Questions...

After we left mom and uncle wah at the hospital we headed for dinner. Barbi was cancelled on account of the events that lead to this dinner.

Joshua was asking mummy (sue) why Uncle Wah was sick. Sue mentioned that Uncle Wah had cancer of the liver and he is very very sick that's why we had to go to the hospital and that's also why we did not have the barbi tonite. Accepting all this joshua had one more question...

"What's a liver mummy? What does it look like?"

Mummy couldn't explain it to Joshua's satisfaction hence he kept asking many more variations to this one question. Even small ee (jo) and Uncle Jeffrey couldn't explain or draw it for him. We were hopelessly trying to manouver out of it but he would not give up. We wished...I wished Uncle James was around. He would know how to confuse and satisfy Joshua's question. Only Uncle James could have saved mummy, ee ee & Uncle Jeffrey the blushes.

Who asked you not to pay attention when in school???
Hor hor teacher mary scold...

Emergency

As my muslim friends celebrate Hari Raya today and i was about to head for Jo's barbi gathering at her pad...she called.

My immediate thought was that she was calling me to chase me about buying ice and drinks etc. She can be quite naggy at times, but this time she didn't sound bitchy and demanding but sounded rather solemn. She had just received a call from our aunty that our Uncle Wah Wah was very ill. He has been fighting with his cancer for about a year now and his condition was not good at all this very moment. We rushed over to his place to see him. He looked very frail and i don't think he could recognise us at all. He had hurt himself and we were trying to get him dressed and bring him to the hospital but he refused.

Sue, Andrew & Mom had got there ahead of us. Seeing him and my mom was rather gut wrenching as my mom spoke to Uncle Wah to calm him down and try to get him dressed. She is the eldest in her family. She has already lost one brother many years ago and now she is about to lose another. Prayer has made her strong and yet I could feel the pain she was going thru seeing her brother like in this condition and in pain. Looking at mom and Uncle Wah brought tears to my eyes as i could feel her pain. I know it would hurt as hell if i have to experience this with any one of my siblings.

As we are born, so too shall we die. It is inevitable. Between the two...life flows. Much is said about how life should be lived, how we should appreciate our loved ones, yet how many of us truly cherish our lives and our loved ones? Seeing the fragility of life & the inevitability of death...let us not leave anything unsaid or undone with our loved ones for when they are gone...only angels hears us. Speak while we yet live so that those of us alive can listen and experience all of who we are. Be we brothers & sisters, fathers & sons, mothers & daughters, we all have but one life.

Let us cherish each other...this lifetime!

Overexposed!

This overexposed picture was taken in Teluk Chempedak, Kuantan at 0133hrs. We were just sitting by the beach enjoying each other's company after Allysa's wedding.

I realised that when i'm with my friends from elpee there's not much i can hide or rather much that we can hide from each other. We can sit and chat the night away and if something is amiss someone will notice. It's not that elpees are clairvoyants or shit like that but i realised that elpees are more sensitive to one anothers' Being and can sense if something is amiss with another. How do i know? Well...last nite as i was downing my Guinness Stout, Jyn pops me a question... "So what's been goin on? You seem down of late..." Before this i did not think that i was...but that was definately my experience. It was like i was awaken from my gloom as the faery princess snapped her fingers. Made me Stop & Look into Me. A flurry of messages of support and more questions as to the WHY of my current gloom came across my Maxis supported phone made me look deeper into myself as i seeked my answer. My experience was exposed.

Now...would i have thought of it if not for her questioning? I don't think so. Sometimes it takes someone or something to stop us in our treks in life and pops us the question and have us BE in the Question such that we will have the opportunity to STOP, LOOK & CHOOSE. Do i now know what Bugged me? Yes i do and it's a WIP.

I thank God for the friends i have and elpee for bringing us together.

Pinkies Revisit Kuantan

Sept 20, 2008 The Pinkies invaded Kuantan for the 3rd time. This time was to celebrate Allysa the fastest girl in LP109's (Kuantan -KL in 90mins) wedding.

A thing about elpees is that... no wedding, birthday or celebration is too far, so long as we get-to-gather, we would go any distance. There are always the crazy few who would do whatever it takes to make a difference for another person. I use the word "crazy" respectfully in that most people would think us crazy to go that distance...but most people have not "been" to distances that we have gone with each other and for each other. We missed the other "crazies" that could not make the trip.It is always great to see the smile on the face of the person we are celebrating or visiting knowing the joy we bring by just making the trip and being present at their special moment of celebration. Such is the joy i experienced as we gathered at our favorite beach Teluk
Chempedak. The Pinkies seem to have claimed this as our very own beach for the memories that it brings us. The bride & groom came right after they escaped the clutches of family and well wishers to spend time with us by the beach till late into the night.

It's another beautiful celebration for keeps.

Day of The Dragons

A bright sun shiny day brings out the best of everything and everyone...from elpees to dragonflies. As LP119 and the grad elpees were creating on land...the dragonflies were creating just above the lake.

