When my brother makes me want to kick a puppy or something.

Arrrgh. Okay. my brother is an idiot. How hard can it be to manage basic finances?!?!?! Seriously, he's 26 and isn't responsible enough to keep track of his finances or even keep his priorities straight. I don't understand ppl who think that whenever they have some extra cash, they should blow it on unnecessary and often expensive items. This seriously frustrates and stresses me out when I have to think about it. My sis and I have come to the conclusion that I will never be able to share a place with my brother without her or someone else playing interference since certain aspects of his personality drives me bonkers and will probably lead to fratricide or at least a lot of broken crockery since I will need something to chuck at him. I honestly think I will hit him with a rolled up newspaper (like i've seen people do with bad puppies) if he continues this way.

I really am quite fond of him but high school ended a loooooong time ago and he needs to realize that. He's 26 and should have grown up years ago. I truly hope he does because he can't rely on everyone else forever.

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And the madness starts.

I was up researching funerals till like 4.30 am before having to head up to Marin to take care of the funeral arrangements....well, to get them started at the least. I'm officially googled/researched out in terms of funeral prep.

What did I learn?

Well, there's a crap load of different caskets (btw, did you know Costco and Wal-mart sell caskets??), there are waaay too many components to planing a funeral and I'm probably going to get fleeced in the process (reality check, I officially know that we ARE getting fleeced!) since funerals.....are crazy expensive!!! WTF man. Expenses for American burials are astronomical compared to other countries. I really hope my dad's sibs don't back out on their part of the cost cos if they do, we're screwed. They want most of the works so it's close to $10 000!! OMG. WTF BBQ !?! I'm obviously in the wrong business.

Anyway, talked to the funeral director, the cemetery ppl and picked up grandpa's stuff from the nursing home. Now all I gotta do is confirm the arrangements, inform and coordinate with my dad and his sibs about the arrangements and costs, hopefully get the money transferred asap, get documents signed, close accounts, set a date, etc. Gah. I've got a really bad headache. Sigh.

highlight? sibling bonding time - my sibs and I went to watch Sherlock Holmes (which was pretty good) and had dinner up in Marin while we waited for rush hour to end.

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Oh crap. Talk about bad news.

I just got a phone call from a second cousin about my grandpa passing away :( This kinda sucks and makes me feel guilty since we haven't been up to Marin to see him in a while and I was just thinking of going up there and dropping in. crap.

Truthfully, I think I feel even worse that I'm not more broken up about it. Maybe I'm emotionally retarded or I'm just cold like that. I dunno. I suppose it's more the fact that we never really got to know him. Before coming to the states for uni, we only saw him once when I was 9. Although, out of all the grandkids I've probably had the most contact with him since we did share a house for a few months when I lived in Marin and I did make an effort to see him every few weeks when he got admitted into the nursing home. I think it's sad that he died alone and I feel very bad that it happened that way. No one, no matter how much people dislike them, should have to die alone. Uncle Ray probably knew since he's the attending physician but he probably thought we didn't care and couldn't be bothered to see him before he passed away. I feel he should have called us and allowed us to make that decision when Grandpa got admitted to the hospital and then later on, the hospice since hospice care is usually the time to call in family to see them for the last time. Whatever it is, grandpa has passed away and I'm going to make sure that things go right for him now. Sigh.

Since I'm the one who's been here longest, I'm automatically the person in charge; representing my dad since he won't be able to be here for the funeral. What the heck do I know about death and funerals?!? I've only ever been to one and we weren't related. I've been googling funerals, their costs, procedures and all that. I had to call my dad, mom and my dad's sibs, Uncle Raymond and Aunty Florence. Honestly, I dunno how much they care. My family is very dysfunctional. On both sides. How we got this lucky in the family lottery, I will never know but I can't help being wistful about the great relationships my friends have with their own families. My sis was just commenting on how ppl usually only have shitty relationships with one side of the family while the other is normal but somehow, we have crappy relations on both sides. It's part of why we're so determined not to let that happen to us. We'll see how this goes but I have a feeling it's going to be fairly trying to sort stuff out especially going in blind like this. I guess I'm just going to hope for the best and get all the advice that I can.

