an angel

met an angel on sunday.

my sister's laptop was going bonkers and would have died in the near future. thus xiang, my sis and i made a trip down to funan after church in a bid to get her a new one.

so we made our way through several shops and looked at quite a few laptops before deciding on one that we decided suited all her requirements and there was a $150 cash back. so why not?

being told that we needed to get our cash back from the service hub on the 6th floor and they closed at 3pm on Sundays, (it was then 2.50pm) we made our way upstairs while they were readying the laptop for use etc.

To our horror there was a HUGE mass of people all waiting at the service hub. so we got our queue number and it read 1398. we looked at the number currently being served and to our even greater horror realised it was 1303!!!!!!!

but hey, it was $150 right? so we decided that my sis would go down and have the shop set whatever settings she needed and wanted, then come back up since there was still quite a looooong way to go before our turn.

After seeing about 4 people being served, i had a brain wave of coming back another day to claim the cash back and wondered if this was a possibility (which was highly attractive cos i'm still nursing back my health and did just walk all the way from church to funan and trudged thru a fair number of computer shops). so dialed my sister's number and asked her to check with the shop on returning another day.

i remember i was kinda facing xiang at that time and simply speaking normally into the phone.. not one of those who shriek into the phone or informs the entire bus or train carriage on what they had for dinner last night. so as we were contemplating on the best course of action, someone tapped me on the arm and grabbed my queue number and slid another into my hand in one swift action. (note: he took my number first, without even knowing what it was!)

so while i was speaking...."so you'll be too busy to come back another ah??..... eerrr.... someone just gave me another queue number..." and as i was coming to terms with this new queue number, my brain began to register the number and it read 1314... i looked up at the person and in complete shock i looked questioningly at him. he kinda shrugged and smiled... so i put the phone down and asked "errr... why did you change queue numbers with me? my number's really big you know?" and again he shrugged, gestured at his huge macdonalds drink and said simply with a smile 'i can wait...' but i found it incomprehensible that someone would trade a 1314 (when at that time they were serving 1309) for my 1398! so i asked again "but my number's really very big!" and he just smiled again and said "i haven't finished my drink..." speechless i stood there dumbfounded and he continued "make sure you've got your receipts, ic and everything otherwise they can't help you..." so all i could do really was graciously accept his offer and thanked him profusely...

he walked towards another area of the crowd...

i called my sis and asked her to come up cos we needed her ic etc... so up she came and within minutes it was our turn, within a minute everything was done... three $50 notes were handed to her... and we were out in a jiffy. but he was gone... i wanted to point him out so that my sis could add her thanks... but he was no where in sight.

while i know he's probably a human being, but to me, he was an angel. a stranger doing a good deed and not getting a single thing out of it.

most people i know wouldn't mind helping at their convenience... but this gentleman helped with no advantage or convenience to him. he was simply nice.

earlier on in the day, we screened a cartoon on the good samaritan. i believe i met one that afternoon. and in this clear object lesson i had, i now know what it means to be a good samaritan and hope that one day, i too can be one. =)

family

firstly, i'd like to state for the record that i sorely missed my family last week. u see while i was sick and miserable at home, i really was all alone. no one else was home. sis had gone off on a school trip for a coupla days to batam and my parents had joined my uncle's church for their church camp. so wed, thu and fri i was all alone at home!!!!!

now wed was pretty ok.. u know, it's quite a cool thing to be able to hang around the house without a care in the world and just chill and do whatever i felt like doing (tho slightly marred by my ailment) but once night fell, i realised even when i wanted to talk to someone i only had the bunny wabbit to talk to. and while she's cute and fuzzy, somehow she lacks the conversational finesse of a human being and the warmth of someone i call mummy, daddy or cheche...

plus i was sick! and there was no one to pat pat me... to tell me i'll be ok... to check if i needed anything.. to remind me to drink more water. to chase me to bed to ensure i get more rest... to explain in great details why nadal is soooo cute! =P etcetcetc...

