Archive | March, 2016

Faces in the Clouds

31 Mar

Ever sat in your car while waiting for the traffic light to turn green and you stare at the blue yonder and before you know it, you see faces or animals in the clouds? I get that all the time.

Every cloud formation is interesting to me. Days when it’s cloudy I see animals shaped vividly. Then they evolve into faces. It’s really stimulating. I looked up on this ability and found out that it’s called pareidolia. And it’s either you have it or you don’t, seeing faces or animals in clouds or inanimate objects.

But apparently people who has this ability are also neurotic! Eeeks. Me… neurotic. Hmm…

I saw Yoda here. Can you?

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Forget 2048

29 Mar

A while back I thought I’d try the number game, 2048 and I did. However, my interest in it did not last and I was back to my candy crushing habits. Two nights ago, M2 introduced me to a new number game, 1010.

It’s quite addictive I must say especially now when I am having challenges crossing the levels that I am stuck at for my three usual games. So forget, 2048, 1010 is the way to go!

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An Intense Battle

28 Mar

When we drove the girls around my old hometown to see my past homes, house number three brought back one distinct memory…

It was a dark and rainy night (cliche, I know. I couldn’t resist), I was 17 and home alone. I cannot recall where Mom and Dad were but I was in a midst of an intense battle. A rat ran into the living room and scared the guts out of me. But somehow I caught a second wind to fight back! No furry pest was going to do me in.

I reached for the closest thing, an umbrella and a bottle of mosquito spray, Shelltox!(rebranded to Shieldtox now) Yes, mosquito spray and started fogging up the living room and beating the heck out of the rat! Sweat beaded my forehead, legs trembling and I was having an adrenaline rush.

It ran. Behind the cupboard and under the chairs but I gave chase. Sprayed the bottle out of fear and poked with a degree of madness. I think I was possessed. The rat scurried to the bathroom and I think I used up the whole bottle of spray! After that, it was all a blur.

The next day, when I told Mom about it, I think she found the groggy pest in the bathroom. When I think about it now, I can laugh but back then, it’s amazing that I was that brave. For someone who jumps at lizards, it was quite a feat. Would I do it again if faced with the same scenario now? I gotta be possessed to even pull it off!

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Why Couldn’t I See It

25 Mar

Using the iPad is bad, I think. My eyesight seems to have suffered from the constant use of it with my games and reading or maybe it’s not the iPad but age catching up? Or something else.

I was having problems with my computer yesterday and again, the QuarkXpress that the dinosaur in me is still using could not launch. Whenever this happens and quite frequently I must say, what I normally do is to reinstall the software. It’s complicated to elaborate but I find this the best solution to solve my problem.

The CD is usually on my desk, in its box but for once, it wasn’t inside the box. And for the life of me, I couldn’t see or find the CD. Panic ate into me. Oh no… How am I going to start on my latest book design if I didn’t have my trusty software reinstalled to work with? I am not an InDesign person and try to avoid using it at all cost if possible.

That night I went home and searched for my QXP CD again thinking maybe I could have brought it home. But nope, it wasn’t at home. Not only eyesight has become a problem, the memory too! Oh dear… I couldn’t sleep that night.

The next day when I went into the office, I looked again but casually this time and suddenly, the CD popped out, it was right there! On my desk, under a book. How come I didn’t see it the day before? Am I so blind?

Then again you know that theory when you need something, you just cannot find it. And the more you look, high and low, the harder it is to see the thing. Then after a breather, you look again but not so hard and voila! It appears right before your eyes. I’d like to think it must be this rather than my eyesight and for this reason, I will continue using my iPad for my games and reading. Phew

  

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Spring Break

24 Mar

M1 is having her Spring Break now and has gone off skiing at the mountains with her friends. How fun! During my college days, I had the San Francisco Peaks and Arizona Snowbowl in my backyard but never once had I tried skiing the three years I was in Flagstaff. I did take the ski lifts though but it was during Fall and there wasn’t any snow yet! Does it count?

Then I moved to New York City. Together with hubby (who was boyfriend status then) and a group of friends, we took the opportunity and headed for Upstate New York to go skiing. I must say I did not enjoy it at all even though my experience was not on the slopes.

It was cold, I couldn’t balance and was afraid of the downhill speed if you can even call it speed on the bunny hill. Yes, bunny hill. The point being, I fell quite a bit, got bruised and felt pained all over. Ouch.

Well I hope M1’s experience will be better than mine.

But I like Spring Break. My first break, I flew to sunny California and hung out with a friend in Annaheim. We visited Disneyland and I did Knott’s Berry Farm when she was still having classes. And when we didn’t do the theme parks, we just hung out with her friends and enjoyed the Fullerton area. I think something like this is more fun than falling on my butt half the time and being chilled to the bones.

M1 returns to campus today.

