Six Days

At the starting of the week

At summit talks you'll hear them speak

It's only Monday

Negotiations breaking down

See those leaders start to frown

It's sword and gun day

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late

You could be sitting taking lunch

The news will hit you like a punch

It's only Tuesday

You never thought we'd go to war

After all the things we saw

It's April Fools' day

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late

You hear a whistling overhead

Are you alive or are you dead?

It's only Thursday

You feel the shaking on the ground

A million candles burn around

Is it your birthday?

Tomorrow never comes until it's too late

A treat for myself

There are few things that I never tried because I could never afford to try it. So this year, I thought of spending a little extra to pamper myself and try something new.

So, I went for a manicure & pedicure, and a nice traditional Thai massage. Both together set me back around MYR 200. I definitely felt good afterwards so, I think it was money well spent.

I was wandering around Gurney Plaza this year on Diwali day, after visiting about five temples. Having nothing to do and no where to go I decided to give myself a break and a treat.

First I headed to Nails Hansen - a nail salon in Gurney Plaza. What everyone should know by now is, I have never set foot in a nail salon in my entire life's existence. I don't know what they do or how they do it. And I didn't know either we have to set appointment before going into one. Well, I didn't.

So I walked in and fortunately for me, a customer missed her appointment and I had the slot available. I was ushered into the spa area and immediately two girls appeared - soaking my hand and feet into warm water and they went to work straight away. Five minutes later another girl appeared asking me to choose the colors I want for my nail... they had SO many! So after about 10 minutes or so I went for 2 shades, one shade for the feet the other for hand.

My leg was definitely in a terrible state. It was rough, peeling and my toenails were not really, ermm... clean? Well, thanks to years of abuse. So finally, my feet were scrubbed, polished, cleaned and they gleamed! I was really happy looking at the end result.

An hour later, I walked away feeling truly satisfied with my nails.

I then headed to Thai Odyssey, a traditional Thai massage center which is quite exclusive and nice - almost spa-like. I booked the traditional Thai massage and my, oh my! It was really rejuvenating after all the hard work the entire year! 

So, these took some sadness away from my heart and planted some smile on my face!

On Diwali

Days like today remind me a lot about Sathyan. I tried, but I couldn't. I just miss him.

I have never really celebrated Diwali - it has always been about business, nothing much of a family affair. My friends used to visit me on this day - that was eons ago, while I was still in primary school to be exact. And I have stopped asking them to come. Before Sathyan, Diwali was just like any other day for me.

I remember working on Diwali just because I wanted to - I had nothing better to do and I can make use of that extra money. Also, most of the time I spend it alone, except for one year when I spent it with Vino's family. 

When I got married to Sathyan, that was my first taste of what it feels to celebrate Diwali. We put in a lot of effort to get our house ready for the festival. I actually had new clothes that he bought for me. And I actually went to temple on Diwali day for the first time in my life. It felt good - I finally had a family that I can celebrate the day with. Sathyan used to buy a lot of firecrackers so that we can play with our nephews. Ever since then, I always looked forward for Diwali. He gave me something that I always wanted to have, but never did. The sound of his laughter as he sees me running for cover when the firecrackers explode, still in my ears. It was wonderful.

Losing him, really meant losing everything I had. I guess, no one can really understand the magnitude of my loss. After all, everyone still have their family intact. For me, he was the only family I had.

So on this day, I just miss him a lot.

Oh, by the way... the picture above belongs to me :) Taken in December 2005.

Waiting for something

When you want something, it's just hard to wait. But if it's good, you know it will be worth it. And only some things are worth the wait.

Anyway, I got promoted at work! It definitely took a lot of hard work to get this far but I know my work is not done. More things to look forward to and I am definitely waiting for the training that I have been dying to get enrolled for almost 3 years now!

This past year I know I have been making a lot of decisions - in life especially. I have been accepting huge risks and putting my relationships with few people at stake with my decisions. It was never easy for me. I never had to be in such situations before. After all, "everyone" wants to protect me. Hehe...

But it only took one death to teach me how important it is to appreciate and live my life. Made a mistake? Repair. Irreparable? Then leave it - move on. Just don't waste your time. I learned to accept that we can't make everyone happy.

Every time I sense someone tries to stop me from doing something, I only think about the day I decided to go against my dad's words and took Sathyan with me to Singapore. A decision that until today I am glad I made.

And with that in mind, I have never regretted any of the decisions I have made. In fact, I'm glad I took certain turns in my life because it finally brought me home.

I’m coming home

I’m coming home

Tell the World I’m coming home

Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday

I know my kingdom awaits and they’ve forgiven my mistakes

I’m coming home, I’m coming home

Tell the World that I’m coming... home.

- Coming Home

How I am glad

... that I workout often!

All I needed was a jolt of motivation and I signed up for gym membership last January. Ten months through the journey, I am still hitting the gym few times in a week as my work schedule permits. I have skipped out few times, but I always go back.

I didn't exactly lose a lot of weight. But I definitely feel more powered, energized and happy. Weird, but yes, it keeps my mind off from stress and worry, and everything else in between. My stamina improved and I can do more things without feeling tired. 

Oh, and I did lose some weight :) 

Today, I was grateful I made the decision to invest in gym membership and make time to workout. Why? Because, I was able to wash my SUV all by myself. I did bring my car to the usual car wash saloon but they were packed today (being weekend and all...) and I had no option but to somehow figure out a way to wash it. 

So, it's self-wash day then.

I came back home and parked the car only to realize the hose which is usually long was replaced with a shorter version (whatever happened to the old one). It was really short. 

So I can't wash the car using a hose. I had to use a bucket to catch the water and splash it on the car - top to down. This alone required a lot of energy and strength. And I managed to get it done. In about 2 hours or so. But it was all worth it to see Buster 2.0 gleam and sparkle. Partly because, the car was just polished 3 weeks back and I used wash+wax solution for the car wash. And of course, the effort I put in to wash it carefully.

I also wore my gym clothes to wash the car! The idea initially came as I thought I will be sweating a lot, but it helped to keep me dry from all the water splashing activity! I felt this was a marvelous self-discovery on my side :P

The best thing was, I did not feel tired afterwards.

It's November...

An evening that began with...

Followed by...

Topped with...

Ended in

And not to forget...

... who kept me company :)