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The madness that is December

Hmm. It's been awhile but my comp wouldn't let me access my account, something about cookies and java and whatever. Who knows what it's trying to tell me, I don't. But I just got a new computer, (well, second hand from my sister's Singaporean boss but who cares because it costs me $350! and is barely a year old! and it has wireless internet access and did I mention $350?!?) so, updates galore!

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My neighbours.

Two posts? One after the other? What?

Yeah. I was going to sign off but my neighbours were acting up and I thought I'd talk about them since we have been living here for the past 5 months or so. The title brings back memories of elementary school. You know, when you had to write about dumb things - my pencil, my pet, my family, my blahblahblah. *wistful look* Those were the good ole days :)

Anyway, we don't really know our neighbours since they mostly stick to themselves BUT, there are two who really stick out. The first is our next door neighbour. They're an older couple, probably retired. I've seen the old man but never talked to him. His wife however, is that well-meaning, nosy old woman ever neighbourhood has. Flora's real nice but we secretly call her the crazy old cat lady. Two reasons. The first being that she came over and introduced herself like five times and didn't seem to remember that she had already done it the first few times. And secondly, she always calls out for her cats when it's time to feed them. Apparently, one is named Rocky and the other Lucky. Before we knew this, we wondered why she kept shouting for so long. It makes more sense to know that she's calling for two of them. I don't know what she thinks it'll do to call for them since they're not dogs but like clockwork, the call comes three times a day in shrill tones so loud it wakes us up. Annoying, but somewhat endearing too :)

It seems that some of the other neighbours think so too. Without the endearing part. My sibs told me about another one of our neighbours bitching her out. Seriously, it's just a few minutes worth of annoyance a couple times a day. Let the old lady do whatever she wants. I seriously can't believe she yelled at Flora. Both my sis and I think she's a real ass.

Which leads me to the second set of neighbours we kinda know. We share a house with this young couple. We have the front part, they have the back. Separate entrances and everything so we're all good. Uhh...not really. It might just be that our part of the property was vacant for quite a while so they've never really had to practice being good neighbours but they kinda suck at it. The guy's alright. If we see him, we usually exchange nods and a hello. It's the girl who is the problem. She's the one who was mean to Flora and she's quite rude. She also likes to get drunk and start fights with her boyfriend. It's really lovely since we can always hear their arguments complete with slamming doors, obscenities and (according to my sis) loud make-up sex - day or night. There is also the tendency to play loud music (like right now which prompted this post) on weekdays epsecially till about 4 am on Monday nights. I realize the walls are pretty thin but it can get pretty annoying (like right now) when they play clubbing music (the same three songs over and over again) so loudly that the floors and walls vibrate with the beat and I feel like I'm in a club despite being in the living room with the tv on.

I'm not sure if it is my own bad luck or the fact that the houses here seem to be made out of paper and fluff but I always end up hearing more than I ever need or want to know. Ahh, what I wouldn't give for a solid brick house with real walls and no possibility of hearing the neighbours go at it.

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i saw boobies! and my professor. But not together!

Van's debut in the world of burlesque was interesting. I have to admit that I didn't really get to see most of it since I was trying to make sure I got it all on video but after reviewing the vid, I think it's hilarious :) There was stripping, boobies, feather boas, tassels, overeager co-performers, great hair and a close call when she nearly tipped over taking the panties off. haha. it was brilliant! I can't wait for the solo. Seriously, burlesque was made for this girl. As for me, the classes sound tempting but I don't think I'd have the balls for it; I'll stick with bellydancing, thank you very much.

