Coffee tagged me. Again. But this is a rather appropriate meme to end the year. Wanna take this opportunity to say…

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS!!!

Drive safely and have a great time counting down to a brand new year.

Ok, here goes the tag:

3 4 Most Unforgettable Moments in 2005

( 1 ) Getting published!
( 2 ) Meeting cool new friends, and getting unexpectedly so much closer to those who were just on a hi and bye basis before
( 3 ) Being Mrs. Elvis
( 4 ) Planet Shakers KK ‘05 – couldn’t resist adding this!

3 Favourite Movies Watched in 2005

( 1 ) Must Love Dogs
( 2 ) Spanglish
( 3 ) Flight Plan

3 Favourite Animated Movies Watched in 2005

( 1 ) Corpse Bride
( 2 ) Spirited Away
( 3 ) Robots

Saddest / Worrying Moments in 2005

( 1 ) When aunt passed away
( 2 ) When Mike left the co
( 3 ) When my brother left the co
( 4 ) When my car got into an accident

3 Cutest Things I Saw in 2005

( 1 ) stuffonmycat.com
( 2 ) The Noddy Seahorse
( 3 ) Baby Alex

Most Embarrassing Moment in 2005

Being tricked by the Shark to reveal some of the matters of the heart. Felt like throttling him to death but as usual, sanity prevailed. Grrrrr…

As usual, I won’t be tagging anyone else :P

In short, 2005 has been a rather eventful and dramatic year for me. Too much drama sometimes, I feel. There were times when all I wanted to do was to just bury myself under my blanket until the ‘tremors’ dissipate. But at those times, I was grateful for the solid friendships of that were strengthened in spite of, or maybe because of those tremors.

And of course, without my Anchor and Solid Rock, this year would have been more confusing and tumultuous than it already was. You have no idea how just knowing and seeing the many ways in which God cares and provides for me has helped me stay buoyant and positive about life. My security comes simply from knowing that He is in control and He is there to hold me should I stumble. No good thing shall He withhold from me and He protects me from the bad.

Alrighty then. Gotta go out to do some stuff. You guys have a great weekend ahead!

[url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000067DNF/coolcatalystc-20][img]“/images/reviews/lotr1.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”cover” hspace=”3″ vspace=”3″ align=”left”[/img][/url] The extended version of LOTR – Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) is most suitable for home viewing. I cannot imagine sitting in a cinema for 4 solid hours to watch it to completion. I watched the 4-VCD version and split it to watching 2 VCDs a day. It’s more palatable that way.

I am not a true-blue LOTR or Tolkien fan. Tried reading the book after watching FOTR in year 2000 but it was just too draggy for me. I prefer the more action-packed genre like those of John Grisham, some of Michael Crichton books and of course, my all-time favourite, [url=www.agathachristie.com]Agatha Christie[/url].

Ok, back to FOTR – The Extended Version.

I dunno. Maybe the planet has shrunk. Or maybe it’s because I have wheels and know more people now than before. But whatever the reason is, I never cease to be amazed when I meet familiar people in the strangest settings.

Take for example, Liang. An up-and-rising local artist with a hit song ‘Show Me Whatcha Got’ which is currently the No. 1 song on Hitz.fm’s Malaysian Top 10.

Somehow or the other, Fooman roped in a few of us to be involved in a Liang music video project. The first time I saw that album cover, I wondered if he was mixed. When I heard his song, I thought he sounded like a groovy black singer. Fooman assured me that Liang was very much a pure Malaysian Chinese.

Soon several group mails were flying to and fro to arrange a mutually suitable date for all of us to meet up. When I saw his full name – Tan Chung Liang – I thought that it sounded familiar. Visions of a cheeky big boy with a chockful head of hair from days so long ago flitted into my mind. But I immediately dismissed it from my mind with a, “Naaah, couldn’t be lar!”

