I BREATHE

**Edited: *Ahem ahem*. May I try I again. I would like to bring your attention to THIS, THAT, HERE, THERE and DOWN, which can be found right below the previous post. so you guys won’t miss the newly published posts from 11th-15th.

(And yes, I meant 15 comments for THEM *points to above links* each, and not this post alone. *BIG GRIN*)

I breathed in a new lease of life today.

It was smooth.

But the same couldn’t be said for my congested nose. I caught a chill and it’s depriving my brain of precious oxygen as I gasped for air endlessly throughout my day.

A new phase. A ‘new’ job(same scope). An entirely ‘new’ environment(not really since some people were from old times). And a ‘new’ room will embrace me when I get home tomorrow(new coat and layout *beams*).

I have so much to look forward to in the days to come. Pretty psyched up and excited.

I think, God wants me to be positive too. He positioned a painful zit right at the tip of my right brow which would sting whenever I scrunched into a frown.

So I don’t.

Anyway. Busy, busy, is what I will be.

Oh, and did I mention the test on Thursday which I have yet revised for?

Darn.

And, issues to be resolved before the week ends. Right, baby? Okay, private coded message. For intended recipients only.

And, of course, an extensive entry to kickstart my return. Woohoo.

I had wanted to omit my blog out of my new phase, hoping to feel a more obvious difference.

People, if you scroll down(I apologise for the index-finger cramp you are gonna sustain), you would have realised I have published some of the unpublished entries I penned during the period when I was lying low.

How’s that to make up for the time lost throughout when I wasn’t around? Just this post alone, is enough to make you guys have an overdose of Miss Twirly Ting. In addition to the 5 bonuses below.

And, my last scorching hot brain cell(fever, baby) was exhausted for this very explicit account of my escapade.

So, in show of your appreciation, and how much you adore my return, you better make sure there are 15 comments for EACH AND EVERY post BELOW. Or else.. or else… I will go on hiatus for a year.

Erm. Yeah, right.

Emotional blackmail huh.

Wahaha.

*****************

When I was blogging the previous entry, I did not publish the full intended entry. I kept it short, cos I didn’t feel like saying much.

And here, is part of what you guys had missed, in addition to the previous announcement.

Keeping true to the ‘promise’ I made to a birthday boy(15th).

‘If Manchester United wins Liverpool, I will stop hiding.’

‘I would rather you hide forever then.’

Evil.

So(plus other unforseen circumstances), despite feeling feverish right now, you are hearing from me.

I didn’t get to watch the match though. Wasn’t around to *wink*. So you liverpool fans out there, be glad that I am not around to scorn and mock.

See, I told ya I shouldn’t be allowed to blog again.

Then again, I am nice.

But yippee! I am happy. Only for one cause. Manchester United beaten Liverpool.

I don’t feel any tinge of excitement about blogging again. Actually, it’s not the act of blogging. It’s the act of placing myself on the table for all and making communications once again.

Frankly, I still feel snug and cosy in my world. I wish this hiatus would go on a little more.

Then again, several things happened and had prompted me to be back once again.

I had thought of keeping the way things are for a month, or even for a year.

And I am enjoying it.

I am hesitant about making this decision once more.

Still feeling a bit vulnerable and fragile(NOT weak nor depressed) though. I don’t deny fake Ting’s message did screw me a little and made me a little more adamant about keeping my fingers away from the keyboard(or rather, my online persona, offline).

No, it’s not a gimmick or attention seeking stunt from Ting. The hiatus, that is.

And NO. I didn’t use the vacation to feign my emotions-induced absence either.

And I am not totally shutting myself up from the rest of the world. In fact, I went out MORE, well, compared to the first lifeless 11 days of 2005.

I had people to talk to, and I didn’t even cry since my previous 2 bleak entries.

Next week is gonna be a challenging start for me too. And, I am eagerly looking forward to it.

I might still be blogging, but if there’s no response coming from me(I am still in anti-social stage, remember?) for the tags and comment box, don’t stop commenting.

They somehow work wonders, actually. Wahahaha.

I kinda miss the black background now. It’s kinda therapeutic. Jayaxe said it’s as if I switched on the electricity for the bulb to lit up my blog again.

Don’t push me out of my cave.

If it’s not within my comfort zone, I would just retract back to where I was.

Then again, the grenade flipped into my backyard did ruffle my nest and push me out in the wild once more, didn’t it?

Ah, how contradicting.

The beauty of blogging.

Hang on, I am getting the hang of it back.

But. Still not ready. That’s where I am.

***************

Who says I went San Francisco?