so yes, i missed my family... and more than ever it made me realise how loved i am. that even one day without anyone else in the house, not hearing the usual slippers wander around the house... the cup being taken down the shelf, the sound of water running... all evidences that there are people in the house.. just one day and i knew i always take the simplest things for granted. to wake up and know that i can wish daddy and mummy good morning.. to lay in bed and know my cheche will come in and sprawl on my bed to talk abt everything and anything... there was nothing. just me, my tellie and the bunny wabbit.

i've been trying for like half a year now to convince my family to go away on a short holiday. just the four of us. cos once 09 comes, things are going to be very different, cos i'll not only be their daughter and sister, but also someone's wife. then he will have to come first as we start our own family. so while things are still as they are, i just wish we could just spend a few days as a family. but they seem to think it's a silly notion. that we already spend time together here. why spend money and go away and sit in a hotel to do it. i guess for me, many years down the road, and if my parents aren't around anymore, i want to have something to remember that my family did together.

but perhaps they're right. we don't need a holiday. right now, i just try and remember things. like i'll take a moment to study my mum when she's choosing a fish in the market. i look at my dad as he's reading the papers. i look at my sis as she sat across me all sun burnt and telling me all abt her trip to batam. i sit in the car and remember how things are. daddy at the driver's seat, mummy next to him, cheche behind mummy cos that's her preferred seat and me, behind daddy. meal times, the look on their faces as they laugh... i guess we don't have to make memories... but to simply take a step back and put lil incidences into our memory bank.

i guess i'm a bit of a silly nilly... but i know that when i'm old and gray, i'll remember my mummy's smile... my daddy's laughter when he watches just for laughs... my sister's enthusiasm as she shares another nugget of information... that's my family! and i love them. =)

long rest

yup, still at home... took leave on wed to rest. yesterday saw the doc again for the third time in two weeks cos i still am hacking out tonnes of phlegm.

and was given two days MC and told to rest lots. so that's a 5 days stretch of rest. this last batch of medication seems to work somewhat. this morning i hacked out a third worth of yesterday's phelgm. so that's a good start! lol... it's a pain to have to drag myself out of bed after all that drowsy medication tho. but no choice, need to take my breakfast before i can take my antibiotics.

it's raining now... nice weather to sleep in. and i'm glad it's raining cos i think i smelt some haze/smoke thing earlier. hope the rain clears the smoke.

last night i totally bummed in front of the tellie. heehee... watched judging amy, er and wire in the blood back to back on the hallmark channel. it's so funny cos nathan from heroes was in judging amy as her love interest. and all i could think of was that he's from heroes... er was great... it's so early in the season with carter just having started work... mark green and susan going on disastrous blind dates only to meet while on blind dates and having their respective blind dates get on like house on fire... wire in the blood was a series that never came to channel 5... too morbid maybe? or too short? on season's got like 4 episodes? and many of the stories need to drag thru two episodes. i caught it by accident one or two years back on cable... and last night it was on again. thing is, since i never got to catch the show as my mum has a thing abt me watching shows with morbid deaths and murders and suicides etc, i had to be content with reading transcripts. so whatever was shown last night, i already knew... even tho it was the first parter i already know who's the killer and why and stuff... but seeing it on screen was pretty freaky. think the way it's filmed etc.. the simplicity, the suggestions... just plain freaky. think i'll stick to transcripts unless there's someone to watch it with me.

lol... yes i'm a chicken... lalalala....

well, have a good work day folks... while i nurse my health back into order. =)

doing work at 7am

woke up this morning hacking phlegm as i have been the entire night. the thick disgusting yellow goo clogs up my throat and nasal cavity which inevitably causes hacking fits.

thus as i lay in bed decided to take urgent leave to just stay home, chill and rest. something everyone's been telling me i need. however i did actually need to write an article very urgently for work. so instead of dilly dallying, i got out of bed at 7 and began pondering over my laptop. amazingly and i really thank God for the clear head and inspiration, finished the article in less than an hour. now just hope the party that needs to vet it will revert soon!

so now it's a whole day to myself to just rest and recuperate. it's only half past ten so plenty of time to go. =) so pleased....