And so, the day finally came when the whole team congregated. Liang still looked mixed to me. He had a huge warm grin and a firm and friendly handshake. After a few seconds, he gave me a quizzical look and asked, “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

Now, normally when people ask me that, there are quite a number of possibilities:

1. They are trying to pick me up – Nyet. Never happened since I hardly hang out at seedy places these days.
2. They saw me in secondary school – Yes, this actually happened to me. One girl who was taking the driving test with me asked me that. And she could actually recall that I was chairing a debate that time. Talk about having a powerful memory!
3. They saw me in one or some of the church productions – This is quite common lor.
4. They recognise me from my blog – No one has told me that personally yet. But my bezzie’s colleague recognised my pic on The Star because she, too, reads my blog.
5. They are from Klang – Yes, Klang can be that small especially if you hang out at the most popular bah kut teh stalls or Bee’s cafe.
6. They have seen me in the papers – Heh, this one is too fresh from the oven to report any happenings yet.

So in Liang’s case, I posed questions #3 and #5. Nope, he hasn’t seen my church’s productions yet but yes, he is from Klang. Then his brows knitted even further. “Klang, eh? Wait a minute. Were you from Klang Gospel Hall before?” he asked.

Then it suddenly dawned upon me. That this big guy who’s sitting in front of me IS the boy with the chockful of hair.

“Chung Liang!!! It’s you!! Omigosh, who would have thought that the most irritating Klang boy in church is now the hottest singer in town?!”

What followed was about 10 – 15 minutes worth of enthusiastic reminiscence. Which was rather short actually because we had more than a decade of catching up to do. I think we were responsible in delaying the meeting from starting on time. But boy, it was worth it. It was so good to see how well he had turned out to be. Friendlier. Hunkier. And certainly groovier than the boy he was before. Name’s also shorter – Liang. Heh heh. Crew cut hair certainly suits him better.

Aiyaya, now I can say that I have a friend who’s a recording artist leh. Hee!

Everyone has a secret.

Things that they don’t share with certain groups of people for various reasons. Reasons that probably only they can understand. But hey, if they don’t feel like sharing, then that’s their prerogative mar.

I have a secret that I hide from most of my colleagues and bosses. It’s not something terrible. But I just feel uncomfortable if they know that I write love stories and such. That secret is Book Project 2. And I’m afraid my cover was blown today.

It started when Jotay messaged me with this link. I was tickled pink to see my face (and that of Rapunzel’s!) in today’s daily. Told my fellow writers and some other friends about it.

My boss had an unread copy of The Star in his room and so I went to have a peek at that article. Nothing beats seeing your own face staring back at ya from a hardcopy. Yeah, I am a narcissist, so this is a typical narcissistic behavior :P :P

The minute I flipped to the page, I felt a little petrified. My face loomed even bigger on that page than the online version. I felt happy that my smile looked ok and that my eyes weren’t half-shut or anything. But haiyo, if my boss happens to flip to that page, there was no way that he was going to miss my smiling face there.

During lunch, I got an sms from a friend and a call from my bezzie. Both were delighted to see my face on paper. Bezzie was esctatic to see half her body there, too – next to Rapunzel ;)

By tea time, the colleague formerly known as Shark spotted me and announced it to those around our cubicle. I’m exposed! Aieeeee!!

Then he started ‘grilling’ me about what I was doing there. Initially I said that I was there because I was a busybody and had nothing better to do. Good thing it was The Sun and not The Star that interviewed me, so my blog wasn’t featured there. Phew! But eventually, I told them briefly about the book launch and that answered their questions as to why I took a day off that day and what I normally do during my spare time.

The next thing I know, they’d probably stumble upon this blog and then I’ll have nothing juicy to write about what goes on in the office anymore.

You guys better pray hard that this doesn’t happen.

Maybe I should have a decoy site where I can use my real initials and write boring stuff there.

We’ll see.

Sorry, no paparazzi, please. I mean it!

Heh heh, have abandoned this short story for a while because of all the distractions in the past few days. Anyway, here it is – the continuation of the medieval love story. Enjoy!

A Continuation of Part 1,
Part 2, and
Part 3

It suddenly dawned upon Domingo that something was amiss. “Oh dear dear me, I had all but forgotten the existence of my twin brother, Edward. Allow me to introduce thee to him.”

