View via the pinhole that is my blog

They had a father's day breakfast at the school and any kid who wanted to, could read poems they composed for their dad. So when her turn came, I was thinking, This is going to be cringeworthy, cos the first four girls were quite so. You know, Dad protects me, sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, lovey lovey, kissy kissy etc etc... But it was actually really cool. She wrote about what I wasnt. Not a superhero, not a cook, not a cleaner, and some others which I cannot remember. What I was was that I was her Dad! I felt, relieved, cos it was non-cringey. Good kid.
So what did I do for Fathers day? I cleaned after her, I cooked her bacon and eggs for breakfast, pancakes for dinner and we went bike riding. I dont know where she gets her inspiration for her poems from. *sighs*

I went for one of the many talks they held for the Melbourne Writers Festival. The guy from Boing Boing was one of the people speaking. He is such a well prepared and polished speaker and made the others look quite dull and unfocussed. Very entertaining speaker.
One of the ladies speaking made the unfortunate decision to wear a skirt for the session. Because of the elevated stage, it was like that Sharon Stone interrogation scene from Basic Instinct. It was so distracting. I know, I know. I couldnt bear to watch but cannot look away. What was the talk about, you ask? I dont remember.



Anyway, Susanna had this 80s music lyrics quiz on her facebook which I got a paltry 4/10 and of that, some of them were lucky guesses. Heh. Well, who pays attention to the lyrics anyway but to be honest, I wasnt really listening to that type of music.
So I was dredging my memories back to the 80s as to what I was listening to then. Dont judge me but prominent in my memory was a lot of Windham Hill. Yeah, no lyrics, see. Some Yo Yo Ma, lots of Stevie Wonder (Hotter Than July), some Vangelis, The Police, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Quincy Jones (The Dude), XTC's Skylarking and Michael Jackson. I said, Dont judge me. But most prominent amongst them was Kate Bush. I still think The Dreaming is the most complex and multi-layered album that I've ever come across.
Oh yeah, and this very talented French composer Jean Michel Jarre and the English group Scritti Politti. I liked them both a lot. Ahhh.... the 80s. What?
Now? I've been listening to this Lily Allen song a lot. On repeat. Yes, I admit, not much of a leap there.
And no, I never listened to any Yanni.

OK, I admit it. I considered doing a "Chai has left the building" kind of post. Maybe next month. Till then.

Bending the Truth

Good lord! I wonder what these guys are like in a social setting. How does one bring up the topic without coming across as being weird? "Hey, you know what would be really fun?".



Speaking of fun, it's funny how some people can affect me. I've had many occasions where I've had to deal with people where each meeting prior, I tell myself I am going to be very very patient and not get riled. But when push comes to shove, I lose control and get visibly irritated.
So if spending time with such a bunch of people, who communicate using endless barbs, where every interaction has some underlying tension even if the topic of conversation may only be the latest episode of Sesame Street, where just purely from the tone used is enough to raise ones anxiety and stress levels no end, affects me so badly, why do I do it? Why indeed?
To those people who have asked me this, I say to them, "Mum, Dad, you are family".
But Kim loved being the centre of attention, getting everything she wanted.

Trip back to M'sia was OK. Wasnt a holiday so much as a trip to visit the olds. Coming back to a house with a temperature of 4C after 16 days of 32C/99% humidity is a little confronting though. Still, I think I prefer the cold.

Each trip home does dredge up lots of almost forgotten memories.
Kid : Who was that guy you were talking to, Dad?
Me : Do you remember me telling you when I was 7, and this bigger kid 6 doors down from where I lived told me that there are some birds which will swoop down on you and pluck out this special hair on top of your head which acts like stopper to keep your soul in? And when this specific hair is pulled out, you suffer great indescribable pain and you die very soon after? And that I didnt dare leave his house for hours until I had to and I sprinted home like I've never done before with my hands on my head, screaming for my mum?
Kid : Yes.
Me : Well, that was him.

And driving past the place where I used to sometimes play table tennis as a kid made me wonder what happened to the guy who used to bully my friend and I? I dont remember his name now, but everyone called him Fei Chee, which when translated means fat pig. I wonder if I can get any compensation for that. I could handle some free money right now.

Anyway, some pics from the trip, in case you had nothing better to do.

Soundtrack to viewing the pics? PSB's Being Boring. Though in reality, listening to this song often makes me feel a little melancholic. Maybe that's why it's the only Pet Shop Boys song I listen to regularly.

Seeing what's not there

Sheet. I just typed in my name and the word blog and my blog comes up. I was going to write about how my procrastination is costing me money but I recall reading how some employers are using the net to do background checks on prospective employees. So writing about this could be 'detrimental' to any future job applications.

So procrastination is not costing me money. I didnt leave applying for my kid's passport renewal so late as to require the express service and I didnt have to pay an extra $76 for the express service. And I'm pretty sure the apostrophe in kids in correct.

Ah well, the internet remembers all. So they'll now know about my car accident, my run-in with the japanese takeaway etc etc... But do hire me anyway. I work quick and am quite easy to work with! References available. Note that I am not looking for work right now.



