Avenue Odd

 

For ye Elizabethan English lovers!

Read this in a book

Take chances, take a lot of them.
Because honestly, no matter where you end up and with whom, it always ends up just the way it should be.
Your mistakes make you who you are.
You learn and grow with each choice you make.
Say how you feel, always.
Be you, and be okay with it.

At this moment i really should be asleep :X

G’Nite world.

 

You see a fabulous girl/guy at a party. You approach them and say, "I’m fantastic in bed."

That’s Direct Marketing.

You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a fabulous girl/guy. You have one of your friends approach them, point at you and say, "She’s/He’s fantastic in bed."

That’s Advertising.

You see a fabulous girl/guy at a party. You approach them to get their telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I’m fantastic in bed."

That’s Telemarketing.

You’re at a party and see a fabulous girl/guy. You get up, straighten your clothes, walk up and pour them a drink. You open the door, pick up their bag after it drops, offer them a ride, and then say, "By the way, I’m fantastic in bed."

That’s Public Relations.

You’re at a party and see a fabulous girl/guy. They walk up to you and say, "I hear you’re fantastic in bed."

That’s Brand Recognition.

The Husband Store

A brand new store has just opened in New York City that sells Husbands.
When women go to choose a husband, they have to follow the instructions at the entrance:

You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are 6 floors and the value of
the products increase as you ascend the flights. You may choose any item
from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you
CANNOT go back down except to exit the building.

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband.
The 1st floor sign on the door reads:
Floor 1: These men have jobs.
The 2nd floor sign reads:
Floor 2: These men have Jobs and Love Kids.
The 3rd floor sign reads:
Floor 3: These men have Jobs, Love Kids and are extremely good looking.
"Wow," she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
She goes to the 4th floor and the sign reads:
Floor 4: These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and help with Housework.
"Oh, mercy me!" she exclaims, "I can hardly stand it!"
Still, she goes to the 5th floor and sign reads:
Floor 5: These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, help with Housework and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the 6th floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6: You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor.
There are no men on this floor.
This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opens a New Wives store just across the street.
The 1st first floor has wives that love sex.
The 2nd floor has wives that love sex and have money.
The 3rd,4th, 5th and 6th floors have never been visited.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally uploaded on January 17, 2008 by nickwheeleroz

Isaac Asimov
(1920-1992) b. Petrovichi, Russia.
(With reference to a correspondent)
The young specialist in English Lit, ...lectured me severely on the fact that in every century people have thought they understood the Universe at last, and in every century they were proved to be wrong. It follows that the one thing we can say about our modern "knowledge" is that it is wrong.

... My answer to him was, "... when people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together."

Isaac Asimov,The Relativity of Wrong, Kensington Books, New York, 1996, p 226. (1)

Fall in love or fall in hate
Get inspired or be depressed
Speak the truth or lie and cheat
Dance on tables or cower in fear
Life, the divine chaos
Embrace it
Forgive yourself.
Breathe..
and enjoy the ride.

have you had your fix today?

This is a piece of work originally published in 1892.
A century and more later, a lot of it holds true yet.
Take some time to finish it, it is a real gem.
Note that it does have obviously chauvinistic overtones since it was written in a time where women were still largely regarded and treated as the fairer sex.

A cynical Frenchman has said, "The woman whom we love is only dangerous, but the woman who loves us is terrible," to which a greater cynic added, "Fortunately she never loves us."

This was more witty than true, for every woman loves, has loved or expects to love some man.

Man has a horror of being loved with a mercenary motive. So great is this horror to-day that it amounts to morbid expectancy. Nine young men out of ten speak of a wife as a possession only to be purchased. But if a man had never been niggardly, woman would never have become mercenary. And mercenary women are few.

Men are far more stereotyped in mind than women. Therefore their ideas regarding the grand passion are more uniform.

While almost every woman likes a dramatic element in a man's love for her, the normal man has a dread of the dramatically disposed woman, especially in the role of a wife. This is the reason we find so many phlegmatic women who are wives. Intensity worries a man unless it is kept well under check, and the tragic he finds insupportable in daily life.

