Colourful papers

It's a yearly ritual for the Chinese to go the graveyards of their ancestors and/or loved ones. Most of the time, it is a norm to see them cleaning up the graves, do a little sprucing up like painting faded nameplates, sweeping, and then lastly, of course, they will offer prayers before leaving.

What I find interesting and favour the most is the involvement of colour papers here. Once the graves has been cleaned, swept and the weeds cleared, colourful papers will be placed all over the graves. Most of the time, this is tasked to the younger ones. The simplicity of the it and the involvement of colourful papers makes it ideal for the little ones who are eager to pitch in this yearly ritual. They would be able to create their master pieces.

Over at my family, we will normally match at least a couple of colourful papers and use stones to weigh it down on the grave. We would normally be asked to make sure the papers are evenly spread throughout the grave, so that not one side is heavily 'decorated' than the other. I used to really look forward to putting these papers and although I do chip in my share of cleaning up the graves that we visit, I still like this task the most.

I would try as best as I can to lay different colours together, evenly all over the graves. I don't simply choose the different colours but rather try to get matching ones. No specific rules were brought to my attention to say that colours have to be different or matching or you have to put more than a piece at one spot. It is just my own little idiosyncrasy self at work, unstoppable even if I wanted to. Once done, I cannot help but admire it. I would normally take a few steps back, accessing the outcome. Little but totally unnecessary adjustments would be made just to make it looks all right.

This year is no different. You guessed it, I did it in such. I do hope that I will have a chance to do this again next year, and the next. With family.

And yes, I am odd.

creative, innovative, interesting ideas

Creativity is something I don't really have. Yes, some people, I have to admit modestly, think that I possess a certain level of creativity. They often let me handle the creative aspect of things when we are given projects or jobs to carry out. I do what I can do best, bluff my way through the end of the project.

Well, seriously, personally I think I am not creative. I still find it not easy to come up with ideas, not to mention new ones. I struggle to carry out projects as my create juices will just not flow. Given time to search on ideas, I will browse and think and sit on that particular idea for a while, trying to catch any impression that I can get. Then it's innovation time. Doing something about it, tweaking the idea a little, to make it mine.

Honing this skill takes time too. Innovation comes hand in hand with creativity. Maybe you are not creative, but being innovative can safe your skin sometimes. So I do take note and collect ideas as I come across them. And of course, I do try my best to store them, although I think they that they will all be lost in the greying jungle of mine. Here is another creative idea I stumbled upon during my daily exercise routine, net-surfing :

http://runningfromcamera.blogspot.com/

It is a very interesting photography concept and I foresee that I would transform myself in due time to a Cheshire-similar creature and try this out. An idea with lots of potential to be innovated by an un-creative mind. Wish I had thought about doing this before this guy did it, but then again, it's alright, I guess. It is just another interesting way of presenting yourself, all about in this big, wide world.

I (feel) sad, still

It was an outcome I had predicted. A reaction not so much alien nor surprising to me. Yet, somehow, it affected me deeply. In that short space of time, I could sense that my nonchalant mood plummeted, reaching almost rock bottom.

[Blame me for being un-single. Blame me for not being able to feel comfortable around everyone. Blame me for being a chicken. Blame me for the high wanting of not troubling people. Blame me for insisting on proving that I can do it on my own although I lack the communication skill. Blame me for being a girl. Blame me for .....having a courages episode, leading to all these]

Those thoughts swirled through my head. Grey. I could feel the greyness growing bigger and stronger, swirling faster with each passing second. I felt strained and agitated. The brewing thunderstorm in my head made it difficult for me to calm down. It was late, and after so many days, this was the night that I should end early for the next day was to start early and on time.

Eventually, a not too short time later, I guessed I must have fallen asleep. But not before being thrown words that indirectly labelled me unreasonable and selfish. I left the day unhappy. I right now have the autonomy to do what I want. I felt sad. I (feel) sad, still.

Brio

Interest

Keenness

Enthusiasm

Ardent

Hunger

Eagerness

Relish

Exuberance

Intensity

Craze

Obsession

Motivation

Ebullience

Canvas

Wonder when will I start making my face the canvas to practise for that special kind of paint consistently, professionally? Another year has led to another year and to yet another year. The numbers have been climbing, the lines have been appearing, elasticity has been declining, yet I've not started to nurture this side of my (artistic) talent.....

