Came out to scoop more poop and spray the ground and not just Hayley but Shadow & Macy also came running to gulp down the jet sprays. Negligent me forgot to fill their water bowls today, poor doggies. The second I filled them up, they drank like desert stranded animals. Oopsy.

Name: Alethea Foong Li Yen
Age: 22
Occupation: Pooper Scooper

TERMITE INVASION

I'd been meaning to play and sing to some old piano scores for the entire hols, but finally got to opening the cabinet just today. And to our complete and utter horror, brown wood shavings and poopy looking things were all over the books and bags. With fear, disgust and frustration we had to remove all the chewed up things and Dad had to kill the creepy crawlies. Aggie lifted up my trophy from old glory days of Mental Arithmetic supremacy and unearthed this whole colony of creepy crawlies chewing into its wood base. The trophy base was connected to the cabinet roof and all the way through the other side, across the TV and probably into our house walls.

SICK SH*T.

Once a champ, now a chump. 2nd place!

Where the trophy sat on the table, where the Terminators chewed through the cabinet.

Havoc.

Don't Cry For Me Argentina was my chosen song to suit the mood.

Farewell. No more TV for WC.

So I've spent the afternoon gloomily cutting up my 100 Greatest Pop Hits because the spine's been chewed up and there's black/brown gunk everywhere. And our cabinet's gone. And to commiserate the event, I played and sang sad songs on the piano. Because today was a gloomy day. It began with me trying to sleep away the whole afternoon. And now I'm going into reverse chronological writing.

Full stop.

Okay, enough voyaging for the rest of the hols! If going out was a career, I wouldn't call it an easy one. It's a lot of effort to make sure you have fun, to make sure your companions have fun. It's even harder to have fun while saving money and not overexerting yourself. Which is why, over the next 1 1/2 weeks, fun will consist of exercise and hanging out at home watching DVDs.

My lack of posts lately has been due to redirection of my free time to people around me. Can't imagine what's going to happen when this support group of friends and family get left behind soon. Again.

In the mean time, I've finally decided on the team I'm supporting this WC. Subject to change, when emotional strings get pulled later on. Yes, that's how people like me decide on which side to be on. If only finals weren't at 2.30 am, or we could throw a party and don jerseys and face paint. Boo.

I've shoved it aside for so long that I'd forgotten the full force of it. And when it hits, it hits hard.

hello summer :)

Originally uploaded by chelsea chen.

Lounging by the pool is next on my to do list.

Sometimes I question myself. I take stock of my age and I ask myself why is a 22 year old unable to deal with such small life issues? I question my maturity, I question my ability to handle setbacks in life, I question my character and most of all I question my future if this is who I am.

Small comfort? That it's not the size of the challenge, because the same challenge may loom like a mountain to one person but may not appear as a blip on the radar of another. It's about how you deal with the challenge that's so insurmountable to you.

I am dealing with it. And it will be dealt with, no matter how long it takes.

vespa.love
Originally uploaded by nique88888

Love the road. Not loving chauffeur duty but am glad enough for the license to speed that I don't mind. :)

World Cup South Africa
Originally uploaded by Larissa Grace.

Most times, the anticipation is greater than the occasion itself. Well, I'll gladly take anticipation over nothing any day.

15-06-10 Lets Go I Want To Go All The Way To The Horizon
Originally uploaded by bethaɳ

I like hosting people. By hosting, I mean I like having people come visit and experience my life, see my house, watch them have fun. But by no means am I Super Hostess like Mom. Mom's at a high level of cooking and bringing food over, getting the whole house cleaned, making the beds, checking in multiple times, etc. My motto is: They're grown ups, they can take care of themselves.

I'll be joining the visiting bunch at Midvalley later, which marks my 5th day of consecutive outings. It's no wonder I've a swollen eye and other manifestations of lack of sleep.

Waiting for Mak Shu Qing to finish blow drying her hair so we can go out.

Been spending everyday out with either the gals or the family or entertaining guests. And driving, which is SO smooth when I use the Honda Odyssey. I feel so calm, like my pulse rate is lowered and I'm in a soundproof little cocoon gliding on air. Accelerating and braking is so subtle that you feel no fear even when you suddenly have to avoid hitting a car appearing out of nowhere.

