Troublesome Mountains

Dark title for a dark blog. It's about the worst nightmare of being away from home and decent commercial service. It's a lesson about how procrastination hurts - literally. My shoulders are so sore right now and I am typing with one hand, but i am getting ahead of myself here. Let me begin...

Two bags full. Not like i had accumulated it for months.. it was a mere ten days. Ten days without decent hot water at the height of winter.

Deciding that i had put it off for long enough (civilised hot water had been running through the pipes for the last 2 days, you see), i dumped the contents of one bag into my little blue pail, added detergent and let it soak.

Two hours later, i scrubbed and rinsed and pummeled those dastard bits of cloth into a semblance of hygiene, humming tunelessly to myself the whole way. I didn't feel it at that time - not yet. It was the wringing dry that killed me. Each piece had to be meticulously freed from excess H2O or they would freeze onto my windowpanes (yes, i am proud to report that it has happened before :P)

Then, after i had rinsed out my little blue pail, the pain set in. I think i pulled my deltoid (shoulder muscle..)on my left and it hurts like hell. It should get better in a day or two, but till then, my laundry's gonna continue piling up, mountains that could compete with Kilimanjaro or Fuji!

Well, it could be worse i guess. I could have pulled my right deltoid and killed all chances of me leading an uncrippled life for these next 2 days. Or there could be no hot water again *shuddering at the thought*

Anyways, wish me luck with my laundry people. Remind me that mountains too can be conquered, or at least whittled down to mole hills ;)

Magic

Do I believe in magic? As a kid i loved storybooks about dragons and magicians; little sprinkles of pixiedust in a movie was a sure way to keep me quiet on a weekend afternoon; finding a fourleaf clover was a fascinating game...but did i ever BELIEVE in magic itself?

Magic to me is not about crooked pointed hats, varnished wooden staffs or chanting around a bubbling cauldron of boiling frogs' innards and heaven knows what else.. Magic to me is a bit more personal.

It's a call from your mother before the break of dawn each morning. It's in a roommate who fries an extra portion of scrambled eggs and the guy who offers his seat to an unknown stranger. It's the elderly lady who smiles at you as she walks her dog as you pass each other on the sidewalk. It's something within each of us.

But there's dark magic too. Those who hurt others in innumerable ways, those who break your faith.. they have at their will spells which form coalescing dark clouds, summon murderous thunderstorms of anger and lightning shards of betrayal.

so, i guess that i DO believe in magic. The good and the bad, but magic nonetheless.
I too am a spellcaster of sorts, and spells are just our thoughts and actions, only the outcome describing it to be either good or bad. There is no such thing as a good magician or evil sorceress. It's just magic, and it's up to us how to use it.

I'm here, tapping away at my keyboard to let my kinfolk know that you guys are my magicians and wizards. I can truly say that i believe in magic because of my family and friends, people who affect me everyday... The magic in you people is very real to me :)

so, here's to the wizards and sorceresses i dare to call friends and family. Cheers, folks! ;)

Little Things Almost Forgotten..

Firing up my neurons, trying to remember my top10 almost forgotten memories:

No. 10: Playing haunted house with a bunch of madcaps in the school library and AV room. I was the one who got scared most often with Prisy running around in the dark..but it was good fun! We should go back and visit some day..

No.9: sitting in a row at my aunt's house in Batu Pahat, eating instant noodles with my brother, sister and cousins.. when i was small, eating was NOT a favourite activity, but the company made it better

No.8: Being at Nan's house before school, playing with Ginger, and the walk through the back lane to school five minutes before the bell ;) n sneaking in through the side gate so that the discipline teacher would not catch us!

No.7: Playing basketball at Palm Court with the same madcaps.. wow! that was REAL freedom!

No.6: The first quarantine here due to the superbly cold winter.. one week of leisure, UNO and revelations *mysterious aura*

No.5: My day in the Moscow Airport. I slept on a steel chair and dreamt of home. Can't believe that i almost forgot that one!

No.4: Family showdown during my adolescent rampage. God, i would have slapped myself! =P

No.3: Jan 15, 2001. I'm actually finding it difficult to recall the details but i will never forget how i felt that day and in the long weeks that followed

No.2: Leaving home at the end of every summer. It never gets any easier, no matter what others tell you.

No.1: The taste of Amma's crab kootu curry. I'd better make sure that that's on the menu when i get home =)

There're a lot more, but these are the ones i'd almost lost in the maze of my mind. Thought i should type it out and save it in the effort to immortalise these moments =)

so, once again! Cheers to all my family and friends out there who've gotten me her and continue to inspire me through hectic and mundane days.. i wouldn't be who i am without you guys.. Yam seng!! =D