Month: November 2021

November 30, 2021
Drama/Health/Kids

A splashquatch.

After many years of saying that I would send the children for swimming lessons, I finally signed them up with Swimin12 at PJ Palms Sport Centre.

Yesterday was the first of 12 paid lessons following which I am guaranteed that they would be able to swim. If they can’t, they will continue to receive free weekly lessons for up to a year. I am hopeful that by the end of 6 months they will be my little water babies. Knowing my kiasu kids, they will be able to at the end of 3 months.

Coach Sabrina said that they were comfortable, confident and able to do more than expected of first timers at their trial class. This is despite our very infrequent visits to a proper pool.

Anyway during their trial class, I decided to swim when they have classes as opposed to scrolling social media by the bench. So I brought my mom yesterday and we both popped into the pool for the swim.

The good thing is that I had energy to swim 1km, the bad thing is that it took me an hour to swim 1km. I can only do the breaststroke and evidently not well. My mom would start laps after me and overtake me! I seriously need to work on my technique because I’m icing my knees even as I blog. 😂

The struggle to lose weight continues, thus the title. I really felt like a wet Sasquatch in the water.

November 22, 2021
Movies

Die Hard? Good. Love Actually? Good. Love Hard? Good!

It’s really tempting to act all culturally superior and denounce Love Hard without even watching it.

After all, it completely comes across as another Netflix cheap shot at milking Christmas rom-com fans BUT this movie is actually good! Or should I say it’s good actually.

I’m not even a Nina Dobrev fan as I never got sucked into The Vampire Diaries. If you wish to indulge in some vampire screen time, your time is far better spent watching True Blood or What We Do In The Shadows.

It’s funny how I didn’t realise how much representation matters. When I first watched Black Panther, I didn’t understand the hype on how important it was to African Americans. Bingeing K-dramas, watching Shang Chi, and now Love Hard has changed that. I complete get now the comfort and reassurance it provides.

November 18, 2021
Drama/Kids

A piano of my own

On a car ride a few years ago, I asked my dad a random question in my usual habit.

“What is the one thing you wish you had learned but didn’t?” His answer was playing the piano.

The Gift.

He was unsurprisingly really happy when the neighbours gave him their Yamaha piano. It was left in their empty house for many years after they moved to a condo and their children migrated.

Seeing the piano, Felix wanted to learn to play. He asked me to download the SimplyPiano app for him. I subscribed for a year on the condition that he would practice whenever he is at Wai Gong and Wai Po’s place.

Felix didn’t break his promise and really impressed me with his progress. I have no idea where his musical gift come from as Jason and I aren’t exactly musically inclined.

The Second Gift.

Eventually, I realised Felix was the only one playing the piano and I asked my dad if I could have it so that Felix could practice more. My dad very sweetly agreed.

Once the piano was in my house, my own suppressed wish to learn the piano came out in full force. I created a profile on SimplyPiano too and starting playing. Every. Day. At least half an hour. I’d play even more if I didn’t live in a terrace house with neighbours I actually liked. Without Felix’s abilities, my lack of rhythm, hand eye coordination, tone deafness has meant slooooooow progress. I really can’t even begin to describe how much joy I feel when I play a song I like. Missed notes or beats be damned.

My joy was unfortunately curbed by the memory of my dad saying he wished had learned to play the piano. I didn’t like knowing my dad didn’t have to option to learn to play cause he gave the piano which was a gift to him to us.

Considering the cost, I couldn’t bring myself to ask Jason for, the ultimate fantasy, a black piano.

See what clear water turned into after the piano tuner was done vacuuming the interior.

The Third Gift.

I am undeniably blessed in many ways because one of my ex-colleagues turned bestest friend heard of my black piano fantasy, and decided to give me hers! A fancy Kawai black piano!

She hasn’t played it since secondary school and has migrated so she offered it to me!

The piano did need some TLC. Both piano tuner and I were shocked at the crud that had collected in there. Haha.

Anyway, my fantasy black piano now sits gloriously at our music area.

November 12, 2021
Drama

Sabar.

On our ROMniversary this year, my weekly cleaner broke the wedding cake topper that I keep as momento.

It was not the first time, so the damage was pretty bad.

Both bride and groom decapitated. Hands and arms broken on each.

Bad omen? I definitely wondered. However, putting it all together again with superglue felt strangely therapeutic.

A reminder that marriage takes work.

Anyway, good as new now.

November 5, 2021
Drama

My mind is a temple.

Well, at least now it is.

On Tuesday night, I had the craziest dream.

I dreamt I was having a face-to-face conversation with a beautiful Beyoncé looking tenant with a full afro. She was moving out and taunting me about not planning to clean the room she rented. I was super certain she had seriously trashed the room.

For some reason, in my dream, I had the guts to tell her to either clean it up or pay the bill for cleaners I would get. Anyone who knows me knows I do not have such guts in real life.

She then made some snarky remark, which I can’t recall now, but I got this huge wave of rage, and I lunged at her with both my hands to choke her neck and I did it IN REAL LIFE too!

So I ended up JABBING some part of Jason who was sleeping next to me!

He naturally “WTF?!”-ed me and I woke up.

I could actually feel my upper body lunging in real life and my nails digging into his flesh!

I apologised to Jason and told him it was a dream. I had to explain I wasn’t attacking him, but doing it to the dream person.

After Jason fell back asleep (really quickly, cause he’s chill like that), I checked the time and it was 2AM.

The terrible Hauntu night dream was about 2:30AM also.

I started to think about how the timing was so similar. Which led me to think that maybe I kena rasuk by an evil spirit out to kacau me, or Jason, or me via Jason since I love him. Let’s just say my mind is able to reach these levels of crazy, haha.

First thing I did on Wednesday morning was to WhatsApp my mom the entire incident hoping she will pray for me. This is why I call myself agnostic and not an atheist despite how often I declare religion is a bane to society.

Bless my mom because she told my dad and both of them called me before noon and offered to take me to temple.

We went all the way to Ampang temple for prayers. Brought flowers and amulets back home to mandi bunga also.

After I did all that, I felt soooooo relieved. The smell of the burnt amulets were soooooo comforting. 😂

I know all this is in my mind, so I’m glad I did all this. Haha.

I. AM. NEVER. VISITING. A. HAUNTED. HOUSE. AGAIN. EVER.

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