What an eventful day it has been indeed! As arranged last month during our Gertak Sanggul durian outing, I picked up Elizabeth and her mother-in-law (Marcel's mom whom I have known since 1986) for another durian outing.
When I picked them up, I gave a squeal of delight for Elizabeth gave me a slab of my favorite Sarawak layer cake.
After the usual hi's and how are you's, it was down to serious durian business for Elizabeth is a real durian lover, after all - they will not get to eat durians when they return to Auckland. We had two options - Gertak Sanggul again or Balik Pulau.
There was one teeny weeny problem though. I did not know the way to either spots!!! I seldom go out on my own except to a few places as I prefer to be at home and have great difficulty making my way around Penang *blush* as I prefer to be driven than to drive :-).
I did not have a choice today. Marcel was in Hong Kong, hubby was at work, Elizabeth hails from Kuching and Auntie is already 85 years old. Gingerly, I garnered enough courage to proclaim that we would make our way to Balik Pulau.
Even at the Bayan Lepas roundabout, I did not know which way to go and followed my instinct. By the time we reached PISA, I decided to turn into Sungei Ara. At the traffic lights, I asked the lady in the next lane if we should turn right to go to Balik Pulau. She must have thought I was a would-be bandit because I spoke to her in Penang Hokkien and was as clueless as someone from out of town.
With more confidence, I swung right and drove to what I thought was Balik Pulau. I tried to use my GPS but forgot what to do so that was a bummer! Along the way, we were exchanging notes about various topics when suddenly, I realized I was in Paya Terubong! Golly! Elizabeth thought it would be a bit silly to call Marcel in Hong Kong so I rang my dear hubby and explained where I turned and my exact location.
"Dear, we are on our way to Balik Pulau and I turned into this lane at Sungei Ara and drove straight but somehow, we are in Paya Terubong," I whispered as sweetly as I could to my dear hubby.
Dead silence.
"How on earth did you get there? You are very far from Balik Pulau!" was his calm response because hubby is quite used to me getting lost when driving.
"OK. I'll find my way back. Don't worry," I replied and of course his response was a soft ok as always.
After a few turns here and there, we finally found ourselves in Balik Pulau. Time taken was forty-five minutes!!!
First, we headed for the famous Balik Pulau Laksa coffee shop where we had our lunch. Elizabeth and Auntie had the sour Penang Assam Laksa while yours truly had the Siamese version.
Shortly after that, we tried to ask around for the best durians in the area. I did not dare drive to my usual Bao Sheng Durian Farm for fear that I might end up lost again. To our disappointment, almost everyone gave us dismal responses to remind us that we were now in the tail-end of the durian season and would not get the best fruits any more.
We headed to the new market to see if we could get some durians but the place was closed except for a few stalls. There, I bought three types of keropok and durian cake.
Quite adamant that we had to eat durians, I drove around aimlessly and scouted for respectable roadside stalls. The first stall that we visited was manned by a foreign worker who picked some fruits for us while his masters were sitting on stools smoking. To our horror, we were told that the fruits were being sold at 5RM per kilo!!! Good Lord! That was daylight robbery so we went off in a huff and a puff and headed to another stall manned by a kind-looking middle aged man whose price was the same. The first fruit he opened for us was a terrible letdown and we complained so much that I am sure his ears must have hurt. In the end, he succumbed to our rantings and sold us two fruits - Goldfish and 222 at 14RM.
We were quite satisfied after devouring so much food!!! Good golly! I am going to survive on one meal a day and no more durians till the next season!
After paying, we made our way home and only then did I realize that it was pretty close to where Elizabeth's in-laws lived. The journey home took only twenty minutes. Thanks Elizabeth and Auntie for the lovely time spent together. See you at the end of the year! I will certainly miss you and Marcel...God bless!
The next part of the day was even more eventful. My new laptop was delivered to my home. To be honest, I am not like most ladies who go goo-goo ga-ga over handbags, branded clothes or shoes. I get lots of those as presents from friends and relatives but my main interest in life is tech gadgets. I had done lots of research as to which sort of laptop to buy after my 17 inch Dell Inspiron which I had for less than two years died on me because the fan was faulty and the graphic card was burnt from overheating. The past three weeks had been most awkward for me because I had to be weaned off my laptop and the net.
As I touched the sleek HP model that I had purchased, I knew I should have been happy that I made an excellent choice, with recommendations by my former student, Chris Chua. It competes directly with Dell’s new Latitude series and is equipped with the power of Intel’s new Centrino 2 platform. If not for my sentimentalism, I daresay I am satisfied with its mix of stylish and elegant design, sturdy build quality and superb performance in a slim form factor. It is one of the best business notebooks currently available in the market as it is one of the best mobile processors available today and provides a potent mix of power and power efficiency.
But somehow...it is not the same...there are no woofers like in my old laptop and the screen is too small ...sob sob...But it will suffice...at least for the moment.
What a tiring and eventful day it has been indeed...I am sure tomorrow will even be better...Have a lovely evening, dear reader. Good night.
