Chowchow The Shepherd

"People from all over the world have passed through this village, son," said his father. "They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climbed the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here."

"But I'd like to see the castles in the towns where they live," the boy said explained.

"Those people, when they see our land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father continued.

"Well, I'd like to see their land and how they live," said his son.

"The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel," his father said. "Amongst us, the ones that really travel are shepherds."

"Well, then I'll be a shepherd!"

His father said no more. The next day, he gave his son a pouch that held three ancient Spanish gold coins.

"I found these in the fields. I wanted them to be a part of your inheritance. But use them to buy your flock. Take to the fields, and someday you'll learn that our country-side is the best, and our women the most beautiful."

- The Alchemist, Paul Coelho

Well, then I'll be a shepherd too! If that's what it takes for me to learn that our country-side is the best, and the women most beautiful. I just lack the three ancient Spanish gold coins to buy myself a flock of sheep.

Rainbow

Recent incessant thunderstorms have brought about frequent sightings of rainbows. Sometimes, you may just spot 2 arches of rainbow one on top of another. Doesn't it make you just wanna stop time and enjoy the simple beauty of it?

Have a happy Monday.

Ahem Excuse Me!

Once I start coughing, I'll be coughing for at least 3 months. During this period, my every sentence will be punctuated with coughs. I usually try to suppress it to "ahem" instead of going "Hack hack haack". It is most irritating.

Once, I had dinner at a food centre. Being dinner time, it was very crowded and it was common to share tables. I shared my table with a man who was eating mutton soup like me.

Just when I was chewing my food, I had a huge urge to cough and clear my throat. Because there was food in my mouth, I force my mouth shut and tried to restrain my cough. I should have known, my cough was a dragon which was trying to be unleashed from the dungeons. It exploded.

Bits of food flew and landed in the man's hair and soup and god knows where. Like in a Stephen Chow's comedy - it all happened in slow motion. Add in ridiculous sound effects, and it would have been hilarious.

It's an understatement to say I was mortified. It took the man 3 seconds to react. His face contorted into anger and flicked the specks of rice that landed on his hair with utmost disgust. If he was a girl, he would be screaming his head off. I was stunned.

Thank goodness the Boyfriend was with me. The chivalrous knight in shining armour. My Prince Charming on a gleaming white horse. While he looked at me in amazement, he immediately apologised profusely and ordered a new set of mutton soup for the man.

I tried to be invisible. My boo had to drag me away from the table.

And now, he makes sure I never forget this by reminding every now and then. Oh, I have such a miserable life.

How I Almost Died (Last September)

This is Renggis Island in Tioman - a snorkelling hotspot for people staying at and around Berjaya Resort in Tioman. This was where I almost drowned myself.

I love being in the water (only when I'm sure I can have my head above the water at all times i.e. I can touch the floor / I'm on a float). I love how my arms and legs bob in the water, in tandem to the merry woosh woosh of the gentle waves. Thus, I was looking forward to snorkelling for this first time.

It was very exciting to zoom out to sea in a tiny jet boat, decked in life jackets and flippers. In my mind though, there was a nagging apprehension of the unknown that I was about to face, It's just too damn easy to die in the sea, isn't it?

I eased myself into the water with trepidation, among the schools of tiny, shimmering fishes. Bobbing in the water with Hui, then I managed to quiet the nagging voice in my head and enjoy the wonders of the sea. I was praying so hard that I would not meet any octopus, squid or cuttlefish. I am terrified of these monsters. Maybe I'll elaborate this bizarre phobia in another post.

Anyway, we were happily swimming in the sea when the locals manning the snorkelling station waved us over. They urged us to swim around the Renggis Island. The beautiful corals were on the other side. Hui and I shook our heads, "It's too dangerous to go there on our own."

The shorter of the two said, "We'll bring you!" And he flashed a wide grin, "Each of you follow one of us. Can you swim? You should take off your life jackets. Else it'll be difficult to swim."

And Hui enthusiastically said OK and took off her jacket. I quietly followed, my heart pounding with dread, It's too damn easy to die in the sea!

My guide swam strongly out towards the island. And I followed. It was surprisingly effortless to swim in the sea. All I could hear was my own breathing. That was scary. That meant I wouldn't be able to hear if any creature snuck up behind me. I would die on the spot if a curious tentacle stroked my arm without warning.

