Twinhead, My Queen Isabella de Castile

The time I noticed Dollie was hunting for a new laptop, I quickly buzzed her in skype to ask about the FB "rumor." It turned out that she was getting a new laptop and I... happened to be hunting for one.

Yeah, the truth is my Twinhead has stuck with me for almost 4 years and I thought it is time that she breakdown needed a break. She was a tough cookie. Credit goes to the one who raised her to tough it out! Yet, she suffered acute neurologic injuries during her middle age and slowly the condition led to metabolic abnormalities.

As severe as it may sound, she was only hospitalized once, recuperated and was all well again for several months until she contracted prolong fever that I could barely lay my wrist on her without a towel lay in between us. It was and still is a sad thing for both of us but eventually we both learned to live with it. Then came the time when her immune system failed. I tried to boost back by giving her intramuscular injection but it didn't help much as she continues to be susceptible to other infections.
Ah, my heart grew weary and thought, maybe it is really time to let go. As the thought sunk into me, I started to cherish my time whenever I am with Twinhead. It is like we both know that the time for her to be "released" (read The Giver to understand this) is soon. So soon that lately she has been giving me countless weird signs as if she approved of my thought of getting a new replacement. Dilemma spells all over my head right now and seriously I still don't have a specific prospective in mind. I did thought of the community's big rival--MAC but nah, maybe not until I erase all the don'ts I have been fed with.
So here's Dollie making a purchase and I stood behind the camera--jealous! Well, I was not the only one, Nok was jealous too, haha! It could be hunger that shoved us to envy but thank goodness the lovely food at Kobune managed to tone those feelings down. Fortune Tower is quite a good place to go for a change. The outdoor furniture they had on I don't know what floor it was, seemed to be classic! Hobbit and I should definitely visit again and this time, for camera accessories!

当我们不在一起

作词:苏儿真 作曲:苏儿真

不拥抱现在 只和过去跳舞
我把心情留在1999
当时太年轻 不懂得分享
对彼此的依赖和期待
事到如今 可以不用去担心
爱多少才让人放心
当我们不在一起 不在一起 在一起
思念让我们的距离变得那么近
想起过去的委屈都是甜蜜
当时太年轻 不懂得分享

Michael Yon's Analogy

I am a fan of Michael Yon's work on the current crackdown in Bangkok. Due to his enormous experience as a combat journalist who watched soldiers and police very closely in numerous war zones , he now has his own analogy as he watches the Thai army and police.

Quoted from his facebook status he said "When I am in wars, I watch the soldiers and police very closely. I have watched American, British, Iraqis, Afghans, Nepalis and many others. Now I watch the Thai Army and police. When I am in Thailand or India, I also like to watch elephants. People who drive elephants in India are called “mahout” and in Thailand “...kwan chang.” The elephants and kwan chang remind me of the government and the people. The government is the kwan chang. The kwan chang is not really in charge. There is only an illusion that the kwan chang is in charge. All Thai people know what happens when the chang changes his mind. The chang is always in control and this is why I always watch the kwan chang (government) to see how it treats the elephant."

A few hours after, he posted on FB that he got this cartoon sent to his email which I thought "pretty much" portrayed Michael's analogy and a clever one indeed, don't you think so?

Hey Michael, appreciate the news and pictures update! :)

May 19th Bangkok

The crackdown in Bangkok today is one of the worst and sure enough those of us here are living in history. State of Emergency was declared from 8pm to 6am tomorrow morning and supermarkets, shopping malls and so the like ran out of supplies due to residents stocking up. Not to mention many of the banks, supermarkets like 7-Eleven, Center One and the second largest shopping mall is S. E Asia, Central World are on fire. Protesters, soldiers, journalists and civilians/innocent people got killed due to Bangkok being on the brink. It is a ghost town out there as Hobbit and I peeked through our apartment window. Residents are being threatened with electricity, water and phone cut offs yet my unlocked phone and everything is still running perfectly.

If you are reading this and are following the situation here in Bangkok, please pray that God will restore peace to this city again soon. For Hobbit and I, we choose to claim Psalm 62 and Psalm 64 as we continue to pray for this country.

Psalm 62:
¹ My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

² He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

³ How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

⁴ They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah

⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God ;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah

⁹ Lowborn men are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie;
if weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.

