MooPig & The Babe

I went to Japan as a youth exchangee back in 1999 and that was when I came to know this Miyamoto family. I was really, really lucky because the Miyamotos don't have any children. Naturally, I was their one and only daughter. Throughout the 20 days stay, there was never a day I wasn't pampered. After the youth exchange programme ended, I came back home but still kept in touch with them. Every year, I send them cards on Mother's Day, Father's Day and Okasan's and Otosan's birthdays. And every year, I never fail to get presents from the Miyamotos. I normally get them in December because it's normally a birthday cum Christmas present. There's always a 3D card for me. Very nice!

Today, Postman Pat delivered a parcel. I was very surprise that the Miyamotos sent me yet another parcel! I spent about an hour trying to figure out what Okasan wrote in the letter. My Japanese is horrible! Thank God for the 'Translate' function in Microsoft Word.

There's a letter for me, some Japanese crackers (Okashi), sweeties and also a Sumo Calendar. According to Okasan, that Sumo Wrestler is the son of Otosan's friend. He's not famous yet though. It feels weird to have a Sumo wrestlet calendar hanging on the wall. :P

Here's some pics to share.


The parcel


Goodies


The calendar


Stamps

Posted by MooPig at 18:15 | Permalink | Comments

I was never an easy child to handle. I gave my parents lots of headache. I showed sour faces whenever I got told off or when I didn't like anything. My parents hated my sour faces but I still made faces to irritate them. That's me, when I was younger.

I remember vividly what Daddy told me one day at the dining table during dinner. Mommy complained to Daddy that I refused to do revision after school. Daddy, a man with few words, said to me: 'Jie (sister), if you don't want to study, you don't have to. Daddy will get you a cow and you can take care of it at the backyard'. Everyone remained quiet after that.

Daddy doesn't like us watching tele. He thinks it's a waste of time to follow canto shows but Mei mei and I were addicted to the series. Whenever Daddy came back from work and saw us watching TV, he sighed. Once, he told Mei mei- 'Mei, since you like to watch TV, Daddy will get you a job in the censorship department so you can watch TV all day long'.

My parents have high expectations for the 3 of us- my sister, my brother and I. I, being the eldest, am suppose to be the role model for my 2 younger siblings. I got scolding for the tiniest mistake I made. Whenever I got rebellious, Mommy would be the one armed with the cane. When I saw the cane, a Tom-and-Jerry scene automatically happened. Mommy was the Tom, I was the Jerry. I ran up and down the stairs, in and out the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen while Mommy chased me. Mommy didn't cane me on my palm. Instead, she caned me all over my body and legs. After that, she would tell me: I'll send you for swimming so everyone knows you've been caned by Mommy! If this happened when Daddy was at home, I was doomed. Daddy would lay his right palm on cheeks. After the chase-and-run session, I would either end up in the toilet or on my bed. Normally, toilet would be my first choice because I could lock myself up and cried my hearts out while cursing Daddy and Mommy for loving Mei mei and Didi more. If I ended up in the bedroom, I cried myself to sleep- a good excuse for me to take an afternoon nap too. Come to think about it, I got the most beating from Mommy and Daddy. Mei mei was caned by Mommy too, but lesser. Didi's the luckiest- he never tasted how 'pedas' Mommy's cane was. That doesn't mean he's the most obedient child- Mommy realised that caning us doesn't get anywhere. (I swear she told me that) Instead, she used the 'make-you-feel-guilty'method.

My childhood isn't that sad. I had my fair share of joy too.

When I was still the only child, family day was on Friday. Daddy used to bring us to the beach. Sometimes, we went to Pantai Cinta Berahi (Currently known as Pantai Cahaya Bulan), sometimes we ended up at Bachok beach or even Sabak beach. Then, the beach was much cleaner. While Daddy and Mommy sat under the coconut tree, my imaginary friend and I entertained ourselves with 'masak-masak'. Occasionally, Mommy would make sand castle with me. When I was lucky, I would go home with a starfish or crabs. I remember when I ran out of sea water, I would add water and lots of salt, thinking the starfish or crab could survive as long as the water is salty. How silly of me! Not surprisingly, the crab or starfish died after a few days. As I grow older, Daddy got busier with his work. Naturally, he had lesser time for us. We stopped going to the beach after my brother was about 2 or 3.

That's when I was a kid. I was pampered and I was caned, slapped and scolded. But that makes me who I am today. :)

Posted by MooPig at 09:38 | Permalink | Comments

Posted by MooPig at 21:24 | Permalink | Comments

I guess I'm turning into a professional liar soon.

Some time last week, I got a call from Great Vacation Destination. This time, it's not about selling their products. Instead, the caller told me I'm one of the 1000 winners who won a holiday to the US in conjunction with Walt Disney's 50th anniversary. After explaining everything, she said all I needed to do was to pay £400 via Mastercard. The telephone conversation will be recorded and yada yada. Upon hearing that, I told her I don't have a credit card. But she said when I filled in the form, I said I had a credit card. Doomed! I thought. Then I quickly said I used to have a credit card but my dad cancelled my card because I was overspending. That lady got stunned. She kept on persuading me to get hold of my Dad for the Mastercard number but I made up stories (again!) by saying my Dad was overseas on a business trip. She was so persistant that she told me to give her any credit card account number but I made up more stories. Finally, she gave up and put down the phone.

