just minishorts.

Shit happens. All good things must come to an end. No news is good news. It's just too late.

One man's wage rise is another man's price increase. This could get ugly. Our children's future is at stake.

People will vote with their hearts. That's got to hurt.

Let's have some new clichés.

boliao, combination of Hokkien and Mandarin, meaning, 'Completely crap.' crap, English slang for 'Utter Rubbish'.

Oh gosh, it's Monday again!

Don't you just very hate the fact that life can sometimes seem so repetitious? Again and again we sit through repeated days of the week, repeated months… so you sit through Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and then nabeh, it's bloody Monday again.

Damn I fucking hate Mondays, especially when I have to start them off with a stupid debate with another Fundamentalist. This time, it was about Genesis. Metaphorical fable, or historical fact? You tell me. If I choose not to believe it is historical fact, should my faith be questioned? You tell me. Do you truly, truly, believe that God literally, historically, made the Earth in seven days? And if I tell you, that I believe in God but I don't believe in the historical truth of Genesis (along with several other parts of the Old Testament), is my faith questionable?

Damn I should remind myself not to curse so much…KNNCB!! And I was doing such a bloody good job of not cussing summore. Cibai-nya!

The weekend was pretty good. I attended one of the NICEST weddings ever ever ever. It was such a dream. The ceremony at Glad Tidings was just amazing. I was crying twice at the wedding (and I really seldom cry at weddings). The dinner was also fabulous and proof that dream weddings don't have to happen at five star hotels. And especially the part where the guests get to see a recording of the marriage proposal–the groom brought his bride up to Mount Kinabalu just to propose to her (ring and all), and his friends caught the couple (and the crying bride) on video. I saw several women wiping their eyes when the bride said, 'I do I do' in between tears. Wahliew, so touching man.

Eric saw me crying during the video, and he said. 'Wah people go up to Mount Kinabalu to propose, you already cry like this, what am I going to do? This has set the standards. OK I'm going to bring you to Zoo Negara and hide the ring in a pile of elephant dung. Then you'll have to go in and dig it out. Sure cry more than Julia one.'

Spoil-sport.

At the dinner we were served a variety of drinks, and either white or red wine. I wondered which was better to go with Chinese food, so I asked Eric's cousin, 'You know for Western meals, you take red meat with red wine, and white meat with white wine. But what's suitable for Chinese meals like this?'

The bugger told me, 'Rice wine.'

Gah. Might as well not say anything.

Fact: Six degrees of separation indeed! Just months ago I found out that Eric's cousin, Julia, knows James of Loopymeals. And then at the wedding I found out that Eric's other cousin whom I've never ever met before, used to go to school with me–we were in the same Sports House. Then I also met Pooi Ling who was one of Julias mad chi-muis at the wedding. Her sister used to go to university with me eh.

Fact: I do not wear glasses, and I do not need contact lenses. The sparkle in my eyes, hu-hu, is natural, not because I wear a piece of light plastic over my pupils to make them look brighter. Everything about me is au naturale. Even the pimples and freckles.

Fact: I've never ever worn fake lashes before because I don't ever need them. I have my mother's eyes, yeah, and while they're nowhere half as pretty as hers, I think they're perfectly fine. And, hu-hu, of course this line is for fun. Now laugh!

Fact: My hair is not permed. The waves are natural. I don't even have to comb my hair after a bath. It's messy, I know, but my boyfriend loves me for them. And yes, I am already in a relationship, so stop asking.

Fact: For FGA-ers, Yes it was me up on stage during the 1st service yesterday. Yes, the frozen shoulder's no longer frozen. If you want to know what happened during the healing rally, please do mail me. I'll share with you my testimony. Praise God!

This morning I told Eric to cancel any after-lunch appointments in the areas near Jalan Riong. I think it's ridiculous. I mean, come on, everyone has been insulted ever so often, all right? And especially when it comes to religion, come come, Muslims aren't the ONLY prime target all the time, except maybe for now, it does seem that Muslims are the prime target because their predicaments are about the only ones that seem to be highlighted in the dailies worldwide every day.

The last I heard in Church, the pastor was referring to people who worship idols of stone as Satan-inflicted know-nothings who require salvation. While I've come to the point where I agree that if you do comply by the bible, this line probably works and makes reality real for more fundamental X-tians, I'll bet the average Buddhist-Taoist person who wears an amulet of the Goddess Kuanyin around his/her neck will find that pastor's message insulting.

This is almost as ridiculous as the possible scenario of a group of X-tians deciding to demonstrate (peacefully, of course, whoever said anything's going to be violent?) outside The Snake Temple in Penang, or maybe, a group of peace-loving idol-worshippers (let's just group Buddhists, Hindus and Taoists together, shall we?) gathering outside the local Assembly of God to protest against the insulting sermons.

At this rate, EVERYTHING will be insulting. Even this post. Oh dear, what have I done? I'm sorry, really. And maybe, just to be safe, I think I better put a password on this post come the end of today.

The open secret of course is this: no one can insult you unless you allow them to. And nothing, really, is more lamentable than feeling affected and insecure over something that could have been shrugged off as petty.

Was it really an insult? Oh come on. You've just proven the accursed comic strip completely right, grown a mountain out of a molehill, and that, I'm sure, is not the intended outcome of these protests, right?

In an ideal world, we all hope for this to be true: that the pen is mightier than the sword, and those who are able to wield it, only wield and brandish this sword with wise and care.

The sword in the stone, for example, was not drawn by any mere mortal. Arthur was widely acclaimed to be a king and servant-leader who was just, wise yet humble enough to yield his sword with a balanced will of power and servitude.

None of us are mere mortals in this world, and for every one of us, there is a hidden sword within, a skill, that when found, we would be able to use and demonstrate that skill aloud, as allowed. Yes, talent should be honed, and if one can excel at something, due acclaim ought to be accorded. Of course, not everybody is privileged and fortunate enough to retrieve his own Excalibur, which is occasionally double-edged. We acknowledge and celebrate the existence of those fortunate few who stand out. Yes, they do stand out, don't they? And yes, how we celebrate their existence, how gleeful and joyous we are when we speak of the glories and mighty shine of that fabulous, fabulous sword.

And of course, sometimes we lament the discovery of that sword. We know it and feel it, when that the owner of that sword slips and loses his grip. It's worst when the handle becomes slippery just at a time when glory is abound for its owner.

What happens then? We bend, and hide, and sometimes, we run away, because we fear that brandishing sword, now out of control. You never know when you will be beheaded, you see, the blade is careless, it is sharp, so it is essential that we be careful.

And in that moment, sometimes, like now, you wish that that person wasn't allowed to display his skills aloud at first, that you didn't contribute to his glory in the first place. Oh well, alas, what else can we do but hope and pray (of course), that good sense will prevail.

I just thought it's funny how when what we say goes out as offensive and invites violent lashbacks, we go about screaming, 'Damn you, you just violated my freedom to speak!'

And then when someone says something or does something that's offensive to us, we go about screaming, 'Damn you, you just misused your freedom to speak!'

Eh, so which is it now? I'm a bit confused.