Sundays

Waking up to a bright, breezy Sunday morning, without alarms was a treat. I had a nice chat with my BFF from school, who now lives in the States, using the wonderful invention of instant messaging on a smart phone while still in bed. Also, granola bars are awesome. I didn't even have to leave my "work station" to trouble myself with preparing food and clearing up dishes. Next month though, when my mother visits for three weeks, I have to put away with some of these productive habits I have mastered over the years in order to make her stay pleasant.

Let me think, what else?
1. Increase the frequency of the house cleaning schedule
2. Hide all packets of instant noodles, granola bars, instant soup, canned food, etc and fill up kitchen cupboards with wholesome food and the refrigerator with fresh produce
3. Look up expiry dates and throw away anything that's not supposed to be sitting inside the kitchen cupboards
4. Make sure pillow covers match the bedsheets (Ugh, what a pain. Seriously, why do they have to match all the time??)
5. Arrange clothes in the cupboard in an organised fashion (I can't figure out why I like being mess at home, while I take great pains to perfect my work-related and writing projects)
6. Be patient and understanding at all times (while I am commonly mistaken for being "saintly" by strangers, my family members and very close friends will attest to my impatience and shortness of temper)

Oh dear, I've been doing this for so long, that I can't think of what else I have overlooked!

I am still getting used to blogging with a new external keyboard. I was forced to buy it when two of my keys stopped working and up until then, I used to happily blog away with my laptop comfortably sitting on my lap. Now it's a challenge because my lap is not big enough for both a computer AND an external keyboard.

These days, I am reading the autobiography of David Attenborough. Looks like a lot of great men have humble origins and an undying determination to get past the odds. The book adds quality to my 3-4 hour daily commute and was one of those books, I picked up on my way to the cashier at a bookstore.

From an evolutionary perspective, I believe my line of offspring several generations away would eventually lose the ability of speech and instead grow larger heads to compensate for it. Several of Shuri's good friends tell her to come out of her shell more often and go talk to people, especially guys. But this is never easy. Last week, I had some great conversations on life and worldly issues with two elderly gentlemen who were taxi drivers. Usually I sit quietly, mostly unable to find a starting line befitting a stranger, but if it so happens that someone who's good in conversational skills initiate it and bring up a stirring topic (that has nothing to do with nail polish, designer handbags or high heeled shoes), then we hit it off well. The things that come out from a small conversation can be so enlightening sometimes that I wonder how many things I miss for every opportunity I don't give a try. Of course, the other side to this is that, not every conversation with strangers turn out to be those enlightening types.

While waiting at a traffic light to cross the road, last week, Shuri bumped into a guy who works in the same building and have been spotted smoking before:
Guy: Hi.
Shu: ..... Hi.
Guy: You work at XYZ, right?
Shu: Yes [It should be very clear from this bright red lanyard hanging around my neck, with the company name printed in big lett----...SHU FOCUS! He's making small talk. OH.]
Shu: Do you start work at 8? Because I am half an hour late to work today!
Guy: I am usually late too, though I am supposed to start work at 7:30.
Shu: Doesn't your company provide transport to its employees so they can come to work on time? Mine unfortunately, does not.
Guy: They do, but I have my own bike.
Shu: Ah.

Few more topics were discussed briefly while walking to the building, like which countries we were from, what type of work we did, etc..

Guy: What's your name?
Shu: I am > insert real name <
Guy: My name is >insert real name<

Shu: Nice meeting you and oh look, I have to go this way to my office.
Guy: Don't you take the lift?
Shu: No, I prefer the stairs. B-bye!

On the way up the stairs, Shu tries very hard to recall what his name was, Terence? Tesla? Tesh--? whatwasitnow? Crap.

Fail.

~~~

I received a hard copy back-up of my old blog (in other words, A BOOK!) few weeks back from Blog2Print. It was such an exciting moment to flip through the glossy pages and read my tales and go through feelings of nostalgia and smiles, while having the smell of new printed pages in my face. I spotted a few spelling and grammatical mistakes (nuoooooh!), but this is the closest thing to having my very own published book, so I'll take this first-attempt-product-thing gladly. After receiving the parcel at work, I clung on to my bag all the way home and hoped I won't be hit by a bus, until I was able to come home and read it to the end.

 The front

The back - okay, I know it doesn't look too age-appropriate, but there's a caterpillar in there!

 The glossy pages (there is a table of contents too...soo cool!)

If you are reading this line, that means you belong to the list of people in the last category (and thanks)

Katy Kat, I hope you are reading this post from Norway! Enjoy the snow for me.