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...

Misadventure with Teddy of Hallmark

A revelation today on Teddy. Not just any Teddy, but the world-loved Teddy Bear. A great big extended family Teddy has, and while all members share the same name, not everyone of them are of the same clan, if I may use the word.

Now, pardon me for my nonchalant behaviour but I've never really bothered to give Teddy a home. The only Teddy I have was a present, I believe, given when I was too young to remember. Never really got spun under Teddy's charming spell. Plus, couldn't really see the long term benefit of having Teddy.

Today, I found out, finding a Teddy of a certain specific clan, can be a very frustrating experience.

Wonderful Guy's friend, upon hearing that I would be crossing the border soon to be nearer to them, had placed a request. Yes, you guessed it. Finding Teddy for him.

However, Teddy must come from a well-loved family, which, unfortunately, although very popular over there in the continents where more gold-haired and copper-haired people call home, over here, it is difficult to find. Oh, googling to find out where this family digs over here, yielded nothing helpful. Wonderful Guy had remembered, though, in his rounds in the city in the past, came across one of their dwellings in a shopping mall nearby and suggested that I take a look there.

Well, that information on hand, I had again, checked online but to no avail. That was yesterday. And today, I got a wonderful idea of dropping by another shopping mall, with hopes that they might, bless me, house wanted Teddy's family. Now, this was a split second decision made quite late in the afternoon. So, drove there, I did, hopeful that for one, Teddy is there, and secondly I can make it back before the rush hours starts.

Unlucky me, I had to get a little lost before able to find myself in the shopping mall. Darn! Lucky me, Teddy's family's house is there. One of the only two in the country. Unlucky me, they do not have the ones I were looking for. Now comes the funniest yet most frustrating part. Well, it was established that they did not have the Teddies that I was looking for. However, they do have other Teddies, one almost similar and the rest were quite sweet-looking.

Since those Teddies are not for me, naturally it was not for me to make the decision on if the sweet Teddy or the most similar Teddy can replace the ones that I were looking for. Well, describing something is totally different sharing the picture, the next thing that I wanted to do, after a short discussion with Wonderful Guy, was to capture the photos of those Teddies.

Here, I made a mistake. Normally, me being me, I would not have asked for any permission if I wanted to capture any photo in stores. Not too sure though what was different today, but I did ask. This was the where all the headache started. My request was refused. Ok, fine. What about brochures or catalogs, do you have them? No, we don't, came the answer. Oh, ok. My surprise was not feigned. Seriously. Hhhmmmm...what about code? Perhaps if I can get the code, I can check online. Wait do you have them online? Well, I am not sure, you can check. Oh my! I am suppose to check? So can you check now? If you have the pictures of these Teddies online? Sorry, we can't. Eyes rolling already.

But it's not for me, I'm buying it for my friend, I tried again. If you want, maybe you can get your friend to come over another time to take a look? But you don't understand, my friend will not be able to come, he is overseas right now, I tried to persuade. An indifferent look came back. Just one picture for all, I tried to push my luck. Sorry, no, you can't. But you don't have a catalog and you are not sure if they are online, how am I suppose to them to my friend? I could feel myself getting a little flustered. Saying it out loud like that made me feel that they were just being unreasonable. Just one? My last attempt was answered with a negative.

Ok, whatever. It's your loss then. Wonderful Guy's had wanted to get four of them. Your loss. My frustration. My closest moment of owning not just one Teddy but four of them, even a temporary ownership, did not materialized. That sums up my misadventure with Teddy today. Sorry, Teddy of Hallmark. You stay there, service not granted. Blame your caretaker, the sales personnel. Luckily, traffic back was smooth.

The real deal

I know I should have asked to clarify things.

Yet I didn't, for my grey cells thought, the original person was not there today.

Clarification would be just your word against the present person.

Will it make a difference?

Personally, like I mentioned, it would only be my word against hers.