I also managed to track down a professor of mine for reccomendation letters and advice. I was super worried about it since one of my applications is due in about a month and I hadn't heard back from her. To my relief, it wasn't because she hates me (which scares me since she may look like a sweet little old grannie but I know that she is/can be a fierce alpha female with slightly evil tendencies if crossed). As it turns out, it was all a misunderstanding - she put it in her 'recs to write' folder but forgot to reply to my email and set up an appointment. I ended up waiting a reeeaaaaallly long time to see her but it was worth it since I managed to get her undivided attention for an hour and a half and almost everything is squared away now. Man, I have never ever met with a professor for that long. And to my utter surprise, I was super comfortable talking to her the entire time. Which is a good thing since I am pretty much terrified of her and am always surprised by the fact that she even recognizes me. Haha.

My sis left for NY today to spend the week with some friends before they graduate and go home. Not fair. *looks wistful* I wanna see the east coast too! I made her cookies to take on the flight (yes, I am an auntie) and even though I know she'll give me sad, disappointed looks for making yummy things when she's not here, I'm itching to bake something, anything! Especially with thanksgiving approaching soon. We'll see what happens.

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The longest commute ever!

It takes me 45 mins to get to work if I have the car. Today, with the help of the great public transport system the bay area boasts, it took me 4 HOURS!!!!!!! I can't believe it took me 4 hours! 2 buses, the bart, another bus and then the drive home. Gah! I usually like the public transportation system here (I sometimes like to extol it's virtues) since the one back home is total rubbish but now, it has failed meeeee. *pouts* That and I froze at work today. Digging in a trench when winter is coming sucks (even with 5 layers on).

So now I'm gonna go console myself with some pineapple tarts we made during the weekend.

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oh halloween weekend. so uneventful.

Basically, the GREs were kinda crap. My amazing procrastination skills meant that I ended up with 2 days worth of studying and last minute cramming. Urm. Lo and behold, I find out that it actually takes more than that to do extremely well on them. Can't say that the results were what I wanted (when I slept for part of the cramming, I dreamt of scores well into the high 700's) but I ended up doing fairly well. I guess. Apparently the essay results come 10-15 days after the test. If I score high enough on them, I'ma gonna keep the scores. If not, I might be tempted to try it again only because I'm freaking out about what a couple of professors told me about admissions. Gah. It'll pass but right now, I'm a little distracted by visions of my applications being rejected because my score wasn't high enough especially since so many more ppl are applying for grad school these days. That and my professors have gone MIA online. I may have to go up to campus and hunt them down like a creepy, desperate stalker in order to get my recommendations written in a timely manner.

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. I purposely took the GREs on Friday because I thought I would be playing in a rugby 10's tournament the next day. I figured I might as well take it before in case of a concussion or some other injury that would most probably produce even crappier scores. To my dismay, I find out the week of that I need proof of health insurance. It makes sense and all but I don't have health insurance right now since America is messed up and refuses to make it possible for most people to get insurance without paying an arm and a leg (and possibly my first born child) for the most limited service they can provide. Seriously. I worked in a medical clinic for a couple of years. I know first hand how much joy they take in rejecting claims and procedures. So, I didn't end up playing and instead sat at home in my suburban neighbourhood waiting to give out candy to kids who never showed up. yeah. So now I also have lots of candy I do not want to eat. Meh. My brother thinks it's because we didn't decorate the yard with coffins and pumpkins and have lights leading up to our door. Well, someone should have told us! But then again, after watching CSI, Criminal Minds, Law and Order, etc, I wouldn't really want my kids getting candy from strangers either. So, the only solution I can think of is to slowly feed the 5-10 pounds (I think it was 5 lbs) of candy to my sister :) That or do the old ppl thing and just give it out next year....which is pretty gross if you think about it. We might be better off with the first option. Unfortunately, feeding my sister candy will lead to conversations about fatness and muffin topping like this one:

my sis: ......fat ler ...need to go jogging soon. Wanna go with me tomorrow?
me: ...errrr.... (*huffs* she should totally be aware of my aversion to running of any kind unless it is to chase after a ball or food)
my sis: Look, I've got a permanent muffin top.
me...huh?? No such thing la! Since when are muffin tops permanent? It's cause your jeans are too tight, dumbo.
My sis: *pulls open her jeans top* No. See. I muffin top even without jeans.
me: that means your underwear is too tight. Do you muffin top when you're not wearing anything?
my sis: huh??? *looks at me like i'm mentally deficient*
me: look, if you go in the bathroom and you're not wearing anything, and you don't muffin top, then it's not permanent. *is pleased with self for (what seems like) logical explanation*
my sis: *stares harder at me* .....

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bah.

I guess today doesn't really qualify as terrible or horrible but it definitely was a no good, very bad day.

For some reason, I was a few minutes late for work even though I left at the usual time. This was followed by a day of cold winds (of course I left my extra jacket at home) and sheets of sand blowing in our faces (which I later brought home in my ears, hair and clothes). I was also late for practice since I managed to get lost in Palo Alto (how? I will never know. Especially since I've been to the field more times than I can remember!). Then I find out that two days of digging in a trench and pretending to be a contortionist should not be followed by rugby practice. Because if it hurt before, it hurt even more after. Not good.

But the pilsbury dough boy and my sister made it all better. I think it's cute when he gets poked in the tummy and giggles in the ads. And my sister always looks at me then giggles just like him. Usually when I poke her in the tummy too. Did I mention that tv is now a good friend of mine?

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The calm before the storm

So, quick sum up of the last two weeks:

Van had a party and since it was an open event on facebook, lots of random weirdos came. Needless to say, they'll never do anything of that sort again. Shitty lesson to learn but it was interesting. As much as I dislike them, parties with random people are the best for people watching! Like that one girl who thought it was fine to bring people she just met at happy hour (and boy, was there a jerk in that group) or the two 'yellow fever' dudes who creeped out every girl at the party (there wern't all that many, surprise sausage fest that it was). They pissed the hell out of me and I still get upset whenever I think about it. They tried out some Malay on me (which is pretty typical when someone knows a smidgen of the foreign language you speak) and instead of hearing the usual pick up lines or greetings, one guys says some rude words and then makes a big fuss when I pretend to not know what he's saying. I don't care where you're from, what you do or who you are; it is NEVER alright to say the words for circle jerk or masturbate in the language of the person (esp. a girl) you've met like five seconds ago. Not impressed, I ran away and hid behind scrawny engineers the rest of the night. Oh, yeah, and that one dude who tried to eat my food once the party died down and the munchies hit. Not cool. Nevertheless, it was loads of fun and some great realizations came out of it. There were more but the only one I can remember is:

'Everyone who goes into Van's room comes out sluttier.' *nods fervently* Proven fact.

That and the fact that JK, despite being an engineer, can't properly navigate using a GPS device.

Apart from that, there's been lots of lazing around. I think I may be sick of it now (prolly the cabin fever kicking in). I feel restless and can't enjoy the indulgence of doing nothing but eat, sleep and watch tv...and that's just sad (my number 1 back up plan of becoming a tai-tai is looking less peachy right now. Give me a couple hours of hard labour and I'm sure it'll be back up there soon :D). This is what unemployment does to a person.

On the bright side, I'm going through more of my junk and getting rid of more stuff. Mostly books and such. I can't believe how many (non academic) books I've managed to accumulate in the few years I've been here. All my stuff fits into two suitcases and something like ten boxes. Seven of which were full of books and heavy to boot! It's good news though since it means I'm not a hoarder = no reality tv interventions for me :) Did I mention I've been watching too much tv?

In order to elevate the boredom, I've been cooking a lot more. But because of the enormous sweet tooth I have, it's mostly been sweet stuff - mooncakes, leng chi kang, apple crumble, etc.
I even made my brother brownies for his birthday! Urm...the icing job was sad tho. pics coming shortly!

