Wednesday, December 31, 2008
That's IT!
After 88 posts in 9 months, my creative juice had run dried - not that it was any good before.
I need a break.
There'll be no more words from me into this blog.
I'll be on a hiatus.
Until Next Year. See Ya!!
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Monday, December 29, 2008
A Little Girl's Smile
The flame of the candle flickered in the darkness of the cold night. Its glow kept wavering at the border of total blackness, brushed by the biting wind that sieved through the slits on the walls. It persevered, for it knew it was the sole reason the place did not fall into pitch darkness. It persisted, for the sake of the little girl sitting close to it.
The little girl was sitting by the old wooden table. Her clothes were barely thick enough to fend off the freezing coldness, and stop her uncontrollable shuddering. But there wasn’t any trace of her plights from her smile.
Sitting opposite the little girl were her parents. The faint candlelight illuminated their faces. But the radiance on their faces was reflected from the their daughter’s happiness. Lurking behind their smile though, were worries about tomorrows. And the sight of the scant food on the table contorted their smile occasionally, whenever they let their guard down.
While the food was barely enough to fill half their stomach, they were never the source of the warmth surrounding the family. The little girl’s beaming smile emanated from her father’s presence at the dinner table. Holding a day job and a night job had hardly given him any chance to share a dinner table with his little girl.
As they sat nibbling the food, their conversation circled around the girl’s studies, her schoolmates, and her friends around the neighbourhood. The little girl’s giggles that punctuated every funny story magically turned the run-down little house into a castle, basking in the spring sunshine, and.exorcised all her parents’ worldly worries from their fortress.
As the candle worked diligently into the night, the little girl was starting to show sign of sleepiness. Whenever she was not watching, her father would reluctantly turn his eyes to his watch, wishing time would tick as slowly as possible before he had to leave for his night job.
The weak candle’s flame kept flickering, refusing to surrender to the callous freezing darkness and the relentless biting wind. It knew it had to keep itself alive long enough for the little girl to capture the memorable night into her recollection.
As the flame danced in the coldness of the night, millions lights outside the little house were flashing in celebration of Christmas ….
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
I Am Not Celebrating Christmas
I don't have a lot of friends or relatives who are Christians, and I'm not invited to any Christmas parties. So I'm not going to celebrate it secularly either.
But to those of you who are celebrating this joyous day,
Merry Christmas!
If you are reading this, while steaming up the monitor with alcoholic vapour and holding a glass in your hand (if you're not holding a glass, then you're probably not celebrating enough),
Merry Christmas!
That would be a bit loud, if you're reading this having a hangover from last night's Christmas party,
Merry Christmas!
But if you're reading this on Christmas Day,
What is wrong with you? Get back to your friends and family.
Wherever, whenever, and however you're reading this,
Merry Christmas!
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Sunday, December 21, 2008
Hole In My Heart
I put down the phone; looked at the clock; called out to my wife; rushed through shower; dashed to the car, not forgetting to put on my clothes; hurried my wife into the car; started the engine; switched on the light; reversed the car out of the garage; and drove towards my destination, wishing the car could fly.
Not wanting to be late, I stepped on the pedals a little bit harder; railed round a few corners a little bit faster; overtook a few cruising cars at frustratingly slow speed with a bit more recklessness; and risked a few more summons by dashing through a few maybe-yellow-maybe-red traffic lights.
Relieved that the bus was not there when we arrived, I stopped the engine. Rolling down the window, I let out the air that’d been trapped ebbing and flowing in the car, and let the night cool air fill the car. We waited. The darkness and quietness of the night were broken only by the sparse traffic.
At last, the bus arrived. My wife and I alighted the car, already smiling with the thought of the impending reunion.
Waves of hands greeted the two people who brought me to this world, and big hugs, big big hugs, welcomed the other two who brought the world to me.
Finally, the hole that emerged in my heart when my parents took my two kids to Singapore to visit my brother and their cousins, the hole that had been draining all colours from my soul for 6 days, 10 hours, 23 minutes, and ... 18 seconds, was plugged.
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Great Reflex - Greater Composure
This post is not about the "olds" (you know as against "news" ~ lame, I know : )).
When I first watched the clip, my first thought was, "Wow! That president has great reflex!"
But reading the newspaper front page yesterday and saw the following combo images made me realise I missed another great performance.
Did you notice how cool, calm and collected the Iraqi Prime Minister was standing beside the ducking President, and the flying size-10 shoe?
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Thursday, December 11, 2008
The "H" Word
Lately, they have been:
The ever courteous "Thanks!"
The encouraging "Go! Go!"
The pat-on-the-back "Alright!"
The admiring-to-the-point-of-envious "Wicked!"
The cow-boy-hat-joyous "Yeehah!"
The incredulous-yet-congratulatory "Awesome!"
And of course the wake-up-from-this-madness "300 Per Day!"
Outside of the cyber world (and the Entrecard community), and in our daily life, "Hooray!" or "Yoohoo!" serves well to accentuate the happy and joyous moments.
Nothing is more effective than "Oh My God!", or "Shit!" to catch surprises thrown our way.
"Damn!" works well to release the anger and frustration within. Though the unpolished "Fuck!" works way better in that sense. Though none would do anything to improve the situation that beckons their services.
The one trusty word that I rely and keep falling back on throughout my life in times of difficulties would be my favourite H-word -
"Huh".
What's yours?
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Saturday, December 6, 2008
Are You in My Thoughts?
Like, what should be the number of years Bush stays as President of USA?
Or, is this the best way to look after Halloween?
Or, how to stuff your face to your heart's content and still look cute and adorable?
Or, what are those unbearable noisy shouting and yelling from argument you have with your spouse?
Or, what are the anger and frustration you feel when your kids annoy you with their non-stop bickering?
Or, what should I do to prolong my life?
Or, why is making money online not like this?
Or how to cure insomnia?
Or, how would I feel if I were a gold fish, finding this outside my tank?
Or, which is worse, being a gold fish, or being a worm who woke up early and found this staring at your face?
Of course, the primary question on my mind is how to thank my November top 10 Entrecard droppers.
Any idea?
* I hope I haven't reflected anyone in an undesirable light by putting their avatars out of their intended context. If I had, please give me a buzz.
* Looking forward to another great month of Entrecard activities. See Ya!
October Cafe
September Train
August Note
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Friday, December 5, 2008
A Drop Master
By ABSOLUTE MADNESS!
* A Drop Master in Entrecard community is simply someone who is insane enough to visit 300 blogs and click on 300 Entrecard widgets (the black and gold logo which invitingly asks you to "Drop") everyday for a period of time.
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