There's something about the 80s.

In spite of all its kitschy fashion sense and bad hairdos, something good came out of the 80s. The term "Rock n Roll". And the songs.




Can't get the opening riff out of my head. And the AWESOMENESS of the song.

Air Supply- Making Love Out Of Nothing At All



Air Supply- All Out Of Love



Bonnie Tyle- Total Eclipse of the Heart



The Cascades- Rhythm of the Rain (ok I think this one super old)



Guns N' Roses- Sweet Child 'O Mine



Bon Jovi- I'll Be There For You

On The Excitable-To-Death Thrill Of Diving*

So, there I was, floating in the middle of the sea. With an oxygen tank on my back and a dozen gadgets around me, in a wetsuit and flippers which I had struggled to put on with dear life, there I was.

It was only when the instructor, there were 3 of them thank God, asked us to press the button so that we would sink into the waters, that I realised that was it. "Oh shit."

I've never dived before. As cool as it looked, I never thought I would be doing it. I didn't quite think it through before booking the "Discover Scuba Diving" course with Leanne. C'mon, it'll be fun, I said. Okay, she said. Plus, Priscilla, my Anti-You teammate was having an internship there. Wouldn't it be cool if she was the one teaching us?

And as it turned out, she was the one teaching us. And 6 other Caucasians who picked up the theory part really quick. But I digress. Where was I?

Ah, yes. In the middle of the sea. I pressed the button, and soon I sank. It didn't feel cool the first time I felt my head go underwater. It was horrifying. Like, oh shit, what did I just do? A million thoughts about dying went through my head. I'm going to drown, I'm going to die, I'm going down and never coming up. That is, till I discovered the power of the regulator, also known as the thing you'll wanna suck on and never let go ever.

Well, of course, during the theory part, Priscilla did a great job explaining the mechanisms of diving and the functions of the equipment, including the regulator which you use to suck oxygen. But when your head is underwater, and all you want to do is breathe through your nose, which you can't, obviously, and you see a million new things that you've never seen, what happens is panic.

It's a different kind of six feet under.

After a while, I calmed down. I guess survival instincts kicked. If I don't calm down, I'll just die in that sea, which would be silly considering the surface was only about 10cm away from the top of my head. Plus, I saw that the rest of the beginners had no trouble getting to about 4 metres deep, and the other instructor, Mike, was already beginning his lessons with them underwater.

Singaporeans die die also cannot lose face. And in this case, it was literal.

So I decided to buck up, and swim to where they were, forcing myself not to breathe through the nose but through the regulator. But then, another problem presented itself. The deeper I went, the more the eardrums and the brain felt like bursting. It was like being in an airplane, only 100000 times worse and more painful.

Ok. Maybe I'd rather lose face than die.

In the end, I went back upwards to the surface- by then I knew how to go up to the surface, that's probably the only thing I learnt. Leanne was there, at the surface too, with the same problems. We couldn't equalize, Priscilla said, but it's okay, because it's an issue a lot of new divers face. So for the first part of the day, we floated along the surface looking down into the sea. Snorkeling, in a diving suit.

During lunch, Priscilla explained the ways to equalize. Just close all your airways and force air out, like how you try to stop a sneeze.

After lunch, we went back down and tried again. This time, Mike took me while Pris took Leanne. I got the hang of it after a bit, and the equalizing thing worked. After a few seconds, the head didn't feel like bursting anymore- YAY! No more deathly images of my own brain matter floating in the sea. Breathing through the mouth became easier as soon as I told myself, if you start breathing through your nose, you'll die.

While Leanne had not much luck equalizing- it's really scary as hell feeling your brain stretch, I had the opportunity to swim around with Mike. Wasn't swimming much, anyway. Rather, it was him pulling me along. Anyway, we were at a famous shipwreck site, so I got to see parts of the ship and the aquatic life that now lived in it. It's amazing how much beauty there is in the water, but of course, you have to calm down first to appreciate them. Mike pointed out a whirling school of jack fishes. There must be hundreds of them, swimming in one ball. Spectacular. He also led me through the wreck, and I mean THROUGH the wreck. Of course, I had to stop everytime we went deeper to equalize, but I probably went about 10metres. Which was good enough for me, a first timer.

You can die diving.

But to see life underwater is like being in the world of Avatar, totally unreal and different. I can't say that all the risks involved are worth the experience, but what I can say is, the human body is highly adaptable. Maybe one day, I'd have the time and courage to get the license.

But that's another day. And that will be another story altogether.

* I had the urge to write this down lest I forget how scary being impulsive actually is.