Less romantic than women by nature and with less idealism, yet somewhere in his heart every man hides a dream of that earthly trinity—father, mother and child—in which he imagines himself the chief element.

Sooner or later, to greater or less degree, every man passes through the romantic phase.

Unfortunately for women, his idea of a sweetheart is essentially different from his requirements for a wife later in life.

The average young bachelor is attracted by the girl whom other men admire. He likes to carry off the belle of the season before the eyes of rivals. He is amused by her caprices, flattered by het jealous exactions, and grateful for the least expression of her regard for him. He is lavish with compliments and praise. But sentiment in man—the average man—springs wholly from unappeased appetites. The coveted, but unprocessed woman, can manifest her love for him in almost any manner, and it will be agreeable and pleasing.

Whether she is coy, shrinking, coquettish or playful, demonstrative or reserved, his imagination will surround her with every charm. A man's imagination is the flower of his passions. When those passions are calmed, the flower fades. Once let him possess the object of his desire, and his ideas become entirely changed. He grows critical and discriminating and truly masculine in his ideas of how he wishes to be loved.

We all know the story of the man who compared his courtship to a mad race after a railroad train, and his married life to the calm possession of a seat with the morning paper at hand. He no longer shouted and gesticulated, but he enjoyed what he had won none the less for that.

It was a very quick witted husband who thought of this little simile to explain his lack of sentiment, but there are very few wives who are satisfied to be considered in the light of a railway compartment, for the soul of the wife has all the romantic feelings which the soul of the sweetheart held. It is only the exceptional man (God bless him and increase him! ) who can feel sentiment and romance after possession is an established fact. Unhappily for both sexes, sentiment is just as much a part of woman's nature after she surrenders herself as before.

A well timed compliment, a tender caress given unasked, would avert many a co-respondent case if husband's were wiser.

After marriage a man likes to be loved practically.

All the affection and demonstrations of love possible cannot render him happy if his dinner is not well cooked and if his home is disorderly! Grant him the background of comfort and he will be contented to accept the love as a matter of course.

Grant a woman all the comfort life may offer, yet she is not happy without the background of expressed love.

When men and women both learn to realize this inborn difference in each other's natures and to respect it, marriage will cease to be a failure.

In this, I think, women are ready to make their part of the concession more cheerfully than are the men. Women who loathe housework and who possess no natural taste for it become excellent housekeepers and careful, thrifty managers, because they realize the importance of these matters in relation to the husband's comfort.

But how few men cultivate sentiment, although knowing it so dear to the wife.

Man is forever talking eloquently of woman's sensitive, refined nature, which unfits her for public careers. Yet this very sensitiveness he crucifies in private life by ignoring her need of a different heart diet than the one which he requires.

Wives throng the cooking schools, hoping to make their husband's happier thereby. Why not start a school of sentiment wherein husbands should be coached in paying graceful compliments and showing delicate attentions, so dear to their wives.

A man likes to be loved cheerfully. A morbid passion bores him inexpressibly, no matter how loyal it may be.

He likes tact rather than inopportune expression of affection. He likes to be loved in private, but to be treated with dignity in public. Nearly all women are flattered and pleased if the man they adore exhibits his love before the whole world.

If he defies a convention for their sake, they feel it a tribute to their worth and charm.

I have found this to be true of the most dignified and correct woman. But I have yet to see the man who is not averse to having the woman he loves provoke the least comment in public. He seems. to feel that something is lost to him if the public observes his happiness, however legitimate and commendable it may be.

The woman who is demonstrative when he wants to read, and who contradicts him before people an hour later, does not know how to make a man happy. He is better satisfied to have her show deference to his opinions and suppress her demonstrations if she must choose.

A man likes a woman to show her love in occult ways, to consult his tastes, to agree with him in his most cherished opinions, to follow his counsel and to ask his advice. He will not question her love if she does this. But a woman needs to be told in words how dear she is, no matter what other proofs a man may give.

Yet few men live who do not appreciate a little well timed expression of love, and every man is made happier and stronger by praise and appreciation of the woman nearest to his heart.