Damn it! It was a scam!

Yesterday, I got a call again.

Me: hello... [No answer] Hello... [No answer]... Hello...[No answer & I was fuming].. HELLO!
Caller: Hello, am I speaking to Mrs Chua please?
Me: Who's on the line please?
Caller: We're calling from One-Tel, Ma'am
Me: Oh.. She's away on a business trip.
Caller: When can I speak to her again?
Me: She'll be back after 2 months. Thanks for calling.
Caller: bye...

wahahaha.... I think I'll be a professional liar after more calls from those irritating telemarketers!

Posted by MooPig at 13:43 | Permalink | Comments

I'll have my first lecture for the year in few hour's time. After days of lepak-king, I'm actually looking forward to attending classes! I just hope the Econometrics lecturer doesn't kill my interest in this subject! Apprently, there'll be a new lecturer for this module. Hmm.. hopefully he's cute! =P If he's foreign, I pray that I understand his accent!

I went to bed early last night. Knocked off around 12.30am. I feel like a little girl who goes to bed early a night before the first day of school. When I tucked in bed, I was thinking about the stationery I'm suppose to bring for class, what clothes to wear, and maybe, a chance to meet new friends!

On the first day of school when I was still in secondary school, bringing loads of tissue papers to class is a must- to wipe off the dusty tables and chairs. My mom normally sent us off early to school in order to avoid the horrendous traffic jam. Another benefit of going to school early was to chop or book seats. If you're early, you get the better seat. I liked and still like the first day of school. There's always so much to look forward to. It was nice to catch up with friends, listening to their holiday escapades or how boring their holidays were. The class teacher would come to class after singing the national anthem and school anthem. S/he would then take out attendence, followed by announcing who would be the class monitor, assistant class monitor and treasurer. There wasn't anything much to do on the first day of school. Teachers came into class to get to know students and vice versa.

Text books! Ah... they are expensive, aren't they? I used to get them from my cousins because the syllabus was pretty much the same. That saved me loads of money. Now that I'm in university, I have to buy new text books if they are not available in the library or there are only a few copies in the library. The average price of a text book is £30. Ouch! I'll be grinning if it costs around £15-20!

Final semester in the university. Can't believe how time flies. It seems like yesterday when I first set my feet on this foreign land, and now.. I'm leaving in a few months time. As much as I'm starting to feel bored with this place, I know I'll miss this place dearly. After all, it's the place which taught me to be independent, to grow up as a lady.

Posted by MooPig at 09:49 | Permalink | Comments

My housemate was in the queue in Boots and I was together with her. While waiting, I saw a sign- 3 for 99p. Offer includes bla bla bla... I took 3 bars of Kit Kat.

At the till, the cashier scanned the items and told me, £1.47 please. I looked at him, stunned. After a few seconds, I asked him, Isn't this 3 for 99p?

He checked again and said, Nope, it doesn't say so. Let me check.

He went to the Meal Deal section and brought back a sign and was scrutinising it. No, it says here, it's 3 for 2 for Kelogg's Crunch Bar, bla bla bla

No, I saw the sign at the other till, not there [Pointing at Meal Deals section]

And he went over to take the sign, came back to the till and read it.

Posted by MooPig at 21:00 | Permalink

I thought my life will be more colourful after exams. Unfortunately, it's not so. Life after exams is the same as before exams. Bored is the keyword.

My life is so monotonous. I've been watching Full House, a Korean Drama. How cliche can this drama be? The story line is so predictable. Now, I'm tired of watching movies. Can you believe that? heh.

A typical day for me:

Wake up, watch dramas/movies (depending on my mood), wash up, breakfast, drama/movie and more drama/movie, lunch, check emails, read news online, read blogs, drama/movie, dinner, shower, drama/movie, sleep.

If my parents know I live my life this way, I'll definitely get an earful from them. =P

I'm off to London tomorrow for 3 days.

Posted by MooPig at 20:50 | Permalink

Yay! I'm done with my first sem's exams. Finally. The moment I put a full stop after the last word, I felt so relieved. That was the moment I'd been waiting since I came back from Barcelona.

I'm saying as if that was my last paper in my life :P. Nah... still a long way to go.

Did I say today's a good day? The sun is finally out. Finally. Oh, What a Wonderful morning, Oh, what a beautiful day... Reminds me so much of Oklahoma!- KTJ Drama production for the year 2001.

On another note, someone cheated during the exam. "£$%^&*(@~ It's so unfair. We studied our ass off for the paper but one idiot wrote notes in pieces of papers then put in his pocket. Damn damn damn!