Anyways, where was I?
Oh yes, I was saying that I've always been conflicted about eating meat. Sometimes when I chew, I can imagine the muscle and tendons that I am chomping on. And sometimes, the personality of the animal in question. Yes, yes, don't judge me. It's pretty distressing enough but I am too weak to give up meat. My best effort was a meatless 7 weeks about 10 years ago. Anyway, I read recently that some Dutch scientists are making meat in the laboratory. Isn't that cool or what? You could eat anything you like. Chicken, beef, whale, tiger, dodo, eagle, panda, giant tortoises. And all without a single animal being killed. A world without abattoirs. Now that would be worth seeing, no? And no methane problem from the cows too. Cant wait for that day. And then, I'd really go vegetarian. :-) Icky, no?

Anyway, will be eating satays (in M'sia) exclusively the next 2 weeks. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. You cannot get good satays here though this place comes pretty close.
I told the kid I'd take her to see her cousins in the U.S. next year if she'll read 10 books of my choosing. She thought about it for like 5 seconds and said "Dad, I think I'll get to go anyway so I dont think I'll be reading those books". I would have threatened to not take her but I was so flabbergasted by the reply that I just went "Uh, ah, ah, uh...". But she's right. She's going to go anyway. This is the kid who at 4 years of age asked me "When mum goes out, can I be the boss?". What makes her think her mum's the boss and furthermore, what makes her think that when her mum's out, the #2 spot is up for grabs? Creative parenting is hard. Bring back corporal punishment, I say.

*sighs*
And isnt this a pretty song? I'm still puzzled as to what instruments are used in the chorus and how they are arranged. Sufjan is a major talent. He can even make the scales sound really good.

Catch ya later.

Cleanest room in the house

is now the laundry!

[Update : Bloody blogger. It disabled comments by default! Just noticed.]

And there I was, wondering why this load of washing was taking such a long time. I then waded into the laundry and spent the next hour mopping up the results. Ah well, the mowing will have to wait another week. And it is a 20 y.o. machine. Amazing it lasted this long. But then, it wasnt used very much. :-)




Some joker has been going around and drawing faces on the heads of the figures the council put on the footpaths. Some of them look like Jack, the Pumpkin King. Much appreciated. The kid and I had a good laugh.

Speaking of, snippet of a recent conversation.

[C is doing work on the computer]
F : You know how you dont eat much chocolate anymore, cos if you start, it's really, really hard to stop.
C : Uh huh.
F : And if you've not had chocolate for a long time, you dont even miss it. And it doesnt even cross your mind to long for it?
C : Uh huh. [continues doing work on his computer]
F : And then all of a sudden, someone comes along and offers you tasty, tasty chocolate, which you initially resist but once you give in and you start consuming that sweet, sweet and oh so rich chocolate in large quantities and then just as suddenly, the supply is halted and now, you're in the situation where you lust for lashings of that luscious chocolate, almost all the time?
C: Uh huh.
[silence]
F : I wish I didnt crave now what I didnt crave then.
C: [distractedly] Uh huh.
[heavy silence]
C : [stops typing] Ummm, you're not talking about chocolate, are you?
[dog barks in the distance]
C : *big sigh*

Best song from the album.
Flaming Lips. Well, either this one or "One More Robot", which I hum more often. Mostly cos the ringtone of the reception desk in the front office sounds like the first note of the song, which then leads in to the song in my head. Hope the link still works.

And it seems this blog has lost a lot of momentum. Is there anyone who'd like to write something for it? Me? I guess. But if you would like to, let me know.

Catch you around, soon.

As Strange As You Are

Awwww crap! Is it already almost May? And April has only 30 days? Since when?
It crossed my mind to do a very terse Sex Pistols "Ever get the feeling you've been cheated" post but that would be cheating, right? After all, the purpose I blog is to treat this as a repository for my memories, which will all be lost, eventually, like footprints in the sand, snowflakes on the sill, tears in the rain.



I started listening to this song again. I think this is best song from the album. Subl may or may not agree. I must have listened to this song at least 500 times, since 1998. Funny how it makes me remember stuff that was happening around then. Personal stuff, not public events.

Anyway, I see Mandy is going to be the Australian ambassador to Italy, land of Versace, Gucci, D&G, Prada etc... Milan fashion will never be the same again. I just hope I dont have to pay another $30000 for more language lessons. That woman amuses me.





Hmmm, this is harder than I thought. And to those vicious anonymous commenters leaving messages like "its almost that time of the month again for Chai...", it does NOT help! And your unique phrasing gives you away, you little witch!

I guess I am scraping the bottom of the barrel here but did you know my mum was a teacher at the primary school I went to? Anyway occasionally, the school held plays, some of which had female characters, which isnt a problem normally except it was an ALL BOYS school. And guess who managed to snag this prized role? I wonder if having to wear my sister's dress in front of the whole frigging school affected my personal development? We will never know.

Das is alles, I'm afraid.

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? Hey, you got a song out of it. Not a whole song? Complain, complain, complain. Leave a comment/email regd this and I'll see what I can do.

Just trying this feature.