The strongest man needs sympathy and is made better by it, though he may not confess it. The tendency of the age is to give all the sympathy to woman, the tendency of woman is to demand all the sympathy. But not until woman sympathizes with man in his battle with the world and himself, and not until man sympathizes with woman in her soul hunger, will the world attain to its best.

It is a queer fact that while women are without doubt the most lovable objects in the world, yet on man is lavished the greatest and most enduring passions.

A great many women go through life without ever having been loved by any man.

I doubt if any man ever reached old age without having been adored by some women.

- End -

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on June 16, 2005 by Dave Ward Photography

Stunningly beautiful picture

Been a while since i last posted anything personal, so here’s a little update.

Recently had a bad infection on my thigh. According to the doctor, it is an abscess and is a moderately common occurrence.

Definition

An abscess is an enclosed collection of liquefied tissue, known as pus, somewhere in the body. It is the result of the body's defensive reaction to foreign material.

So i had to remove it via a minor operation that vaguely resembles excavation work except done with surgical precision (alright, I'm saying that to comfort myself, for all we know, they might have been discussing shoelace colours. Apparently, its a “bread and butter” type operation, according to the good doctor.)

The trip into the operation theatre was one of a kind, it actually does remind me of the countless episodes of ER i had watched in younger, happier days. I was scheduled for general anesthesia. The conversation with the anesthetists (ok i hope i got that right) was short and the only thing i remembered clearly when i was finally inside the operation theatre.

Her: When was your last meal and drink?
Me: 12 Hours ago
Her: Alright, now take deep breaths, this is oxygen. *Proceeds to place an ‘oxygen mask’ on my sorry mug*
Me: (at this point i can’t speak, but my exact thoughts were as such: YEAH RIGHT *scoffs* OXYGEN MAH LILLY ASS) *konks out*

When finally woke up, I was in the recovery room which was absolutely fuckinfreezing. Next morning, when finally fully awake, I realised they had piled 3 blankets on me, and even then, i remember shivering for dear life.

End result, they hollowed out a rough circle in my left thigh about 2 centimeters across and approximately 1.5 centimeters deep. When i was first introduced to it, it was a raw red mess with bits of muscle and fat tissue apparent. Flesh, raw bloody flesh.

Ok too much info.

I’m fine and recovering well for anyone’s who’s concerned, probably be out of action for another week or so and should be alive and kickin’ once more.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally uploaded on April 11, 2008 by Bizarro.

‘Nuff said.

 

A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers.

Engineer: What's with these guys? We must have been waiting for 15 minutes!

Doctor: I don't know but I've never seen such ineptitude!

Priest: Hey, here comes the greenskeeper. Let's have a word with him.

Priest: Hi George. Say George, what's with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow aren't they?

George: Oh yes. That's a group of blind fire fighters. They lost their sight while saving our club house last year. So we let them play here anytime free of charge!

(silence)

Priest: That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.

Doctor: Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist buddy and see if there's anything he can do for them.

Engineer: Why can't these guys play at night?

 

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Uploaded on January 10, 2008 by bread_man_017.

 

please comment!

I would not profess to have visited many restaurants in my short time of existence, but one little question always pops into my mind when i pick up the salt shaker and see grains of uncooked rice in it, mingled into the salt.

At first glance the logical deduction is that the grains of rice, being much larger than grains of salt, would push the salt around so that they would not coagulate and form clumps. Many a times, we (my friends and i) would leave it at that.

So, being the bored student that i am (bored of accounting to be exact), i went and Goggled it to find out if our logical minds served us well.

As it would appear, rice, or starch in general, is a good desiccating agent. It absorbs surrounding atmospheric moisture so that the salt would stay dry and not absorb moisture and clump up. This is a little excerpt of a answer from a professor.

I think both sides of the argument are correct. Indeed, the grains of rice will tend to "knock 
the lumps out of the salt." So would small glass beads. However, the porous starch structure of
well dried rice is also very attractive to moisture by virtue of hydrogen bonds that can form
between water molecules and the -OH groups in the starch matrix. Thus, dried starch grains make a 
fairly decent desiccating agent.