Ah-ha! Gotcha.

I wish I was there though. Especially after Kaiming had sent me the freaking beautiful pictures that left me seething with jealousy.

Grr….. MEOW! *claws out*

Well, it was a rather rushed trip. Got the tickets on Friday, and Tuesday, off we flew.

Yes, we.

I followed the trend of popular bloggers. I was secretly hoping that I would get my inspiration from Wanyi and Wendy and blog like them by going to the same places they went, so that I could blog as good as them, squeezing past beyond my bottleneck.

Wahaha.

Eh, come to think of it, it was purely coincidental that they previous time they went Ubin, I went around the same time too. And this time, they both had separate vacation in the same country too.

The Oriental Pearl.

I almost didn’t make it back.

Bimbo A(refer back to archives, please) and me.

12th January 2005

Breakfast at Changi Airport before boarding our United Airlines flight.

Anticipating the takeoff.

How I adore window seats.

I only realised I wasn’t adhering to the airline regulations by working my digital camera during the take off when I was on the flight back to Singapore.

In my excitement, I had overlooked that please switch off all your electronic gadgets such as discman, video recorder, laptops for the first 10 minutes of takeoff.

They didn’t mention digital camera, did they? Oops.

Thank God I didn’t murder the whole plane of passengers.

Touched down to a relatively cool Hong Kong and I was adjusting well to the weather in my spaghetti straps within the airport.

I mean, it’s indoors right? Just like when you are in any of the malls locally.

So I didn’t see the need of digging into my lugguage for those thick shields yet.

Until, the offensive stares from people around.

Since it was a very rushed affair, our accomodation caused one of the major headaches.

Just so happened that it was the peak week in Hong Kong, and the cost of the usually cheaper hotels jumped by 2 folds.

Panicky, we managed to book somewhere cheap, though we didn’t know how it was gonna be.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you, our exclusive, 3 nights stay at…..

The Peninsula?

Oh, that’s the wrong picture.

Well, we wished we were at Peninsula cos it is so posh that it houses Prada and such, and we will look like rich socialites who flew to Hong Kong just for afternoon tea if we bunk there.

Alas, truth hurts. Ouch.

People, welcome to Mirador(?) building, or whatever it is called.

No, you can’t even call it a hotel.

The day, and night of the building that roofed Man Hing Lung.

Yeah, how cheesy can the name be, you ask.

When we made our way to the 14th floor in the tiny lift, I was praying the dilapidated building better not do a Hotel New World during our stay there.

All of sudden, there I was, realising the beauty of the place. It’s a scene out of the movies!

If you look closely enough, you’d notice Jackie Chan making his routine police chase for the baddies in the lower floors.

Oh, tell me you also caught a glimpse of the baddie leaping out to the parapet in a bid to escape the police by threatening to jump.

Wahahaha.

And yes, I know, what’s that pink brain protector doing on my head, you ask.

Bad hair day was the culprit. Planes are evil. They make your hair limp.

Thus, I risked looking like a condom singh fashion victim with that headgear.

The room is, puny.

I am so fat that I took up the entire ‘walkway’ in the room.

How do you shower in that tiny amount of space?

Somehow, we managed. We almost became professional contortionists as we struggled to bathe in limited area, fighting the walls with our elbows, and knocking our kneecaps into the ceramics of the toilet.

The room is simply too cramp. Both of us, being considerate honeys, had a pact that we would not poo poo in the room, cos it would be quite sad to ruin our holiday if our companion died of poisoning or some sort.

Not that I need to anyway. So, what did we get around that? Woo! The suspense. More on it later.

Tsk tsk tsk. You peepz should count your blessings. Right now.

Exclusive glimpses to Ting’s right thigh and left toes! Woohoo! Where to find? Where to find! You guys are in luck or what?

I am too huge for the windows. Someone should cast me in a Hong Kong movie or something. Don’t they always do that?

Ventured onto the streets that expanse down from Tsim Sha Tsui to Mong Kok, which spans over a few miles’ distance.

As the evening neared, the air became real chilly.

The flickering lights in the city sensualised me. It has some sort of hypnotic effects which made everything seemed surreal.

It’s beyond comprehension. The combination of yummy colours.

It was then a stroll to the beautiful Victoria Harbour for a mesmerising view.

Qiwei was looking for Andy Lau’s *eyes somersaults* palm prints on the floor when we graced down the bridge.

Me?

I thought the horsey was cuter.

And I simply adore the background from the viewing gallery.

Aw…. how awfully fascinatingly awesome. Ting The view, that is.

