked if I ever consider dating a shorter guy since I’m pretty tall.  What kinda question was that?

And recently I was asked by a guy if I have fillings in my teeth.   I asked him back, if he has fillings in his teeth (he has a nice row of teeth btw).  He replied in the affirmative.  I asked him why he asked.  His answer was, he believes a girl that has no fillings in her teeth can take care of the family as she’s good in taking care of her teeth.

Go ahead, read it again, you know you want to, but it won't make any more sense the next time through.

  
Like seriously, except children, do you know anyone that has no fillings in their teeth?

:: I Heart YOU ::

My dad's position was: if you want to watch television or go out with friends improve your grades. My mom, on the other hand was not stickler about grade point averages; she just wanted me and my brothers to do our best in school.

My brothers and I have never made our parents life miserable (except when I decided to marry my ex… that! I shall not discuss on that). We go to school, we never skip classes.  Though I din do well enuff at school but my mom has never chastising (even verbally) about my grades.  Mommy was a staff nurse before she decided to become a full time housewife.  She quit her job just to follow daddy who were studying and been working around the globe.

Being brought up in few foreign countries and fused with various races due to my dad's working contracts have made us wiser than ordinary kids. But it was never an excuse to dismay our mom's life.  Every so often mommy would take her time off from doing the house chores just to check on our academic progress, and lo and behold, she would find out what we did in school. We could never hide anything from her. 

When I was 14, I was away from my family for quite a distance, this had made me thinking that if ever I do anything, my parents wouldn't know.  Even if eventually they would, it may take some time for them to know.  But even if I could, I wouldn't.  There will always be this guilty feeling that enfolds me. I don't know why.

My friends moms started to loosen their grip and allow their dotters to party until late at night. But mommy tightened her grip and said that if I can't make it home by 10 pm curfew, maybe it will be easier for me to make it home by 9 pm.

I remember when I was 17-years-old I applied a job at one of the biggest 24-hours fast food chain in the world. I was interviewed for the position. I got the job.  I was asked to do the night shift.   Then I was informed that the management wouldn't be able to bring me home until 3 am in the morning. I asked if there was any way that they could bring me home sooner because if I came home at 3 am in the morning, there was not a single doubt in my mind that my parents would kill me, they would never allow me to work as they thought that I was too young to work, but I need more than just my monthly allowance for shopping of course. Most of my friends were working at the age 17.  I had to decline the position.  There and then I was so frustrated that I was this close to have some extra money.

When it comes to a man, mommy educated me to always expect and respect prime time from a man. Well, her definition of prime time as phone calls early in the day and spending quality time together on weekends.  She told me that I should never allow a man to make me the last thing on his list when everything is closed and he is tired.   To make a man spend 'quality' time with me during the day, when we can have a meaningful conversation, go to the movie or out to dinner.  I could never agree less to this.

The evidence of being raised aptly by mommy, I managed to earn 2 college degrees. Most importantly, I know God.

Mommy, thank you so much for raising me to the best of your ability. Being a mother myself, I have learned a lot in life which I truly believe that nothing can beat the first hand experiences.  If I could re-live the days that I had, I wouldn't want to change it even a single second.   Whenever I think about not folding a sheet properly, I hear your voice in my head telling me that whatever I do, do my best.

Thank you for raising me to be strong enough to have the guts to be true to my own convictions and confidence not go along with the crowd. No one is perfect, but you are the perfect mother for me.

Happy 54th birthday Mommy.  We love you so much.

:: Ice 'Aged' [Version Switcher 1.24b]::

I have such generous friends. Either that or they are just very sympathetic to my pathetic always-hungry look.

Yesterday the department’s secretary gave me and Alyssa two slices of a home-made chocolate moist cake.  Really moist I tell you.  And in the afternoon the assistant gave me an egg tart.  I place the tart nicely in the Tupperware of the choc cake and brought it home so that I could share it with little dottie.

Picked her up from her fardu ain’s class at around 6.45pm, after I finished my Lawnbowl practices.

I was just entered the gate when a neighbor next door came out of her kitchen and hand me a bag of ‘tanam sendiri’ papayas.

I’m a sucker for fruits.  I’d go wild over papayas and honey dew.  Okay may be ‘wild’ is overstated.  I love the taste of Ugli.  Its like a normal tangerine except that its originally from Jamaica and a I think it’s a hybrid of grapefruit and orange. I'm crazy over Green Guava cicah asam, urghh heavenly. Oh oh I like Kiwi fruit, especially when it is blended. I love Mango.  And Mangosteen too (did I get the spelling right?).

But unlike my Scottish friend who has moved to Maine, I dislike durian.

So yeah! I had papaya wedges for dinner.

This morning when I was loading Alyssa’s stuff into the car I saw, the Tupperware!  The forgotten chocolate moist cake slices and an egg tart.

Good Lord! I’m aging.

:: Alas and alack ::

Its probably hard for some people to be helpful I suppose.

I called the office of the Ministry of Health on Monday the  8th. I tried since 9 a.m. but to no avail. I have tried about 5 extension numbers of the person who are in charge in Housemanship but none of them answered.   When I called the general line, the machine answered and asked me to dial my desired extension numbers. 

I asked few colleagues if Selangor was on holiday on Monday as I couldn’t understand how ‘busy’ the office of that particular unit.  So I tried another number.  Still, its the same department but a different unit.  The unit that takes care of the International or Contract HO.  I was so relieved that a lady answered the call.  Finally a human voice.  I told her that I been trying to contact the houseman unit but no one answered, she said I gotta try later since they were having a department meeting.  Fine. 

At around 2.30 p.m. I suffered the same journey.  No one answered my call, that got me to the machine and when I left message on the machine it said its full… yada yada yada...

I called again the extension number of the lady that asked me to wait till later.  I got her again.  But unlucky me, she gave me other extensions for me to call.  This is what happened:-

“Cik saya dah call unit houseman tapi sorang pun tak jawab.” I explained.

“ok saya bagi extension lain pulak” She was about to read me more numbers.

“Jangan jangan, don’t give me more extensions as I will be experiencing the same thing.  Saya nak tanya Cik one simple question saja”  I tried to ask her to help me.

 “Sorry saya tak boleh tolong.  Hanya department houseman saja boleh tolong cik”  She continued reading me more digits like 10 other extensions.

“Cik saya nak tanya pasal website KKM” I nicked her off from reading me the whole directory.

“Sorry saya tak boleh tolong”  And she cut the line off.

She really really really can't help can she?  And she didn’t even know what I wanted to ask!!!

I just wanted to know why in the Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia’s website has no Borang Maklumat Diri (BMD) for new Houseman since it has loads of other downloadable forms.

She has the ALL time to read me ALL the extension numbers but she didn’t have the time to know what my problem was.  Even if she couldn’t or wouldn’t wanna help, at least, have the courtesy to listen to my inquiry.