So now we know.

‘tis funny!

When young people are increasingly having pre-martial sex. One has to ask, is the age old yardstick of morality, abstinence, finally obsolete?

This blogger thinks so.

The emphasis of abstinence has always been to “save yourself for that special someone”. However, it has to be noted that these ideas originated from a time and age quite distant, and very much different from ours. In the past, people got married at much younger ages than they do now. Most couples tied the knot at age 23 or below, while in our time, at age 23, in most developed countries, people are pursuing a tertiary education, and the average age of marriage is somewhere along the lines of 28.

Abstinence until marriage was practiced widely, though not universally, in the USA through the 1950’s. So it is possible, in the right cultural circumstances, for abstinence to be the norm.
What were the conditions that made it possible?

–A culture that hides and impedes sexuality. Dress codes, chaperones, no public display of sexual language and images.

–Early marriage: it’s possible to wait a year or two; it isn’t possible to get most people to abstain for a decade or more.

–Lack of contraception, so that pregnancy is a likely outcome of non-abstinence. Contraception was illegal in some USA states as late as 1968.

–Abortion illegal and dangerous.

–Shame and denial if pregnancy results. Hurried marriage with an attempt to cover up the pregnancy, or giving birth in a home for unwed mothers and releasing the baby for adoption, were the options.

Abstinence is certainly unrealistic without honesty, discipline and ethical values.

I would not want to go back to the time when abstinence was enforced by shame, ignorance, and withholding of alternatives.

Expecting total abstinence is unrealistic. Faced with a biological drive to have sex and a conflicting cultural drive not to, there are always going to be teenagers on both sides of the fence. Abstinence should be taught as the ideal solution, but should they choose to have sex anyway, teens should be educated on what the risks are and how to mitigate them, not simply fig-leafing the issue and be done with it.

©Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on August 12, 2007 by pootydog

If you were a man walking across the campus of Florida State University in 1978, an attractive young woman might have approached you and said these exact words: “I have been noticing you around campus. I find you to be attractive. Would you go to bed with me tonight?”

If you were that man, you probably would have thought that you had just gotten incredibly lucky. But not really. You were actually an unwitting subject in an experiment designed by the psychologist Russell Clark.

Clark had persuaded the students of his social psychology class to help him find out which gender, in a real-life situation, would be more receptive to a sexual offer from a stranger. The only way to find out, he figured, was to actually get out there and see what would happen. So young men and women from his class fanned out across campus and began propositioning strangers.

The results weren’t very surprising. Seventy-five percent of guys were happy to oblige an attractive female stranger (and those who said no typically offered an excuse such as, “I’m married”). But not a single woman accepted the identical offer of an attractive male. In fact, most of them demanded the guy leave her alone.

At first the psychological community dismissed Clark’s experiment as a trivial stunt, but gradually his experiment gained first acceptance, and then praise for how dramatically it revealed the differing sexual attitudes of men and women. Today it’s considered a classic. But why men and women display such different attitudes remains as hotly debated as ever.

Year upon year we strive towards so-called sexual equality. Can such an ideal equilibrium even exist?

Awareness Test-Amazing - Watch the top videos of the week here

A little awareness test up here, its pretty amazing what you miss when you aren’t looking out for it.

 

(This is reportedly based on an actual experiment conducted in the U.K.)

Put eight monkeys in a room. In the middle of the room is a ladder, leading to a bunch of bananas hanging from a hook on the ceiling.

Each time a monkey tries to climb the ladder, all the monkeys are sprayed with ice water, which makes them miserable. Soon enough, whenever a monkey attempts to climb the ladder, all of the other monkeys, not wanting to be sprayed, set upon him and beat him up. Soon, none of the eight monkeys ever attempts to climb the ladder.

One of the original monkeys is then removed, and a new monkey is put in the room. Seeing the bananas and the ladder, he wonders why none of the other monkeys are doing the obvious.

But undaunted, he immediately begins to climb the ladder.

All the other monkeys fall upon him and beat him silly. He has no idea why.
However, he no longer attempts to climb the ladder.