But yes, perhaps I should drop by another day to catch hold of the original sales person that spoke to me.

Perhaps then I would be able get my questions ironed out and the shop would be able make things crystal clear.

And better still, maybe I can coerce a poor soul do some undercover sleuthing for me.

Get the information that I want without me sounding a little too pushy or calculative.

Hahaha... kidding. That would be a little over the top.

But then again, maybe not.

After all, the extras were the pull that brought me in there again this afternoon.

So maybe they do owe me an explanation.

And I am entitled to a clearer picture of their deals.

The March March has started!

Hooray! Hooray!

The March March has started!

This puny brain,

Has finally arouse!

Hooray! Hooray!

The March March has started!

The lazy bug,

Have been squished and squashed!

Hooray! Hooray!

The March March has started!

The maiden post,

The start of the new year boom!

Hooray! Hooray!

The March March has started!

This puny brain,

Has finally arouse!

3rd scoop to the Bucket

It's going to be the third shop, I hope, to give me a nonobligatory quotation.

And really, I really, really pray hard that the numbers that they present will fall into the same range as the two before.

Not that the figures given by the first two were anything affordable.

So anything higher than that would definitely ballooned up my two tiny eyes.

Furthermore, I have high hopes for this third shop as when I went over the initial walkabout, the salesperson there had not failed emphasize that they are currently having a promotion and are including quite a few items for free in their package.

However, prices aside, those salespersons cum designers are really friendly and helpful.

My level of knowledge was zero, totally devoid of basic information even.

Right now, I can safely say that with the much explanation and answers from them all, perhaps my bucket of knowledge on this has been filled up a little, at least 20%.

Yeah, unless of course, I have been bluffed.

Let's just see.

Getting the done, un-done

My big younger brother just left for his studies, not less than a week ago, and already, tons of conversation has been flying back and forth between the both of us. Mind you, this is not his first time out and another thing is that we are never that conversational type, our family. So, you guessed it, something cropped up the minute he landed in his new territory.

My first reaction when he sent me that word was, 'huh, what does it mean?'. When I got the meaning, I felt odd. Oh well, that is another story altogether. Anyhow, he needed to get something, a proof of service, from back home, but so unfortunate of him, he had just, right before he left, cancelled that very thing that proves he has that service. So right now, he is caught. He can't move forward without it, yet to get it un-cancelled here, his signature is needed. And of course, as always, you can never get a done thing un-done immediately. Give and take about two weeks is needed, one week, if you are lucky, that was what I was told when I helped him check it up.

I have started the ball rolling on the best path as possible right now to help him get what he needs. The rest, as they say, we will have to wait and see. Monday is the magic day, for Monday determines how far the ball can roll and how smooth the path the ball may roll upon. I foresee, it will gather lots of moss but it can roll far and reach it's destination.

Well, lesson learned from this episode. Maybe it's looks very useless and wasteful, but let it be, at least for the moment. Perhaps, it will show its worth in due time. Hopefully. Else, only then, it can be discarded. Not before. Flexibility and walking around the bend are not the trend of sales/services here.

Chronicles of 2010 has begun!

Hey there!

It's almost a four-months lapse since my last post.

A new year has begun... Happy (belated) New Year!

Another new Chinese New Year celebration has come and gone, with the fearsome Tiger taking over the hardworking Cow... Happy (belated) Chinese New Year! Roarrrr!

A new chapter opened, and just closed recently...oh, well, I will be back, sure of it, Boss!

A whole pot of new, spicy friends to add to the good, old ones... It's my pleasure to know all of you!

A whole bunch lovely kids, a handful but sweet...Nice to know all of you, you sweet, little kiddos!

New headaches lead to new discoveries...*blink*blink* I want all, may I?

New self-imposed deadlines created new level of stress yet it's liberating my mind, so many wonderful, beautiful things in this world I found... *blink*blink* ka-ching*ka-ching* if only I have the money and the skill and the expertise and the time and ..... a free-reign?

All rights, this is the first of the coming many.

Chronicles of 2010 has begun!

All the best, all the better(s), all the wonderful(s), all the happiness, I wish for myself, my loved ones, my kind, my friends, my circles of (un)influence!