The Anecdotal Hong Kong Hangover Part 2: Freeloader Alert

This post is a guide on how to survive on zero amount of money in Hong Kong. Simple, grab a parent and go.

Yeap, I became a freeloader for 4 days.


I'm such a happy freeloader!

This was because I needed to save up for my Bali trip, and with my finances, the reality was that I could only afford 1 trip, which I had intended was the Bali trip. But bless my Mama, she said that she wanted to reward me for working so hard, so she decided to sponsor this Hong Kong holiday.

Now, the tricky part is, how do you pay for things without actually paying? Here's 3 easy steps.

1. Smile wide and point. "Hehe, Mummy... nice hor?"
2. Get Mummy to buy something from the same place. "Eh! Look nice on you!"
3. Seal the deal by putting your freeloaded goods with Mummy's stuff when she pays for hers.


New basketball shoes!

Wah, I can hear you "tsk tsk-ing" already. That's what my big sister did for the whole trip. "Eh, you not pai seh one hor?"

My reply? "I got no money to be pai seh leh."


Ya lor, very happy.

That said, I know and I really thank the Man Above for my family who has thoroughly blessed me and feed me. If you see my double chin, you know they feed me really well.

But you know, we, as humans, always have something to grumble about. I know I do, which of course, if you put the magnitude of His blessings for you against whatever you're grumbling about, it becomes miniscule. Like a Pi Sai in your nose. We just gotta dig it out, shoot it off, and move on.

Haha. Such a disgusting analogy.

Actually, I did work for the things I bought. By doing what I do best- navigating. And even though, as usual, my mum and sister are always doubtful of where I bring them, we always get to the place in the end.

Next up- How to navigate the streets of Hong Kong.

A Good Break

And I'm home after another vacation in nearby Bali.

It was a good break and I'll be writing all about it, along with The Anecdotal Hong Kong Hangover.

Gosh, I'm so lucky.

Maybe my life isn't as exciting as plain bread anymore.

With God in control, life's never dull.

I Go Back To December All The Time

Because I was unemployed and a bum.

Because it's my birthday month.

Because I'm still penniless after 9 months. Where did all my money go?

Because I still had a red car.

Nevermind, just 4 months to go till it's December again!

The Anecdotal Hong Kong Hangover Part 1: The Masseuse Murderer

Hello everybody. I'm just back from a nice 4 day 3 night trip from Hong Kong. And because you know how much I like to talk about my travels, I hereby present The Anecdotal Hong Kong Hangover. This can be used as a travel guide for future travelers to Hong Kong, but it's really lousy, so please use Lonelyplanet or something better if you wish to gain good, solid information. Anyway, this is a really short series because yours truly has to go back to work soon, so, enjoy.

This first story is on the Masseuse. Even modified a song about her which you can see on my FB status. It all started when my mum, my sis and I were so tired after a day at Ocean Park, then a night at Mong Kok that we decided to go for a foot massage. We went to a place where my sister had gone before, and we took the package that had 60 minutes foot massage + 25 minutes body massage. The foot massage went great. And then, it was the body massage. That's when it all began.

My masseuse was petite, and keeping in mind not to be rude, had a huge front which she flaunted proudly with a low cut tee. I had to avoid looking at the twin peaks every time she bent over to clap the leg muscles during the foot massage. But never mind those, they weren't the deadliest things on her. For sure.

So, I was ushered into a small room and had to lie down on a bed with a hole in the middle for my face. After 25 minutes, while I was changing back into my clothes, I told my sister who was in the same room that it wasn't a massage.

It was murder.

"Huh? What?" My sister asked.

No doubt about it. Don't let her small size fool you, this masseuse has killer elbows. And when she felt that the strength wasn't enough, she would climb on top of me and "HAIYA!", jab 'em down my shoulders.

Okay la, she never shouted "Haiya".

It's actually kinda my fault. I only told her it really hurt after she was done with one side. And she said "Huh? Why didn't you tell me earlier? I thought you enjoyed it."

No. I may look like I was enjoying it, but I was dying inside. Of immense pain. And I wondered how she derived that I was enjoying it because my face was stuck in that hole, wincing at the only things I can see- her shoes and the floor.

"I think she was trying to seek revenge because we didn't want the pedicure." I told my sister, as an afterthought.

"Eh, but I also didn't want to do the pedicure, and my masseuse was okay." My sister said.

Well, perhaps I've not been pre-warned about the HK-style hard massage. More used to the smooth oil Thai massage that doesn't involve jabbing. The HK masseuse, in her defense, said that pain is good, that it'll feel really good after.