A second original monkey is removed and replaced. The newcomer again attempts to climb the ladder, but all the other monkeys hammer the crap out of him.

This includes the previous new monkey, who, grateful that he's not on the receiving end this time, participates in the beating because all the other monkeys are doing it. However, he has no idea why he's attacking the new monkey.

One by one, all the original monkeys are replaced. Eight new monkeys are now in the room. None of them have ever been sprayed by ice water. None of them attempt to climb the ladder. All of them will enthusiastically beat up any new monkey who tries, without having any idea why.

And that is how most of corporate culture is established.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on July 16, 2008, by law_keven

Read an article about what the way you sleep says about you as a person, and thought it might be fun to share, so here goes

Foetus

Those who curl up in the foetus position are described as tough on the outside but sensitive at heart. They may be shy when they first meet somebody, but soon relax. This is the most common sleeping position, adopted by 41% of the 1,000 people who took part in the survey. More than twice as many women as men tend to adopt this position.

Log

Lying on your side with both arms down by your side. These sleepers are easy going, social people who like being part of the in-crowd, and who are trusting of strangers. However, they may be gullible.

Yearner

People who sleep on their side with both arms out in front are said to have an open nature, but can be suspicious, cynical. They are slow to make up their minds, but once they have taken a decision, they are unlikely ever to change it.

Soldier

Lying on your back with both arms pinned to your sides. People who sleep in this position are generally quiet and reserved. They don't like a fuss, but set themselves and others high standards.

Freefall

Lying on your front with your hands around the pillow, and your head turned to one side. Often gregarious and brash people, but can be nervy and thin-skinned underneath, and don't like criticism, or extreme situations.

Starfish

Lying on your back with both arms up around the pillow. These sleepers make good friends because they are always ready to listen to others, and offer help when needed. They generally don't like to be the centre of attention.

The joke’s good.

Oh the CLUTTER.

In my search for a thumb drive that would appreciate an experience that is an intimate peek into the life of a tennis ball on the Wimbledon’s Centre Court on match day, the Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 16GB, trapped in its little plastic enclosure, winked at me.

I thought to myself, a 16GB thumb drive? What on earth am i going to put on it? For a moment (something like two seconds, to be precise), i had an inkling doubt.

Now, this thumb stick has (still is) worked hard for me, enduring seemingly endless lectures without failing, and keeping a small collection of my favourite applications at my fingertips, Over the months, I have assembled a little plethora of portable applications that I simply cannot live without. Considering the widespread use of USB thumb drives nowadays, i thought perhaps i would share my little selection.

Firefox Portable

Firefox is, hands down, the best browser i have ever used. In terms of speed, it is but a tad slower than the simple-looking-but-downright-mean-under-the-hood Google Chrome, but the addons! Oh the addons, what would i do without them. There is nothing worse than getting to say, an internet cafe, and realising that it has only Internet Explorer 6. This is by far, the most used application on my drive. Click here to download.

 

Screamer Internet Radio

For access to tons of internet radio stations, this is my application of choice. Click here to download.

GreatNews RSS Reader

You don't tear newspaper into pieces to read them. Why should reading rss news articles be any different? GreatNews is optimized for full page reading, so you can scan through rss articles quickly. Combined with functions like "Open Next Unread Channel", you don't need to waste any time to find where all the unread articles are.
GreatNews is extremely fast. Even with hundreds of rss feed subscriptions, GreatNews's response is always instantaneous. You can opt to show news from all channels on the same page. And you have full control over how many articles can be displayed at once. Click here to download.

WordWeb: Free English Dictionary/Thesaurus

WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopaedia. Click here to download.

Foxit Reader 3.0

For all the times you need to view a .pdf file and realise that the local computer does not have Acrobat, there is Foxit Reader. It is a small and fast PDF viewer. 50 million users can’t be wrong. Okay, sure they can, but this would be my PDF reader of choice anyway. Click here to download.

7-Zip

 

Many computers are not capable of opening .zip or .rar (both relatively popular formats). 7-zip is the Open-Source (read FREE) alternative to propriety software such as Winzip and Winrar. A portable version is available specifically for carrying around in a thumb drive. Very, very handy. Click here to download.

