No Beating!

Gib did a Daphne and sent a dozen red red roses to my office this morning.

(Why is it called a Daphne? Cause Daphne sent Mona 12 roses for Mona's birthday. I described it to Gib in detail, ending with the words, "Wah! I'd never receive such a HUGE bouquet!")

I was really touched when I saw the monstrous bundle. The receptionist asked, "Your birthday ah?" and shook my hand.

Feeling unworthily lucky and loved, I messaged him to thank him. He replied, "You happy, I happy. No beating."

Hello hello hello

I had loads of fun at Mona's bdae's get-together last friday. Kurt Cobain YEAH! That was the best. ^^



But man...just look at this photo which Nat took of me. I look totally like a butch. Or a cute guy (hiaks hiaks!).

Dear commented about this photo, "We gotta transform this bride-to-be in half a year’s time!"

Awww... nice of you to worry about my wedding. If there's gonna be a wedding.

I had to go home because I was sick and the office kindly provided me with a face mask. Gib took one look at me and laughed loudly. I'm glad he's easily amused. Really.

This here is Judette. She sits opposite me. We distract each other from proper work all day long.

My pretty friend again. When we were twelve, I voted her one of the Four Great Beauties of Class 4A and told her that I'd marry her if I were a guy if I didn't already promise to marry Ling if I were a guy. It's a convent school thing. But now she has married the dude on the left and Ling is happily attached to David. Ah well, stay straight. Stay straight! Speaking of which, Gib was sleeping without his pillow last night and I tried to slip a pillow beneath his head. He shook his head and said, "I like to be straight sometimes." Aha! An admittance at last! He spat blood from trying to explain himself.

Gib was tickled pink by the sight of me standing all hot, lost and tired by the road, dressed frumpily in his clothes, and carrying pillows and groceries. I seriously don't know what goes through that brain of his.

They make such a pretty couple. Dear, just accept her. I can bear to watch her chasing one skirt after another, year after year.

No. 3 (and the correct one, after I've been all over the area between Bugis, Serangoon and City Hall). Who can blame ME for being late????

No. 2 (behind the two buildings in the foreground)

On Dear's dob, she told me to walk towards the red and white flat. Let me show you how many there are. Here's no. 1.

Oh, how sweet! That's my cute son over there by the way. (Believe it or not! I wouldn't put it past Gib and I to secretly spawn a two-year old son and not tell anyone actually, hiaks hiaks. You have been told!)

Hiaks hiaks! I may be asked to take down this pic of a very very helpful colleague. Enjoy it while it lasts! :P (Yes, I am STILL straight despite butch hair! But no harm admiring curves.)

THIS, is Weishan. I know! I know! Reminds one of certain types of photographs one sees in certain evening newspapers and dodgy magazines. Look, I can't help it if the swinging bachelors I know are somewhat shy / somehow guilty of something. I guess, if one knows that one's pic is going to be circulated amongst one's female friends, one has to do what one has to do.

THIS, is Cyeon, the International Man of Mystery.

Sweet Biyun with her air of sweetness. So pretty! sO pREttY!

Osamui trying to be beng. And holding weapons of mass construction.

Osamu or Osamui? Whatever. Note the Naruto headband.

More of Osamu and Osamui.

This has to be one of my favourite office pics of all time! Introducing Osamu and Osamui. My colleagues are a bunch of crazy wackos. ^^

Vietnamese men

I am a genius. Too lazy and depressed by the recent takeover of my company by rival (read: impending retrenchment / resignation / termination), I decided to continue to feature bits of my senior's life by posting her email to me about her trip to Vietnam. I enjoy reading it tremendously. :)

For the record, I DID ask her for permission. I think she was kinda amused by the idea of referring to my blog for updates on her life. :P

By the by, Mentos also wrote about a Vietnamese old lady but I exercised my editorial judgement and deleted the part which interests me not. Now, on to the men. ^^

----------------------------------------------------------
From: "Mentos"
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 17:17:11 +0800
To: "Kites"
Subject: Re: fed


Guides on motorbike tour of da lat's northwestern area:

Sis got Hiep (say 'hip'), I got Tom. Both r middle-aged viet men. Hiep was a chem grad working in a lab, now a motorbike guide with a daughter. Tom seems 2b a rather colourful char. Caught snatches of Tom's life story fr the back of his motorbike as we swung merrily around mountain bends. Furthermore, Tom spent the mountain ride half-turned towards me so that I can simultaneously hear abt his life and see my own flash past several times.

Tom was educated in French missionary skools, went to US-affiliated military academy where he learnt English, and grad as an officer in the US Army. He fought agst VCs in Vietnam War, was sent to re-education camp/prison for 2 yrs after that and was released when deemed not dangerous. Since his war past cldn't get him a stable job (read: govt. job), he worked at odd jobs, inclding a stint as a carpenter and helping gf out in the black mkt. Started motorbike guiding some yrs ago and been doing it since. He has two grown daughters, the elder of whom is as old as sis, which made for a moment of hilarity when he thought my sis was 17!

Guides on trek:

Luong (say 'long' as in the Chinese for 'dragon') and Bu'u (say 'boh' as in the Hokkien for 'don't have') are 29 and 24 viets respectively. Luong has been a guide for 4 yrs and Bu'u, for 4 mths. While sis and i crawled up steep mountainsides in an agony of breathlessness, Luong strode on as if on flat land, whistling/singing all the while. Bu'u is a little more human in that if you listen carefully, you can hear him breathing by the time you collapse for air. Neither guide perspires.

Bu'u prepared a picnic lunch for us all on the highest peak of the Lang Bien mountain range, the highest in south viet. For lunch, the guys had hauled up:
- 12 one-foot-long French loaves of bread
- some black-pepper pork ham
- a pineapple
- a comb of large bananas
- a cucumber
- several tomatoes
- a tub of peanut butter
- a box of cheese
- a large bunch of longans (still in shells on their branches)
- some salt and pepper
- utensils: a knife and some plastic spoons
- a picnic mat

The above does not include the 5 1.5-litre bottles of drinking water they also carried along. Sis and I took 2 loaves with some cheese, the cucumber, a little tomato, some longans and 2 slices of pineapple.

Faced with the overwhelming leftovers, the following (approximate) scene occurred:

Characters: Luong, Bu'u, Me, Sis
Setting: Highest peak of Lang Bien mountain range

All stare at pile of food silently.

Bu'u takes a loaf of bread and offers it to sis and i hopefully.

Heads shake in unison.

Sis: Why did you bring so much food?

Bu'u: We didn't know if you were Europeans ...

Luong: ... or if you were guys ...

Bu'u: ... we only knew there were 2 people ...

Clouds drift past.

Luong: (brightly) How do you say 'Eat some more' in Chinese?