What's missing is a lazy day on a secluded beach, half naked, wind blowing, salty sea breeze.

Took My Breath Away

On Flickr by francesca jane.

On Flickr by cocoaloco

I want very much to continue to care deeply, for old time's sake, for continuing to believe that you cannot just cut a person from your life if they mattered to you once. But I am not capable of staying within emotional boundaries. And anyway it still cuts, albeit a lot less frequently. And anyway you can't care for someone who doesn't care for you. It's like putting your finger near a flame again and again and getting burnt each time.

I clearly have a serious problem with rifts, when I think I'm in poor standing with a person. I cannot rest until a reconciliation is reached.

-----
Yay, I'm homebound!

Oh, give me a home where the buffaloes roam, and the deer and the antelope play!

Karaoke

Karaoke on Flickr by Dave Gorman

Due to the recent addiction to singing (karaoke, Glee, laptop screens), Dentistry Glee Club is born. Okay, not really. Just like Dentistry Dance Club also died before birth. Must be annoying the people in lab but we promise not to do it everyday! Only after Mrs Aw leaves :) Those old earplugs they gave us really work, by the way (hint hint).

Don't Stop Believin'!

And finally, Bohemian Rhapsody! Omg, I was wondering when they'd ever sing that classic.

Feels so strange to no longer have diplopia (double vision). A person can really adjust to any condition in life, even being half blind. The other eye just gets stronger (or more strained?) in the process.

Just as I am adjusting. Just as I can only get stronger. And there are some things that I simply have no idea what to do about. Deciding one way or the other makes me feel bad, and taking action makes me feel worse each time I give into temptation. As small as the matter is, I cannot try anymore. As small as the decisions are, I cannot decide anymore. So I choose to do nothing, and if something is to happen, let God be the one to reveal it to me.

For now, I shall sit tight as the roller coaster starts moving.

Mid Year Resolution

Gonna focus on being the best version of me I can be. Cos' people are drawn to happy, positive, loving people who have principles, goals and direction in life. No more spreading of pessimism, complaining, feeling sorry, blaming the world and taking success and blessings in life for granted.

Amen.

Drowning in a Sea of Pretence on Flickr by Sarai♥Beloved Fotography

I think it's time to resort to the Internet to widen my social network. It's time to become the person I had hoped never to sink down to the level of.

Helpsie me!

Ruth showed me this really cute site, which I forgot existed.

Right now, I want

Sleek suspenders
Mid thigh white/black stockings/tights
Bodycon/Jersey maxi dresses
Skinny tie

Virtual Reality

Cherry on Flickr by Sara_Morrison

I like all these online portals.

Once upon a time, I found them too cliche to join but now things like MSN, Blogger, FB, Twitter are staples in my life. I like them now because they remind me that there is so much more to a person than what you glean from your few conversations with them. It's a pleasant surprise to find out how creative, smart, outgoing or talented the people around you are. It keeps me from being critical or condescending.

It's really hard to get out to the world all that's going on in your mind, really tough to string together all your thoughts and present them in the short amount of time you get to interact with other people. I like knowing that someone could get to know me for me so much better by just reading, say this website, without me having to try so hard.

And I really want someone to properly like me for me, baggage and deep thoughts in tow. Tired of reality not matching up to first impressions.

There's this classical melody that plays in my head when I can't think of what to say. I hum it when I've run out of conversational topics. But now that I'm trying to recall it, it doesn't come to mind. And I just realized that even if it does come to mind, there's no way I'll be able to find out what it's called by searching online. How do you search for classical music when there are no words???

What does it feel like?

Something like being burned alive. But from the inside.
Then it manifests as hot flushes, trembling hands, increased pulse rate, perpetual forehead frown and blurred vision.

So this is why some people die suddenly at a young age. It's not the McDonald's after all!

I suddenly sympathize with those ladies who never leave their house, get obese in bed, and have panic attacks going on planes or into elevators. It is a real condition, my friends.

I watched too much Oprah.