I am no biologist, in fact i just barely passed my Biology paper scraping thru with a C6 but instinct tells me the dragonfly above with the slightly different tail fin from all the other dragons is a male. I had tried to shoot him since morning but he won't sit still. He was flying up and down the coastline (till i find a better word) of the lake as if to check on all the other dragonflies perching on a blade of grass, a stump of a very dead tree or brush. Flying aggresively as if to mark it's territory from harmful elements. He seemed to be patrolling the lakeside the whole morning. I finally caught him taking his afternoon siesta. Doesn't he look fierce?

These ladies were just perched and basking...just like women they are all out to keep themselves pretty and fabulously gorgeous.

This one look a tad tired, must have been a long saturday nite out while the other looked like she had a great saturday nite.

This princess on the right here is so prima donna. She so want the attention that she stayed so still and glamorous just so i can shoot her up close. In fact i manage to shoot her with my macro application like for the longest time. She didn't even budge. Not even afraid of her life...after all i could have eaten her, i was hungry.

It is very gratifying to be able to shoot airborne creatures cos it's never easy to get them to sit still. Makes it more satisfying. Hmm... I wonder if that's why we...I, go looking for the unattainable creatures called women especially that elusive one!

Dangerous to think out loud especially when i'm surrounded by ball cutters!

Reflecting

In the calmness and serenity of the lake she reflects...as i am.

Somebody's Watching You

A bask in the sun on any given sunday must be heavenly for this dragonfly till i came along and shot it...with my Olympus SP 560Uz.

In the relative safety of it's own world, perched 2 feet away from the banks of the lake she must have felt pretty safe. She must have been happily watching her 42million inch "TV" viewing the beautiful heavens with no worries other than be ready in case a fish decides to jump up from the lake and make her the happy meal of the day.

Unbeknownst to me...as i was shooting my catch, i was shot by LP119's Kuey. I had my prized catch, Kuey had his and somebody else...Ng had us! This is like a pictorial observation on life. As in life...we are being watched every moment of our lives. Somebody is taking "shots" of us as we are of others. So beware...

Somebody may be watching you...right now!

Eye on Me

Old people have a saying that sometimes things (cars, house, trinkets, cats, dogs and tattoos even) choose us and it is not WE that choose them. We may have...set our minds to have something and yet the end results show that we choose something totally different and unthought off and we walk away happier for it. Such is the case with my koi which lies on my right arm.

It is at the moment unfinished, so be patient and she shall be revealed in all her glory to all soon enough.

Story of a Tail

The past few months have been quite a stretch for me handling my break-up and the guilt that comes with it. I don't speak much of it cos it's not a celebration of a "new found freedom".

I am not free of my issues with commitment as it is, otherwise the clanging of wedding bells would have been the result of such a breakthrough. I have had much advise, coaching, listening to and all forms of support from friends and family. Ultimately it is still me who has it all to DO. Many are the thoughts that have gone through my mind. Much searching i have done with my heart and more is being asked of myself and yet elusive is the answer. I know the answer i seek is within. Perhaps it's the mountains i need to head for to seek the answer from the wise man.

A month plus ago i decided to tattoo a heart on my arm to signify the struggles of this battered and embattled heart of mine. I initially chose the sacred heart complete with thorns strangling the heart. I decided that it speaks of my struggles and i was pretty set on it till one fine morning when i had a pisang kukus for breakfast with my 25%. We were surfing for designs for her anniversary tattoo when i came across the koi's symbolic meaning which spoke to me of my journey and...

...a tail was borne.

Inking my Tattoo

Here's my tattoist Lina, stencilling my tattoo so that she can transfer it to my arm before she hurts me. She's quite the conversationalist, telling me how bad a day she just had as she was drawing my tattoo and preparing my transfer and she sounded pretty pissed too. I was actually wondering if it was good timing to be getting my tattoo done by her...today. I was actually considering if i should change my appointment to another day.

I decided to take a risk, after all it was not easy getting an appointment. Took me a month to book the date, besides 28.08.08 seemed like an auspicious day to get my tattoo done. So i calmed myself and heard her out as she was drawing. She has been doing this for the past 9 years and she still looks pretty darn young. She shares the same craziness as her brother Simon, who was ever so eager to lob off my dick the day before. I decided that she was pretty nice too and it would be quite safe to put myself at her mercy. She is quite funny and quite a character i must say... You would not have a dull moment with this woman, especially when she has that vibrating needle in her hand and she has quite a colorful personality too.

The moment she first touched me, i cringed in anticipation of the pain and half expecting pleasure as she caressed my skin with her tool. The buzzing of the tool was quite hypnotic as it lulled me into numbness and as the pain began to tear at my flesh her voice seeks to calm my frayed nerves and once again i succumbed to the gentle voice of hers telling me to relax, relax ..."Relax or you will really piss me off if i have to tell you a third time!" rather strongly. I always liked my women and my coffee strong. That seemed to turn me on...to the realisation that i was in no position to piss her off or my koi will look like an ikan bilis or worse a tai thou pet, those little fat guppies you find in the longkang (drain).

