In Memory of Alison

I chanced upon this tomb on my trek to Poon Hill (Nepal). It states:

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Alison Louise Paterson

30.11.1963 UK - 21.1.1999 Australia

"Duniya Ko Mathhi"

On top of the world

My dearest wife

This place means so much to us and here you will rest. I will travel a new path knowing our love is so strong I will never have to say goodbye..

Love Ian

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I was so touched by the love they shared and can only imagine the wonderful times they had together, though short it may be. She passed away at a really young age of 36, which led me to think how fragile life can be. Hence, it irks me to see how some people, are just wasting their life doing nothing or worse causing harm to others, as if the world has no problems of its own.*

`

Life is fragile. Don't waste it. Rather, spend it to impact lives in a positive way. I hope I can do so since much of my short life on Earth seems to have been wasted. And when I die, I hope my epitaph will be of meaning, of purpose, of love and not one that just stamps the name, the date of birth and death.

`

I can't help wondering what would be my epitaph on my tombstone or rather niche (considering Singapore's dwindling land space) when I die and who would be penning it......

`

*Hmm.. I'm into footnotes cos eversince I realised I may be a 'candidate' for ADD, I seemed to be more scatterbrained.. Hence, random thoughts will pop in my head... Was thinking of the world with it's many problems and I thought of the global warming crisis. A friend of mine came back fr a trip to the Swiss Alps and she was recounting her trip. What shocked me and everyone else in the group was that she said it was like a wasted trip. It usually snows in January but when she was there then, the snow was melting and they couldn't ski... Scary huh... It's REAL! The inconvenient truth is real.... Thus, I'm on a sudden quest to 'save the world' by preventing global warming. I know it seems ridiculous but like what Al Gore did, one country at a time, one family at a time, one person at a time, I hope the the message will spread. Hopefully, it will work.

Rats!!!!

The word 'Rats' can be used in different ways:

1) as an interjection
Slang. (an exclamation of disappointment, disgust, or disbelief.)

2) as a noun (literally)
several long-tailed rodents of the family Muridae, of the genus Rattus and related genera, distinguished from the mouse by being larger.

3) as a noun (figuratively)
Slang.
a -scoundrels.
b - people who abandon or betray their party or associates, esp. in a time of trouble.
c - informers.


Rats!!!! (usage #1) The March 'holidays' is coming to an end and I only had one day break cos the rest were packed with other things to do. I need a breather.. can't wait for June but it seems like a long wait...

Rats!!!! (usage #2) There was a rat scare some time in November 2005 http://sevenyrslater.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_archive.html but it turned out to be a cute furry cat... February 2007 there was a rat scare again... but this time.. it's for real!!!!

(NC16: Due to the horrific details in the following paragraphs, viewers' discretion is advised)

The first signs of the intruder(s) were tiny little faeces on the tables of some Jedis. They were tiny. Perhaps a few millimetres... so how big can the intruder(s) possibly be. Hence, everyone dismissed it and life goes on.

While the Jedis were all busy fighting for the good cause, the intruders expanded their territory. More tables were visited. More evidences were left behind. Yet, no one did anything.

It was only after the Chinese New Year celebrations that the alarm was triggered. The Angpow with the chocolates in the form of golden coins, which I received during CNY was tampered with. I swear.. this rat is from The Matrix... Let me explain...

The Angpow was placed in a 10cm tall round plastic container. At a glance, no one would have noticed any difference as it was still upright and in place that fateful morning. However, on closer look, I noticed the top edge of the Angpow was nibbled neatly and the chocolate golden coins were MISSING!!!!

The remants of the chewed gold foil were left behind and the remaining chocolate had two teeth scrap marks in it. I would have taken a picture but I just freaked and cleared it as soon as I could. I was horrified, petrified, terrified, mystified(anymore??). How in the world did the container remain straight up? How in the world did the creature retrieve the chocolate? I could just imagine a rat in a matrix outfit doing some kind of stunt to get it out and later feasting on the delectable chocolates. I thought I was the only one who had such an intruder but I wasn't. Master Kungfu Hamster had the same situation too. The only difference was that his chocolates were kept in a LOCKED cabinet!!!! Crap... this is getting creepier. What kind of mutated creatures are they?? The only information we know about our nemesis is that it likes chocolates and not ritz biscuits since they were side by side and only the former was targeted.