Enough rambling. I'm outta the house. I need to breathe the fresh air.

Chao... Good day people!

Posted by MooPig at 11:25 | Permalink

I.am.missing.home.

I.want.to.go.home.

I don't care about the food back home. I don't care about the hot weather back home. I only care about seeing my family.

It doesn't help that my first paper is tomorrow and the final paper is 2 days after that.

I am so tempted to use up my open return ticket.

If only I don't have so much things to do after the exams.
- Dissertation.
- Assignments
- Masters application

Damn.

I hope the trip to London will realise. Perhaps watching Phantom Of the Opera and Mamma Mia/ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang/ Chicago will make my homesickness go away.

Back to my books. Again. Sucks.

Posted by MooPig at 18:19 | Permalink | Comments

A friend of mine dropped this message in my Inbox.

Here's something to share with you.

-A message from George Carlin-

The paradox of our time in history is that we have
taller buildings but shorter tempers,
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less,
we buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families,
more conveniences, but less time.
We have more degrees but less sense,
more knowledge, but less judgment,
more experts, yet more problems,
more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much,
pend too recklessly,
laugh too little,
drive too fast,
get too angry,
stay up too late,
get up too tired,
read too little,
watch TV too much,
and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life.
We've added years to life not life to years.
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
We conquered outer space but not inner space.
We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We write more, but learn less.
We plan more, but accomplish less.
We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion,
big men and small character,
steep profits and shallow relationships.
These are the days of two incomes but more divorce,
fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies,
and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.
It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.
Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.
Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.
Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.
Remember, to say, "I love you" to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it.
A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.
Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.
Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Have a nice day!

Posted by MooPig at 09:21 | Permalink | Comments

They met in a chat room one day.

He's 31, she's 22.

He's in the US, she's stuck in the UK.

From chatting in a chat room, they started chatting on MSN. They never met each other in person. It didn't matter at all. They became best of friends who chatted about everything under the sun.

After few months of chatting and exchanging daily e-mails, they understood each other better. Because of the time difference, he stayed back in the office after work so they could chat longer. He repeated this routine almost everyday, except weekends. Weekends were reserved for his wife. Yes, he's married.

Come over to the US for Masters- he told her one day

US? How can I go? I need a visa, I need GMAT. Too complicated. It's better for me to stay in UK, since I'm already here.

Don't worry, I'll arrange everything for you.

But you're married. You have a wife. How can I be there?

I have 3 choices. I can either divorce my wife, or we can continue our relationship like this, or we stop talking. But I don't want the third choice.

But she waited for you for 10 years before you took her as your wife. How can you divorce her?

He didn't utter a single word.

She knew he wouldn't divorce her. She knew things would be worse if the relationship continued. But, she didn't want the third choice either. She knew it was impossible for them to get together. She felt guilty for having feelings for him. Every time he stayed back, every time he lied to his wife for returning home later than usual, she felt guilty. But then, she couldn't help herself. She tried to get out of the mud but in the end, she fell in the muddy water again, and sank deeper.

She became more confused. She knew she would get nothing in the end but she was reluctant to let him go.

After contemplating for some time, she decided to let it go. She blocked him on MSN and stopped chatting to him completely....

Until one fine day, she couldn't take it anymore. She unblocked him on MSN when she saw him online on Christmas eve, a promise that he made to her that he would be online on that day.

'I must see you online on Christmas Eve or I'll die.' He dropped her this message one day.

She told herself that it would be the last night she chat to him. After that night, they would go on separate ways- he would go on a holiday and she would start her life all over again, without him.

She decided to go on a cold turkey treatment. She made up her mind that she would not be the third person in his marriage, be it in real life or in the cyber world.

Few days after new year, he went online. He cancelled his holidays and went back to work. She was so glad to see him online again. It was miserable without him. But little did she know that he had a surprise for her...

I'm a father now.

What? Your wife is pregnant?

No... she gave birth on the 23rd.

She broke down. She didn't know what to do. All the sweet things that he said to her flashed back. She felt cheated. After chatting for so long, he didn't even tell her that his wife is pregnant.

She confronted him.

Why didn't you tell me? I've asked you this question so many times.

I thought I told you, but I didn't. When I realised I hadn't told you, I decided not to because I don't want things to change between us. If you had known that my wife is pregnant, you wouldn't talk to me anymore...

Leave... just leave.

Talk to me... I don't want to leave..

And she went offline....

Posted by MooPig at 20:30 | Permalink | Comments

I can't promise 2005 will be a better year,
But I'll try my best to make it a better year than 2004.

I can't promise to get a First Class for my degree,
But I'll try my best in my exams.

I can't promise that I'll get into LSE or OxBridge,
But I'll try my best.

I can't promise I'll always be there when you need me,
But I'll try my best to be there for you.

But,
I can promise an undying love to each and everyone in my family.

And,
I promise to try my best in everything I do to realise my resolutions.

H a p p y N e w Y e a r ! !

Posted by MooPig at 21:01 | Permalink | Comments