Of course it'll feel good. Anything will feel good if you're not jabbing at it like meat on a chopping board.

She left a long-lasting and deep impression on me.

Because the very next day, I could still feel the part of my back where she jabbed.

I'll never forget you, Masseuse with the twin peaks and killer elbows. You've got the moves like Jabber.

For One More Day

And I'm gonna head home now.

Probably tomorrow I won't be able to sleep- not because I'm excited- but I'll be staring into Final Cut the whole night.

But I'm excited. About the thing I'm going to be making.

Hopefully it'll be good.

:)

Goodnight for now.

I Guess We're Done For Now.

Xinying, Small Forward

I squeezed my only non-working day free dry, like a lemon, today.

First it was the 3-on-3 tournament at *scape which lasted from 8.15am till 6pm. I had a lot of fun, and also saw/ played with many familiar faces. It's nice.

Xiaomei! Long time no see! It also happened to be her birthday today!

We managed a third placing, as we lost out in the semi-finals by 1 point. Well, I've never gone so far in a 3-on-3 tournament before, so it was still good.

I was telling Sam that we must strive for 3rd placing at least, because the 4th placing has no prizes. Halfway, I began to sing:

"It's all about the money, money, money...
We all need the money, money, money...
It's not about the (other) prizes,
It's all about the ca-ash...

All about the cha-ching, cha-ching
Not about the ba-bling ba-bling
Wanna get my money
So we must win 3rd prize"
(Sing to the tune of Jessie J's Price Tag")

And I gotta say, I banged into Haixin AGAIN.

It was the same situation as the Women's Open last year. I wanted to screen for her, but she decided to cut in between me and the person I wanted to screen. So, bang! She hit her head on my lips, but other than a bump, she was okay. It's funny, but at the same time, quite embarrassing.

I also got my first technical foul because I forgot after we score, we cannot touch the ball. (But the referee didn't give any warning. Horrible man.) And he almost gave me another one shortly after because I forgot again. The rules we were playing with today was so different from the normal 3-0n-3 rules.

Don't know why so many unlucky things happen to me today. I was seated near the courtside when an intense match were going on between 2 Men's team. As I was standing up, a player flew towards me in a bid to try and save an out-of-bounds ball. And it was just nice that when he swung his hand, my head popped up.

It hurt. But even worse, it was really embarrassing.

Nevermind, brushing it off.

In the evening, the Jumpshot team played the 3rd-4th placing game, so we hurried from *scape to BAS. Sadly, when we arrived, it was almost half time and the team was being whipped. Basket after basket went into our net from fast breaks. We tried to catch up, and did a really great job in the 4th quarter, but alas, it was too little too late.

But nevermind again. Brushing it off.

As the teammates say in their last words interview with my Zoom 4n, "We'll be back... stronger."

Basically, now I'm really tired. So it's lights off for me now, and then a grueling 5 days of non-stop work. But it's okay....

HONGKONG ON SATURDAY!!! VACATION, HERE I COME!!!

All We Need Is Encouragement

Cheryl, Centre

I was thinking while driving my dad's car on the way home, after sending 5 church friends home (just like old times), what if I take a one year break from work? Then I can travel the world. Well, on a shoestring budget of course. That's not hard, considering bread and jam spread are part of my staple when I travel, and a really great way to save on meals.

So, I said to myself, when I turn 27- literally the moment I turn 27, I should pack up and leave, then return on my 28th birthday.

Now how cool will that be?

Of course, conditions will be that I'm single/not pregnant/ have saved enough. I picked the age of 27 out of thin air, but I guess that would be the time where the 3rd condition would be most realistic.

Whaddaya think? It's going to be exciting/scary/tedious/a bitch/adventurous/ an eye-opener/ crazy/ dangerous all at the same time.

Oh wait, I've done those things. It's called "my job".

All the better. With so much training now, I'll probably survive to return for my 28th.

The Days Go Trudging On

Huiling, Power Forward/Point Guard

I need some inspiration.

A major edit (by me) hangs in the balance as the most boring product yet (in my opinion), and I need to squeeze out some creativity.

On a separate note, I need to stop dreaming. They are really disturbing/distracting and sucks up a lot of my sleeping energy. Especially when I dream about work, and then wake up to... no prizes for guessing...WORK!

That sucks. If only I can clock in those hours in my dreams for the real working hours. Then maybe I wouldn't mind.

Dreaming too many times is not healthy... right?

I need Hong Kong and Bali, which is 9 days away. YES!

And the countdown begins.