¹⁰ Do not trust in extortion
or take pride in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.

¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,

¹² and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.

Psalm 64:

¹ Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint;
protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

² Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from that noisy crowd of evildoers.

³ They sharpen their tongues like swords
and aim their words like deadly arrows.

⁴ They shoot from ambush at the innocent man;
they shoot at him suddenly, without fear.

⁵ They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;
they say, "Who will see them ?"

⁶ They plot injustice and say,
"We have devised a perfect plan!"
Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

⁷ But God will shoot them with arrows;
suddenly they will be struck down.

⁸ He will turn their own tongues against them
and bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.

⁹ All mankind will fear;
they will proclaim the works of God
and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰ Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD
and take refuge in him;
let all the upright in heart praise him!

Memories Linger

"I am looking for a good wrinkle remover!" A sentence I can't believe came from me to an ex-classmate. Reminiscing our younger days made both of us felt like 15 again and as if there wasn't any gaps in between now and then.

We found ourselves finding each other in St. Martin (one of my former high school) again busy with projects and assignments that needed to be submitted the next day. The back then shy me replayed and I was walking along the Tingkatan 3 walkway and Marcelinus, a great admirer of mine, dashed like hurricane standing by the door, whistling and calling my name repeatedly as I quickly find my way to the restroom which was behind the building. All of a sudden I found myself sitting in Cikgu Larry's class for Geography and he was handing back our notebook. As he called my name, he immediately wore a smile saying "Cik Amy, amoi kelas 3 kuning, sila ambil buku anda!" The class was filled with laughter as I slowly walked towards the teacher's desk and in silent-anger took my book and sat down.

Someone was watching all this and I just knew last week that this particular ex-classmate of mine has his own similar replay that totally has me in it. I was glad he walked me through the replay himself and it was much better than mine. Thank God for Facebook on this one. :)

I Admire You, Sara Sidner!

Picture taken from CNN.

Bangkok at Boiling Point

Twitter is obviously the fastest way to get updates on what is going on in Bangkok right now. Danger zones have expanded and the number of injured and death is still rising like cupcakes. Many left to a question, when will this come to an end? In my opinion, if the situation was tackled properly by the government the past two months, none of these would happen. I even wonder if school would be open tomorrow but what is clear is that we had too much of a holiday that we really couldn't afford even one anymore. In three weeks time the school year would come to an end, I need to have all my classes so I could fully equip my students for their final exams. If school is going to be closed, what a bummer! Yet it gives me time to do some fat burner reviews, markings and other stuff I needed to catch up badly!

Fingers, Get Workin!

The on and off holidays have trained me to detached myself from the computer and at the same time flashed away my mood of blogging. Honestly I don't feel like updating my blog today but my assignments are piling up and quite a number has the due date spelled today thus left me no choice but to blog and ramble.

I woke up finding myself in the living room this morning heh! We are at Muak Lek, far away from the war zone Bangkok. We had our Malaysian Graduation Potluck, sort of a tradition every graduation day we Malaysians here do for those who are graduating and the highlight is usually the king of fruit --Durians. It's quite not like it without Dr. Chew around this time. Usually he will be friends with those prickly durians, open and shove it to our plates. This time around it was more of a "self-service".

I no no one except two among those Malaysians who are marching for their diploma this morning. So Hobbit and I are quite apidexin lazy to attend today's program. We are planning to leave for Bangkok at 10am in hope that everything will be smooth. Ahh, Bangkok is a ghost city at the moment. We need prayers, thanks.

Very convenient indeed!

I went shopping with Hobbit the other day to one of our favorite supermarket. Actually, we didn't plan to stop by that place if it weren't for the unexpected visit we'll be getting that evening. We noticed that some of the supermarkets around Bangkok doesn't have the same items for their customers. I guess that's why most of the time before we go hunt for our necessities, we kind of discuss with each other whether that item is available in the supermarket that we're heading. Sometimes, we have to drive a bit in order for us to get what we want. It's kind of frustrating sometimes. Right? When the item that we're eying for is not available in the nearest supermarket. Anyway, I'm just glad that here in Bangkok although it's fast paced most of the time, there are a lot of things that we can easily get and go for. And yes, most of the popular supermarkets have reliable POS systems for everyone's convenience.