Had a seriously weird dream that ended my first day in Hong Kong.

13th January 2005

Sometimes, you can’t help but wonder how cheeky The One above can be.

So, it was the peak period in Hong Kong(cos of some seminars and fairs held). And Hong Kong’s weather nose-dived to a new low due to some change of the wind.

It only took place on 12th(evening), 13th and 14th.

Well done. Exactly the days we were there. Temperature dipped to around 7 degrees.

We were looking at 15 degrees when we reached.

It was drizzling when we woke up on Day 2, and had to scrap the plans to Ocean Park and such.

Warmed ourselves with some dim sum breakfast. Ah, the bliss.

Yes, blardy bad hair day I know.

We walked down the same stretch to Mong Kok cos we were restricted by the harsh weather.

Returned to the accomodation in late noon, and Qiwei had a rash outbreak and wasn’t in the mood to venture out.

She napped, while I snuck out for an ‘attempted’ toilet break, and roamed the streets, did some exploring by myself.

Horrors of horrors

The 1 and half hour solo adventure was indeed, pulse-accelerating.

Jiahao’s joke took the form of a curse.

‘You’re a freak-magnet.’

Yeah, after the past couple of stalkers incident, plus the freaky incidents that took place in the past half a year, I wonder if the quality is inversely proportionate to the lady in question.

*Wails* I don’t want!!

No surprises. I was stalked.

Not once.

Not twice.

But blardy thrice!!! In an hour and half! *wince*

I know what you’re thinking. I was decently dressed, please. It’s freezing, and I was all wrapped up like how you would to a tiny present with layers of newspapers just to make your friend curse while unwrapping it.

And, what could be worse than that? *hit fist into palm* none of them are cute. Not that it would matter. Erm, well, maybe it might, I wouldn’t know. No such luck before, you see.

Wahahaha.

Scene 1 took place promptly as I stepped into the building’s lift.

I was alone in the lift when it yawned for a resident in a lower floor.

A Saudi Arabian, I assumed.

30-ish.

‘You’re looking good.’

*forceful patronising smile* ‘Thanks..’

‘You reside in this building?’

‘Kinda, just for a few days.’

*Small talks, small talks…* *One-word answers… shifty eyes*

Was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

‘Wanna go for a drink?’

‘Erm, no thanks.. I am rushing to meet a friend.’

(Wow. What happened to my creativity?! I just recycled an excuse I used recently!)

The lift door roared open, and I said a quick bye and dashed out of it, did many twisties around the many exits, to make sure he lost me.

Scene 2

Strutted down to Victoria Harbour again.

Yes, I simply adore that place.

I wish I brought Hiphip along.

Avenue of the stars look a tad dull without its glitters in the day, but the mist that clothed it tamed its edginess in the day.

Told ya I was decently dressed.

Walked towards the viewing terrace, when this time, a local snuck up near me.

30-ish.

He broke into Cantonese, which I was able to comprehend, yet pretended I couldn’t cos I just wanna move on, undisturbed.

‘I don’t understand, sorry.’

He then strived in English and made conversations that didn’t work cos I pretended I didn’t understand an ounce of his stammers.

It was then silence and I stared at the floor below and drifted away further from him.

Scene 3

Minutes after shaking off Mr Nuisance number 2, I was heading towards the terrace when this uncle-looking Pakistani came up to me.

Balding, 40-ish. I would have thought he is a father.

A tourist. I thought he assumed I was a local when he spoke to me in English and told me he is from Pakistan.

‘You’re beautiful.’

‘Huh?’

Okay. You might think I floated with the compliment huh?

My instinct was actually: Okay, so he wants money from me.

He started showing off to me his Canadian visa, and asked if I would like to visit Pakistan cos Pakistan would surely welcome me.

It was then small talks and I said I gotta go.

Guess what?

He followed me like the silly executive did at International Plaza(refer to 11th Jan’s entry).

He went up to the terrace with me, and bored me with more silly talks.

I was evidently uncomfortable, and was even more so when I *gasp* spotted Mr Hong Kong hovering 150m away, with his gaze fixed at us throughout.

I realised, Mr Hong Kong had not left my radius since I walked away.

There was a few tourists nearby and I threw uncomfortable signals to them.

Then, with my creativity drying up, I ……. picked up my phone and did the same thing I did just couple of days before.

Wahahaha.

I called Adeline up and made my escape by talking on the phone. My choices were limited cos very few people knew of my trip.

I hurried my pace to somewhere else, and took pictures where there were plenty of tourists.