The weather probably has something to do with the extra cooking too. It's been pretty cold and overcast these last few weeks and it even rained for a day and a half. I love rainy days! It's awesome getting to sleep in when it rains :) I get the urge to stay home and bake. My sister says I should just cook for a living and Van calls me a suburban housewife but I don't think it would work out - I'd get diabetes.

But, I may have spoken too soon. Those boring, lazy days are ending this week :( I got a call from my boss today. Apparently work is still going on at the site and they found two more burials. So, I'm employed for the first part of next week. Yay money! Not so yay for the commuting and early hours.

Also, we're having extra practice next week in preparation for the tournament.

And to top it all off, I registered for the GREs sometime last week and picked October 30th for my test date. I just looked at the calender. I've got exactly seven days to start studying!!!!! Crap. I am soooooo screwed.

After showing concern about my ability to cope with the craziness that next week is going to be, my sister, in a burst of optimism, told me that at least I can now afford to retake the test if I fail. urm. thanks. I think.

AAAAAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Moral of the story? Procrastination kills. Or maybe damages you a little bit. And works with karma to mess with my life.

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Rant: Some people make me so mad!! Grrr

My sis recently went out to a club with some of her coworkers to celebrate a birthday. Here's the thing though; I really don't like her manager - I think she's flaky, selfish, lazy, dumb and someone who creates unnecessary drama. And I've only said hi to her in passing. Once.

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Malaysia, oh Malaysia.....sigh....

Recently, a friend of mine put up a link to this youtube video that had me cringing. (I'm not gonna put a link up here cos I suck at things like that. Go google it you lazy bums!) It is an interview with Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 - JoannaBelle something or other. Seriously, watch it. I particularly like the version with subtitles. I just can't believe they picked this person to represent my country! It finally makes sense why I get comments like:

"Wow." *shocked look* "You speak really good English."

"So, where did you learn/how long have you been speaking English?"

"Wait, you're not from America??"

"Malaysia eh, do you guys still live in trees?"

"Malaysia? Where in China is that?"

Watching the clip, I am quite tempted to tell them that we are indeed a small province in Southern China. Hah. Also, one of her answers has pushed me into a self-doubting abyss where I now question my identity since I didn't know we had ower 50 tribes.... *wails* which one is mine?!? How will I define myself now??

No, seriously. I'm being a little dramatic and sarcastic there but I've actually been trying to figure out the whole tribe thing (she must have gotten it somewhere) and it's been bugging me since I heard it. Anyone have an answer?

On the bright side, representatives from other South East Asian countries are just as bad or even worse than JoannaBella :) I can honestly say that (even though I'm not all that nationalistic) this is one loss to Singapore that Malaysia does not mind. In the category of "I can't believe this idiot is representing my country," Miss Singapore World 2009, Ris Low, wins.

Okay, I'm done with my little PMSy rant.

Here's a little something to break up an otherwise monotonous week:

Just the other day, I randomly got in touch with my inner teapot while cooking dinner and so, I performed the "little teapot dance" for my sister. Twice. *grins* I thought it was great! She.....wasn't so impressed...haha.

my sis: *shakes head and sighs like I have no hope/will remain a "special" child forever*
"Is this what you do everyday when we're not at home??"
me: errr......no lah. *insert sheepish laughter*
my sis: Don't lie. You know you do it. You probably practice it.
me: eh, where got. *does a weird little monkey dance in front of the tv*
my sis: oi! don't dance! The neighbours will see you! Crazy!

hahahahahaha....I love utterly random insanity! :)

Btw, dinner was a little burnt but I managed to salvage it with my awesomeness :):)

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Hopefully this one stays

First post! I never know what to say in the first post. But then again, first anythings are usually awkward....especially for me :)

Life is or was kinda hectic but it's starting to slow down now. I'm not sure if I should be grateful for the lull or not. Whatever it is, it seems as though a couple of my new year's resolutions are finally going to be implemented; among them, updating the blog regularly. We'll see.

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