The evidences were everywhere. Something had to be done.

Rat traps...

Day 1: A black tiny rodent was trapped in the glue trapped. I didn't get to see it. Thank goodness.

Day 4: I thought the rat scare was over but I was wrong. Master Pinkiemonkie pointed out to me that a rat's tail was found on the glue trap. I didn't understand what she meant (I thought she meant a rat) until I saw it with my very eyes. Yup.. a rat's tail was stuck to the glue trap... still bloodied...

I can imagine the poor creature, in order to run for its life, ripped it's own body away from it's tail. Awww gross... It's like the movie SAW (which I didn't watch). I couldn't help feel sorry for the tail-less creature. Imagine the pain. But the pity only lasted for awhile. The fear of the rat(s) coming back with a vengence scared the crap out of me.

I fear going back to the my cave.. I wish I can be up at my old place again..

RATS!!! (usage #3) They have been apart of my life and everytime I get burnt or played out, I blame myself for being so stupid. Apparently, people with ADD tend to do that. Maybe, I really do have ADD. I guess all I can do in future is to watch out for such rats and avoid them like a plague. Where is my paper??? Rats!!! (and I'm back to usage #1... full circle)

Whoopy!!!!!!! I'm having the Whooping cough...

Today's my very first visit to a Traditional Chinese Medicine Hall (TCM)

I guess after coughing for so long, taking many antibiotics, going for an X-ray, drinking all sorts of self-concocted medication, I gave up.

I decided to go CHEENA for my health...

"百日咳 " "bai ri ke" (a hundred days cough) is an understatement. I may have breached the 100th day mark TWICE or more :(

The English equivalent is known as PERTUSSIS (wah.. so chim.. cough cough..)

I decided to check it up.. the definition is as such:

A highly contagious disease of the respiratory system, that is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis and is characterised in its advanced stage by spasms of coughing interspersed with deep, noisy inspirations.

Wow.. so all Jedis and Padawans stay away from me... I'm gg back to school in an 'Outbreak 'suit.. or better still... please bar me from gg back to school!!!!

The experience at the TCM was rather frustrating but I realised (or rather I've always known) my Chinese is not so good and so is my health. Here's why:

1) When the Chinese (fr China) receptionist asked me for my number in mandarin, I realised I couldn't recite it out. I had to think in English and number by number convert it to mandarin at a rather slow pace, though I tried to sound cheena by saying "Yao" instead of "Yi" for the number one.. keke...

2) After pressing my wrist for my pulse, the lady doctor could diagnose what's wrong..(I'm amazed and at the same time skeptical) She was telling me in mandarin that my lungs have weakened and the causes of my condition. I was trying my best to interpret but most of the time I was like.. "What's that in English? Can you translate to English? Fei?? Which organ is that? Oohh.. Lungs.. Oh crap.. what did she say after that..." She's from Shanghai.. so she did her best to translate certain terms and I did my best to decipher her technical terms...I was literally LOST IN TRANSLATION.

3) She told me what I needed to do and which food to avoid: sleep early, avoid stress, avoid coffee, tea, milo, orange, cold drinks, dairy products esp cheese & chocolates, chicken, anything spicy, fried and oily...

Wah lau.. common sense will also tell me if I do all these I'll be slim, healthy, stress-free and most probably have stopped working. How to avoid??

4) The medication which lasts for 7 days cost $50!!!! MOE doesn't allow medical claims for TCM and I'm supposed to go back for the weekly dosage till my "Qi" is balanced??!! When will that be?? She said 'depends'!!??

Now, I'm back home.. looking at my 14 sachets of TCM (see pic) and I'm seriously thinking if it'll work. Is what she had said just common sense? I'm also wondering what's in those powder substance that I'll be taking.. but I have to trust her.. this is a TCM hall which has the "Superbrand" logo and she has a Masters in Chinese Medicine too. Since all old methods of getting rid of the "dunno how many days aredi" cough have failed, TCM is my last resort!!!! And if it works, it'll be a small price to pay to prevent an onslaught of a serious illness.

Crap!!!! I'm only in my 20s (albeit a late one)