For many, blame has become an art form. Ever see a comedian take a prop - some ordinary item like a pencil - and make up jokes about it? That's the way many approach blame. Just throw 'em a topic - anything - and they'll find someone to blame for it.
We all do it from time to time. But for some (or many) it's become a way of life. A day without blame becomes a day without sunshine.
But what happens when we blame?
1. We get a cheap hit of power. For a moment we get to feel better than the object of our blame. We get a smugness, a 'rightness'.
But it never lasts, does it? Whatever satisfaction you feel quickly leaves. And like the addict, we must soon blame again. And again. Even if it's only to replay the same statements over and over like a broken record.
For many, it truly becomes an addiction. As real as any chemical substance.
2. We give up our true power. We lose power when we blame. It becomes locked up in the object of our blame. Now, the other person who you're blaming can't use your power. They don't even know about it. It's not theirs anyway. It's yours. But you lose access to it.
It's like taking money out of your own pocket and putting it into an escrow account that nobody can touch. Blame costs you. It takes something of value from you. It's always a net loss. You're losing something when you blame.
It’s like you have less money to spend when you blame. Because you have less access to your resources. Your decision making ability suffers. Your choices have less punch, less impact.
3. It takes energy to blame. It takes even more energy to hold that blame in place. It's like holding a heavy object in your hands.
4. Blame also slows down the healing process. All blame is ultimately sourced in pain. By blaming, you’re guaranteed to keep the pain alive. Often hiding it under the blame. And by not dealing with the pain, the healing can’t happen.
As an example - blaming your parents for your current problems will never resolve those problems.
Now, you can certainly recognize and acknowledge that perhaps they really were horrible, rotten, terrible people, and then take further action such as healing the pain they caused. But if you get stuck in the blame, you won’t likely heal anything.
5. Blame makes you think you’re doing something about the problem.
“It’s the oil companies!”
“There, I did my part to end the problem of global warming.”
But blame pushes the problem further away from you. It creates a gap, a space, between you and your issue. It separates you. And creating separation with anything - without taking additional steps - will never end any problem.
6. Blame confuses the issue. It creates a fog that hides the solution. In the above example, you can START by blaming your parents, just don’t get stuck there.
FEEL the blame, if it’s there. Feel it as intensely as you possibly can.
AND THEN LET IT GO as completely as you can. That way you won’t get stuck in blame, and you can start healing the damage from those awful parents. (If that’s the issue.)
7. Finally, holding on to blame makes it much more likely you’ll struggle in life.
Struggle. Like blame, we all do it to one degree or another, at one time or another. It’s hard to struggle without blaming someone or something.
Blame locks the struggle in place. (With nothing to blame, it becomes much harder to find the need to struggle.)
***
Bottom line:
1. Blame hurts you and impedes your growth in many ways. Those who love to blame and point the finger at others often refuse to look at themselves. Like cynics who are cynical of everything but their own cynicism; blame leads to delusional thinking.
2. When you find yourself blaming, give yourself permission to first feel the blame as intensely as possible and then to release it as completely as possible. Then you can more effectively deal with the issue at hand. Don't deny your blame, if it's there.
3. If you absolutely must blame, at least blame yourself!
Use your blame as a stepping stone rather than a hiding place. Then you'll be taking your power back. Then you'll be using blame effectively.
Author's Bio
Mark Ivar Myhre, The Emotional Healing Wizard, provides articles and information on healing emotional pain. To learn more go to http://www.emotional-times.com
Dear reader, Thanks for your patience with me. I have not been blogging normally for the past three weeks because of three reasons. Firstly, my laptop decided to call it a day and I had to go into cold turkey without my lappy. Secondly, the events in my country have been MOST depressing to say the least. Thirdly, some of my blog html scripts went awry but I have since sorted it out. So, this week, it is back to insane blogging and I will be writing more from now onwards :-p. To set a spirit of cheer and laughter, please enjoy the following witty and funny quips that were sent to me by Dr. Murali and Freddie. Have a nice day and may this week bring you lots of laughter, joy, happiness and cheer.
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Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:
"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."
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In a Podiatrist's office:
"Time wounds all heels."
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On a Septic Tank Truck:
Yesterday's Meals on Wheels
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On a Plumber's truck:
"We repair what your husband fixed."
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On another Plumber's truck:
"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
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On a Church's Bill board:
"7 days without God makes one weak."
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At a Tire Store
"Invite us to your next blowout."
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On an Electrician's truck:
"Let us remove your shorts."
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In a Non-smoking Area:
"If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."
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On a Maternity Room door:
"Push. Push. Push."
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At an Optometrist's Office:
"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."
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On a Taxidermist's window:
"We really know our stuff."
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On a Fence:
"Salesmen welcome! Dog food is expensive!"
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At a Car Dealership:
"The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."
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Outside a Car Exhaust Store:
"No appointment necessary. We hear you coming."
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In a Vets waiting room:
"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"
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In a Restaurant window:
"Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up."
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In the front yard of a Funeral Home:
"Drive carefully. We'll wait."
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RADIATOR SHOP:
"Best place in town to take a leak."
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The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.
Neologisms:
The winners are:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavoured mouthwash.
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!