was given a bridal magazine by my sister's friend and it's actually a fun thing to pour thru such magazines. fun fun... =)

ok, i'm off to lie in bed and read my favourite baby blues comic book.

mervin and huifen's wedding!

some shots i took with my lil camera phone... some aren't too clear cos they weren't the stillest of objects to take!

but yeah, when huifen was walking down the aisle with her daddy... me *sniffle*... so sweet! my two friends were going to say their vows to be man and wife! this time last week, i was running around the restaurant! whew... that was quite a day! =) they're happily honeymooning in china now... should be back soon... =)

poor mervin getting tortured. his 'brothers' had to wear this incredibly red lipstick and plant kisses all over his face! look at his face! the poor guy inevitably came out of it scarred for life! kissed by meng yang some more! aiyoyo!

he had to kneel... on rocks! and sing this love song from Adam Sandler's The Wedding Singer... something abt growing old together, and him wanting her... mushy mushy lovey dovey stuff... and of cos huifen happily let him know the first round wasn't good enough, so he had to sing it again... lol...

after all that, he finally got his bride! and he was so gleeful he wanted to carry her out immediately much to the horror of hf's family cos there was still all the traditional stuff to be done... lol... very funny...

Merf: "Yup, i want that beautiful bride."

hf's wifely instincts kicking in... wiping his brow... altogether now... "awwww..."

Off to the church! I'm getting married!
(the stool u see here was used by mervin who sneakily climbed in through the windows, his accomplice - the bride's mum and brother)

the only shot of its kind on the day. i'm really a trigger happy girl! don't think anyone else got a shot like this one... heehee!

the handsome couple... heading to their new place to say hello!


hf in her tea ceremony dress...

hf and her bridesmaid claudia... waiting for the church solemnization service to begin

the dazzling bride with a new hairdo for the dinner (didn't have time to take pics of her evening gown tho.. it was a ple pink one... tube dress too i think... sweet sweet... but was too tired and phone was low battery liao...)

finally! me in the shot! lol




and lastly... my fav shot of the day... after the church wedding on the way back to hf's place to rest before dinner....

heh... =D

fish fish fish

had a rather fishy day today... as in literally... xiang mentioned qianhu had a exhibition at bugis today and wanted to go check it out. declined at first but after deciding i wanted to get daddy a lcd monitor for his fathers' day gift gave in. so we circled the teeny exhibition... got him a log for his upcoming tank (he already has two, now waiting to start a third and yes, he REALLY likes fish).

last last week just went to aquarama with him and that's where he got his free one foot tank. took some pics of goldfish. this is the nicest one i found. it's huge! bigger than my whole hand!


and after we were at qianhu, i was feeling very generous and accompanied him to another fish shop which had his fav chichlids. i really need to learn to appreciate them. he's always asking if i think they're pretty, and i go 'errr... no...' trying... but they really aren't very pretty to me... one or two and passable... but as we realised today, i look at the fish in its entirety before i decide if it's nice.. for him, he looks for unique features, colours... oh well, whatever keeps him happy. =) so yeah.. he keeps wanting to buy me a baby tank of guppies... lol... but my qc very high... hard to find guppies that pass in my eyes. lol... the goldfish above was only one of the MANY at the exhibition. but i only found him/her cute. lol... but what do i know? lol...

caught ocean's 13... liked it. =)

but what i really liked today was that i got to spend time with xiang. he finally started his pupilage on 1st June, so i haven't seen him since Sunday. missed him... i guess i now know why couples still go out and squeeze with crowds yadayada on weekends. it's the only time they've got really. yet a new phase for us. will take getting use to.

been reading a lot this past week. partly cos i fell ill again. i've been falling ill fairly often. need to build up my immunity. but this one was pretty bad. my fever stayed at 39degrees celcius for quite some time. kept icing myself and was so afraid i'd get brain damage or something. but thank God after several hours of torture, it finally came down. the worst kind of fever is when u feel extremely hot and yet cold at the same time. u wanna kick of the blankets cos you're burning up and yet you're too cold to do that. so it's sheer torture! yuck yuck yuck... glad it's over... still nursing my cough tho. but way better now. =)