I was at her mercy as she whispered softly to me... " Why do you pay me to hurt you?"
Less than 5mins with this petit woman and she has already hurt me. My ah por used to tell me, "Pretty women will hurt you my grandson."

Now i understand what she means.

My 25% Going 100%

Aug 27...now that's a date i remember as one of my ex's birthdays but on this one day i wasn't celebrating her...I can't even find her. That's how her parents would want it. Ha ha ha

Well...I was at Borneo Inks to see my 25% and her husband put ink to skin. They were celebrating their 5th anniversary and they wanted to commemorate it a tattoo. They were supposed to get matching tattoos but somehow that changed at the drawing board. I was there for moral support. You see tattooing can be a rather painful experience, besides i was to get mine done the very next day so i just wanted to get a feel for the place.

My 25% got a headphone with wings to commemorate the day she met Greg till present day and Greg...got Hello Kitty & the Boyfriend, one on each leg. Hello Kitty is my 25%'s all time favorite pussy. I couldn't believe it! When i heard that i exclaimed, "I'll cut my dick off!" and to that Simon the tattoist shouted, "Bring the knife! The blunt one!" I mean Greg is like...a rather macho sorta character you know and you wouldn't believe it either! You can cut my dick and i still wouldn't have believe it till i saw it with my own eyes! Take a look!

All said and done and thank god i still got my dick in place...I think it's such a beautiful gesture by both of them putting ink to skin to celebrate one another on their anniversary. And I swear I'll never put my dick up for anything that you guys do...cos you guys are CRAZY!!!

Happy Anniversary and lotsa love!

Dinner with Dad

Dinner with dad is a rarity these days. The red tape he has to go thru is ridiculously difficult or so he chooses to believe and hence true for him.

Last week was a good weekend for him as he managed to get his "Visa" approved or perhaps he just made an illegal dash from the shackles that bind him. Anyway it was good to have a day with him and the boys (the blog brothers). Managed a couple of hours window shopping and managed to squeeze in dinner too. It was especially nice that the old man bought us dinner at the San Francisco Steakhouse. He loves a good steak and it was just wonderful to have him buy us. That was the best of all, better than the steak. Having dinner with him was better than the dinner itself. Best of all was catching him having an intimate moment with our "little man" Jesse. A rare moment that can only sit in my memory as i wasn't quick in my draw for my camera.

These are moments i cherish for it happens much too far and few between.

Nostalgic Dinner

It has been quite a stretchy couple of weeks for me with lots on my mind. Physically i'm fine but my mind is all over the place in a land called relationship and commitment. During times like these it always is great to have friends around and about to lend an ear or even just to chill out and one of those evenings was the very Wednesday the Aug Basic walked in. (Don't know what this is? Come...let me bring you to the guest event.)

A bunch of us went for dinner as is the norm after any event that we have. There was the ever-knowing Raymond (mutt lan tou sek putku ngo mm hai sifu), The angelic Jynnie who is ever so excitable and innocent, The Matt who keeps insisting that he is younger and taller than me and Khun "chicken wing" Rudy who is a thai boy trapped in a malaysian man's body...no no he is not a lady boy, this one is all man based on his drooling capacity when girls are around. We went to this chinese restaurant which i can't remember the bloody name but it is decorated with lots and lots of teapots which i did not take a shot of hence i used this cd cover pix...u will know why later.
We had a rather light dinner considering the heavyweights at the table...namely Ray, Rudy and Matt la. Jynnie and i eat like birds in a park. Dinner was rather tasty with soft unitrusive piped in music from days gone by...days of our granfathers and then it started with me mentioning how these songs used to be played on LPs and gramaphones. That was all it took! From there we went down memory lane. We went back to the days when our side parting or centre parting was combed and how the good boys and the bad boys were recognised by the comb we carried in our back pockets, the carrot cut pants that we wore, the bottle cap games, 5 stones...yeah yeah we played them too. Great way to get into the girls good books. :) Marbles...the big white ones to the little see thru ones, patung...figurines where we throw at each others little heroes, pictured cards, ice cream sticks, saga seeds and Game & Watch. We went on and on about the mini buses, bus tickets and ever skilled bus conductors and their ticket clippers that hung around their pinky. We even tried to remember the names of the cinemas that used to be our sole source of entertainment...Cathay, Pavillion, Tai Wah, Lido etc and of cos their tickets and the ticket sellers pencils which did not require to be sharpened...just pull on the string/paper and it reveals new lead.

We had such a good time laughing, laughing so loud that the uncles and aunties at the next table must be wondering what is wrong with the youth of today? We just laughed and laughed and had a good time. A good meal, great friends and a memory that is still serves us well...oh and the right piece of music to start things off.

These are the moments that are priceless to me. :)