The guide then dived down to the seabed to pick a starfish to show me. As I waited for him to resurface, I started to sink into the sea. And I panicked.

I'm gonna die! And the colossal squid will wrap me with its fifty tentacles and rip me apart! I thought. I started to thrash in the water that was at least 10 metres deep.

Thankfully, the jet boat on lifeguard duty immediately roared to life and sped towards me. And what a joke, the moment I saw the boat, I felt safe and started swimming towards the floating platform. Swimming in the sea was effortless! I reached safe land before the boat even reached me!

On hindsight, I think it was because I was in an upright position; you can only stay afloat if your body was parallel to the sea. All I needed to do was to lie on my back and I would be afloat.

My guide swam over asked in contempt, "Why you panic, Melissa? I'm here. You don't trust me! You ready? Let's go again."

I looked at him in shock. You want me to go out there again?

"No scared. I hold your hand. Many Singaporeans go with me. Nobody scared like you." Okay, now he was using reverse psychology. And I took the bait.

I was much calmer the second time because he was holding my hand. We saw beautiful corals, giant clams and even a baby shark. Then he wanted to teach me skinny dipping. Meaning you hold your breath and dive in the depths of the sea. When you surface, you need to blow the water out of the pipe so that you can breathe through your mouth. I politely declined the offer. My guide shook his head in disappointment and said I let him down, "unlike the other Singaporeans". But I didn't want to risk drowning and stood my ground.

Imagine my relief when we finally completed a round about the island. The moment I caught sight of the floating platform, I abandoned my guide and swam to it, ignoring his calls to "look at the turtles".

Hui was swinging her legs at the edge of the platform, "What happened to you? I saw you waving for help. Then you started swimming like you're OK."

Let me catch my breath first.

The Big Match

Time to settle old debts

A Post V-Day Post

My boo has been showering me with declarations of "I love you"s. As frequent as 5 times in 2 hours. He must guilty about something, or he took advice from some men's magazines on how to pamper his girlfriend. Either way, I like it :)

While I'm not usually one to boast or tell people about him and me, I want to share this! -

Last weekend, I was stressed out and tired out from the upcoming event I was working on, he offered to stay over at my place so that he could make breakfast for me the next morning. Awww........

Anyway, happy Valentine's everyday y'all!

XOXO,

chowchow

Reading on Rainy Days

Just felt like spending time with myself today after work. Usually that means window shopping and book browsing.

I went to Parkway for dinner and spied on my colleagues at my 3 outlets there. After paying my bills and doing some banking, I walked over to the Marine Parade library. I vowed not to buy books for the next 12 months in an effort to save money. To show my determination, I had refused to renew my Borders membership. Why spend on books when you can borrow from our wonderful libraries? And note, our libraries really do carry a good collection of books, even new ones.

Referring to my list of "wanted books" which I kept in my handphone, I went browsing at the shelves. I have the list with me wherever I go, in case I have a sudden urge to visit the book store or library and I dunno what to look for.

I made a beeline for Chuck Palaniuk just to check out the available books there, although my list pointed me to David Mitchell. I cannot resist a Chuck P. book. I've read a number of his books and none failed to entertain me. Just check out my Visual Bookshelf on Facebook. You can imagine how I look forward to his next book.

At home, I have American Gods by Neil Gaiman. While he is the hottest writer among my friends, I have yet to get past Chapter 4 of the book even after repeated attempts. I found it incredibly boring, or I'm just not interested in adult fantasy tales. (If there's anyone who wants to buy it from me at a cheaper price, please sms me. Price negotiable.)

Speaking of fantasies, I'm a huge fan of children fantasy, I'm sure you know already :)

There's a Youtube clip of someone giving a literary analysis of how Harry Potter is gay. Personally, I think he's reading too much into it, if I ignore the jarring clue related to Stonewall High. Play the clip to see what I mean.




By the way, did Dan Brown come up with a new book? Hui and I spotted an unfamiliar title on the faraway shores of Tioman but I couldn't find it on the web.

Anyway, back to the library, I cleared my debt before checking out the 2 books. Do you know you gotta clear your fines before you can borrow? I was amazed it took NLB so long to come up with the idea.

Now, I've got 2 books to tide me through the rainy season. Pure bliss :)