“Nay, introductions are most unnecessary, brother dearest. I’ve already made acquaintance with the two lovely ladies. Enchanted, I truly am.”

With that the two men proferred their arms gallantly towards the still shell-shocked ladies who took it after a moment’s hesitation.

Seraphine blushed rosily under Domingo’s intense gaze as she walked demurely beside him.

Cassie refused to even look at Edward who tried his best to attract her attention by making funny faces and rather rude belches.

As soon as they reached the dining table which is laden with many, many mouthwatering dishes, they were greeted by a jolly elderly woman, who was the boys’ mother.

“Greetings! Ah, our abode is considerably brighter with the presence of you two fair ladies. Please, do make yourselves at home.”

The proper introductions were duly made and after dinner, the mother quietly disappeared from the scene as most mothers with good intentions do.

To the girls, the dinner could be sawdust for what it was worth. Seraphine was too busy drowning in the dark brown eyes of her beloved Domingo. Her heart bore witness that he was only interested in her and her alone.

Poor Cassie, however,

1. You are sooo over if…you can read his/her old love letters to you and can just laugh when you recall those happy days. You feel like an amused third party reading a blogger’s journal or something. Though you miss the good times with that person, you feel that you are in a better place now and a better person for having known that ex.

   You are NOT over if… you bawl when you read those letters, wishing and hoping with all your heart that your ex still feels the same way towards you. And you’d give anything to hear them say those things to you again. You feel like half-a-cookie – the worse half without the chocolate chips and nuts.

2. You are sooo over if… you make an effort to keep in touch at least once a year – by way of an sms greeting or so – and feel happy when they reply. And if they didn’t, you are not bothered by it. Maybe they never got the sms or felt that no reply was necessary.

   You are NOT over if… you are overly esctatic when they reply your messages. Not only that, you over-read in-between the lines and are convinced that their “Happy Holidays to you and family, too!” is an indication that your ex still has a thing for you.

   And when they don’t reply, you oscillate between being convinced that they hate your guts or deciding that you hate their guts because they are the rudest jerks on earth.

3. You are sooo over when… mutual friends mention their name and ask how they are doing, you reply cheerfully in a brief, succint and objective manner – the way you would do to any acquaintance whom you respect.

   You are NOT over if… you jump on a chance to talk or rather, obsess about them again and having a good tirade/ranting/crying session over them. You can be sure that your friends would generally avoid mentioning that person’s name in front of your presence again – until they forget this incident.

This is dedicated to the survivors of tragic breakups and such who display the Soooo Over traits. It takes guts and spunk to move on in life triumphantly after losing someone you love. Bravo!

And to those who are still NOT over their ex-es, remember that it takes a lot of time to kick that ex out of your system. But the day will come when you find that the sun is shining a little bit brighter and your heart feels a lot lighter and chirpier.

Yes, moving on is sooo worth it. You’ll see ;)

Lordy me, but ’tis a tiring day!

The end of this year signifies many things.

The time for strategic company meetings to plan for the year ahead.

The time for reflection of glorious moments and lessons learned.

This year end for me, it’s the time where I miss my bro.

You see, my bro has left my company to pursue something that he has a passion for. More hardcore programming.

As you all know, I am terrible when it comes to saying goodbye. Especially people whom I have become close to in the course of working. But since it was my bro who’s changing jobs, I didn’t really think much about it. In fact, I was actually listing down the pros of seeing less of him. I can go out and meet friends more often after work instead of worrying about which bus stand or lrt station to deposit him to. I can leave work whenever I want instead of waiting for him to finish up his work or being hurried by him whenever I wanted to stay back just a little later. Best of all, I can drop by any shopping mall for some retail therapy anytime I want after work instead of heading straight home like a good girl. Besides, I’ll still get to see him at home mar.

And so, in the busyness of overseeing the handover of his responsibilities to my other assistants and work in general, I managed to quell most of my thoughts about not working with my brother again in the same company.