 

“Mom! Lookie me!”

  

Beanie for warmth and helmet for safety

  

Is this how you do it?

  

And off they went!

   

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A Reprieve

22 Mar

Of late the weather has been like being in a furnace! So darn hot. Over the weekend whilst hubby was away in Johor to play golf, M2 and I stayed home and literally chilled with the air cons at full blast.

She was seated at the dining table, studying and I was on the sofa in the living room, crushing candies and saving farm animals as usual. The air con was totally appreciated and especially so when we could feel the difference in the temperature the minute we walked into the kitchen to get a cold drink.

Today, on the way to work, it rained. A reprieve from the heat but it caused an unnecessary traffic crawl and we were late to the office. But I am not complaining. The rain is welcomed.

Hoping for better and cooler days ahead.

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March Madness

21 Mar

I find it amazing that I am following the college basketball NCAA Tournament for the first time this year. Maybe because M1’s university qualified for it. What’s even more amazing is that M1 has also picked up interest for the game, having not shown any inkling of interest in it prior. You can say she’s addicted to the point of getting the autographs of the team players on her tickets, her cap and T-shirt.

When I was younger, I was quite a basketball fan and player. Dad was very involved in the game, being a coach and it was only natural that my sibling and I played too, representing our schools respectively. I even went for basketball camp at the National level.

But when I got to college, the NAU Lumberjacks were sadly not that impressive and over the years, my interest in the game waned until recently. It picked up again with renewed support for the game and the Women’s team of M1’s university. They have had a very impressive record this year, coming out tops in their division and qualifying for the NCAA Championship March Madness.

Today as they battle to get into the third round, I find myself following the game nervously. 

Go gals!

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Childhood Ruined

18 Mar

It was December last year and our last weekend with M1. We decided to take a short drive back to my hometown for the best Mee Hoon Kueh, a dough-based soupy dish. It was a good brunch. Mom also makes this all the time and the girls love it.

After the meal, I thought it would be nice to drive around town to show them my old school and the houses I grew up in. At least give my children a glimpse of my past.

All my life, I’ve lived in four houses. We went to the fourth house first as it was the closest to get to. It still looked the same albeit some minor renovation and paint job to the front. Then we rounded the corner of the same neighborhood to house number three where we lived for a short time only but plenty of good memories too, like the time I battled a rat in the house! Another time on this… 

Then I was excited to show them house number two where I spent most of my life growing up there. Turning into the lane, I could rattle off the neighbors’ names whom I can remember. Four houses on that row have changed, renovated or rebuilt. One remained as is from the good old days. When we drove up to my old house, number 9, I was horrified!

Where’s the house? OMG.

There’s nothing on the wonderful 14,000square feet of land except overgrown trees and bushes. The house has been torn down. Oh.My.God. In that instant, my cherished childhood flashed before my eyes and it felt tarnished and ruined!

Ten years of memories zipped through my mind. I was shocked to say the least. How could anyone tear down such a beautiful house?

I could only share stories with the girls instead of the real thing. Hubby asked about the treasure I buried donkey years ago. How can I ever dig it up now? 

The indicator was the back door, some twenty steps straight then to the left, or was it to the right? I cannot remember, it’s way too long ago. Without the structure, it’s hard to pinpoint but I am darn sure it’s still there because I used a MacDonald’s styrofoam Fillet O’Fish container and this material don’t disintegrate with time.

Back then, being an innocent little one, how would I know styrofoam would be bad for the environment as I thought it would be a good treasure chest? We will never find out if it did last.

After getting over the shock, I didn’t feel like showing them house number one and we headed back home. Maybe some things of the past should be left unvisited. Sad.

   
  

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Progress and Not

17 Mar

Things are somewhat moving for my virtual games. While Candy Crush has progressed on to Level 1541 and Monster Busters at Level 998, Farm Heroes has been slow, still at Level 860 and Soda is stuck at Level 660. Sigh. Every now and then I sneak in a game in the office. Shh…

I am glad that I gave up the other two King.com games. As it is nowadays, I hardly play Piano Tiles too. Too many games to manage but then again, I am waiting for Piano Tiles to update; I am at Level 46.

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Fish Dog

15 Mar

We have many pets at home. There’s official pet number one, Rooney the English bulldog and there’s Miao-Miao the Arowana in its big aquarium. Not forgetting the tortoises and turtles. Then there’s the little aquarium with three Bettas (possibly soon to be two left) and we also have a pond full of fishes. 

The pond residents are all called Bob so nobody is left unnamed. And we have one strange Bob in there, a climbing perch. It would jump out of the pond to land on the deck whenever hubby goes near the pond the feed the brood. Strange Bob behaves like a dog as if it’s coming out for snacks then jumps back in the water. Fish dog, I’d say! And the funny thing is, the real dog eats fish snacks!

   
 

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