All of the above software are available for free, do feel free to comment with other portable applications you cannot live without!

At the time of this publishing, the Bush administration would have transited out of the White House to live their post-presidential life.

The inauguration of the Obama administration would mark the start of a new chapter in not only in the United States’ history books, but in those of the the world over.

The African-Americans of the United States have played such a large part in shaping the country’s history, but never once, a role as powerful as this, never, as the President of United States. Never, the leader of the western world.

May the world listen, to this man who promised change, and give him what support we can. Daunting would be his task, in these times of political and social crisis. May he rule with a clarity of mind that many before him lacked, guided by the vision of the late Martin Luther King, and the collective wisdom of his predecessors. For he will need all of that, and then some.

For all that he was, President Bush was most remembered in the role of Commander-in-Chief. His strong stand of Good versus Evil constituted the making and breaking of his administration. There really is nothing above or below the war in Iraq.

The inauguration speech by Barak H. Obama, was peppered with words like prudence, humility and restraint. He makes clear that America is not entitled to do as it pleases. Which is in stark contrast with all that was the Bush administration.

May Mr. Obama bring the United States, and with her, the rest of the world, to a new era of peace, prosperity, and above all, justice. Quoting his words, “so help me God”. So help him God.

diz cat ownz.

So someone took the half-full half-empty argument and brought it up a whole new level.  Love it!

Which is Worse?

Apathy or Ignorance?

Best answer?

I don’t know, and I don’t care.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on September 4, 2008 by BB (O.ö)

Ten Simple Rules for Dating My Daughters

Rule One:
If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose his compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process that can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places where there are no parents, policemen, or nuns within eyesight. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which features chain saws are okay. Hockey games are okay. Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi. When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit your car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early, then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally uploaded on November 22, 2008 by popartdks

Spent some time at the jetty off East Coast Park, thinking.

Something came to mind, and never left, all the way till now, 4:36AM 3rd January, 2009.

maybe if i “pen” it, i might finally get to sleep.

Here goes.

I thought of all the important people in my life, the bonds made, ties broken, and bridges that have long been burnt to the ground. Fortunately, the bridges are few and far between, and the bonds, many and intertwined in a web that would make the average brown house spider proud.

Often, these people are taken for granted, and for that I do not apologise, but express my utmost gratitude. I do not apologise, because there are times, when i know that the same thing is happening to me.

There is no substitute for the comfort supplied by the utterly taken for granted relationships. For most, that would have to be their parents, and the few truly trusted, dependable friends. These are the people who will be there no matter what happens, and more importantly, you KNOW that they will be there when you need them to be. They might be continents away, but they will always be there in spirit. They will support you, no questions asked.

Humbly, I dare say that I play that role for a few people and they too me.

Many people complain about being taken for granted, and yes, my thoughts do tend to go there sometimes. “Yeah, call me whenever you need something.” Rings a bell? “Why doesn’t he call to like, say hi or something?” Those are questions that often bounce in my mind, and I know, there and then, that I am being taken for granted.

Sitting on the jetty, i came to terms with it. If we look deeper, and past our selfish interests, being taken for granted is really, a compliment. It means that you’ve become a comfortable, trusted element in another person’s life.

As with all affairs in life, it is always good to hang a little question mark on everything that we have taken for granted, and be thankful that we can behave as we do. For it takes more than an average person to be able to take up that mantle and be, not that knight in shining armour, but simply, the strength for us to carry on when the going gets tough. 

Here’s to all the extraordinary people in my life. Cheers.

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on February 19, 2008 by vaneska~tHOmz

Here’s wishing everyone a great 2009 ahead!

Never been a believer of so called New Year Resolutions, if there is something you want to do, i say, JUST DO IT! There’s no better time than right there and then. Why wait till the beginning of a new year, when all is chill and relaxed, is the prime time to take a good break.. Hardly the time to start doing something..

Set goals, and get going! Happy New Year one and all!

Picture taken off Flickr.com. Originally Uploaded on January 1, 2006 by asmundur