That is until I saw his empty place when I came back from a day long meeting today. My eyes automatically searched for his dear face, wanting to exchange a cheeky grin with him and whine about the loooooong meeting. But he wasn’t there.

That’s when it hit me. I no longer have one of my closest confidantes around at my work place any longer. I don’t have someone I can comfortably bounce all sorts of ideas to – be it work-related or just general crazy thoughts. I no longer have a constant lunch partner. And I have no one to chat with on the way to and fro work each day.

Yeah, I miss the guy :(

*sniff* *sniff*

Ah well, after all that’s said and done, I’m blessed to have worked with him. I mean, how often do you get such an opportunity to be your brother’s boss and get paid to order him around? And it’s great to know that no matter how in-ya-face and in-ya-nerves two siblings can get when they’ve been with each other nearly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, love does conquer all. We made adjustments to get the space that we so need from one another. And we learned to become good colleagues and friends through this whole working together experience.

Bro, I just want you to know that it’s been a swell 6 months working with you. I miss you but I know you’ll shine in your new job. Thanks for being a good and understanding bro through all that we’ve been together. I love you heaps.

A Continuation of Part 1, and
Part 2

Seraphine thought hard on this and slyly said, “Wouldn’st thou want to see me happy, my dear Cassie?”

“But of course! I would do anything for you, my lifelong friend.”

“Then ye shall come with me to this Michaelmas feast. I would not have it any other way. Thy task is to treat Domingo well and be firm friends with him.”

Cassie sputtered, “This is prosposterous! I shall be ever so rude and uncouth to him that he would prefer to spend the evening talking to a host of mad hatters than me.”

At that point, Seraphine levelled a quelling look upon her friend. “Thou hast promised to do anything I bid, Cassandra Van Houten. And thou shalt fulfill it to thy very last breath. With the utmost decorum AND good manners.”

Cassie clamped her mouth shut at that. There was no benefit in arguing with Seraphine when she starts using one’s full name. Very well, she shall be present at the dratted feast but she shall ensure that all of Domingo’s affections would be solely directed to Seraphine.

And thus, the morrow having arrived, the two best friends found themselves standing in front of Domingo’s house. Seraphine wore a rich mahagony gown, in an effort to detract attention from her mousy brown hair and unfashionably tanned appearance.

Cassie deliberately donned on a dress that was commonly worn by the tavern wenches across the town. For sure, Domingo would be utterly repulsed by her tawdry and wanton appearance and deem her to be an unsuitable wifely material, she reasoned with herself.

Seraphine was appalled by her friend’s bad fashion sense, but alas, it was too late to force Cassie to change into something more appropriate. Thus, she begrudgingly decided to let go of the matter.

The door was opened by a roguish looking man. Both ladies gasped.

“Domingo! Upon my word, thou art magnificent!” Seraphine said quite without thinking.

“Edward! What on earth art thou doing here?!” Cassie bristled.

The black caped man held out both arms in absolute delight. “Why, such blatant adoration surely doth overwhelm me. Seraphine, I presume? Alas, I am not your Domingo. Rather, I am the beau and love lorn suitor of the very lovely Cassandra.”

Seraphine’s hand flew to her mouth, “Upon my word, is this some sort of sick joke, Domingo? I never knew that ye could jest in such a cruel manner!”

“He is no Domingo. He is as he says he is, that blackguard and knave Edward, whom I have the misfortune to fall in love at first sight many moons ago.”

“Thou speaketh untruths, Cassie! Pray, do not tease me so. I know I am uncomely, but surely, I do not deserve to be made a fool of!”

Thankfully, before the two ladies could jump on one another and tear their hair apart, another man appeared on the scene.

“Did I hear the enchanting Seraphine call my name?” this man said. Apart from him being richly garbed in lordish attire, he looked exactly like the pirate.

Both ladies very nearly swooned in immense shock. What on earth could this possibly mean??

To be continued

To put fooman’s maggi mee recipe in this story ala the Choc Chip Cookie mystery. heheheh.