Imagine my horror when I was taking pictures with my timer, when Mr Hong Kong walked over to offer his help.

Apparently, he was leeching around some 100 metres away, observing me all the while.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwww….

I packed and left. In a panic. Yet acting cool.

I made sure I detoured to other places and scrambled in and out of crowds before finally returning to the accomodation, constantly looking over my back.

Call me paranoid.

Notice the horrifying demographic? Yikes.

Something must be very wrong with me.

Must be.

Bummed on the bed until Qiwei woke up and we both went for a late dinner at McDonald’s.

Chatted stuffs about the biking circle and the people, before strolling down to grab a drink at …. San Francisco Cafe.

Wahahaha.

Now you know where the previous picture came from. And yes, CZM had blown my cover. *laughs*

On our way, 2 African-Americans greeted us, and though they were walking towards another direction, Qiwei noticed they actually turned to follow us. She pulled me and gave me a scare as we half-ran into the crowd, hoping they would lose us.

Despite the 3 scares earlier, I thought she was being paranoid.

It was a great walk, filled with abundant laughters and silly antics. That little darling.

Walked past Hard Rock Cafe.

Yes, cut me some slack about my fashion sense.

What fashion sense, you say? Or rather, the lack of.

I tell you, when you are cold, you would just throw wardrobe coordination into the wind, and throw whatever you can find in your lugguage over your neck.

Got back slightly past midnight, and we sprinted back into our room from the lift.

14th January 2005

Whee!

A fabulous sunnyday despite the biting cold.

A traditional Hong Kong breakfast set to kickstart the day. Hot lemon tea to provide some warmth.

And FINALLY.

Ocean Park, we conquered.

Took a train, before changing to a bus.

Finally.

Nothing gets more cliche than this picture.

The dolphins were cool with their circus skills. The sealions too.

But what was even more cool, were the rides which had became mediocre since I am a seasoned thrill-seeker.

I had more fear and jitters when I was on the horrifying escalators on the way up.

I had to stoop forward when I had a sudden anxiety attack from my phobia of escalators.

All 3, freaking long ones.

I threw the initial plans of taking pictures on the steps into the crisp wind.

The minetrain coaster which provided me with more thrill than the twisties of the major coaster.

Then 360 degrees major roller coaster brought back fond memories of my dad whom took the ride with me when I was 10. My first trip to Hong Kong then.

Yes, I was more than 1.4m when I was 10, and already a dareangel.

View from the top.

The most major event throughout my stay gotta be this.

I struggled. I weighed the fears. I thought I would never ever do such in my life.

It’s no joking matter.

Once, I firmly told Mr P I will never, ever get my butt onto that sort of thing, and I doubt I would ever dare to do it despite my love for rides.

Alas, this trip changed me.

Wahahaha, perhaps, I was there to look for a sort of change, anyway.

After standing around for the longest time to observe, and with a little push from Qiwei, I relented.

I regretted the very moment I got on it.

The dropzone.

I know it’s nothing to some of ya.

But, I have vertigo, and a huge resentment for dropzone.

I actually thought ‘Hey, I could blog about this if I get on there.’

What silly thought was that?

I even contemplated to bid goodbye via SMS to some people.

Don’t ask me who were on my list. Only 2.

Not daddy nor mummy.

Yes, I went onto the ride by myself. The brave soul beside me too, and I was glad I had a companion to make silly small talks with. One who speaks English. Good.

I didn’t even scream cos I was holding my breath when the slightly more than 10 seconds stagnant suspense released us from its grip without any signs or warning.

I couldn’t even remember what the exact feeling was like.

All I knew was, I wanted to go back up there for a 2nd time to register a more vivid feeling.

Wahahaha.

But I didn’t cos it was rather rushed.

We made our way downhill, by foot, down the steep, winding path.

No escalators(too much fear), though I was eager to try the cable car.

Next up was our relentlessly pursue for The Peak.

We failed to locate the tram station, and had wandered the whole Central area, that 2 executive guys who were behind us had to intervene cos the word LOST was etched all over every single exposed pore of ours.

The walk was a killer.

I couldn’t feel my legs.

It was on a hilly road, where we met a solo traveller, Lena.

She too, was asking directions for the peak, and the 3 of us made new friends like this *snap fingers*.

I was limping throughout the night since then.

Cute hue of pink laced the sky.

The night view was magnificent, as usual, though the sharp wind was almost piercing us open.

It was a shortlived moment out in the moment. There was only so much my frail body could take.

Lee Ka Shing’s wax figure. I think I look like his mistress in this though.

Why is he so rich? Why is life so unfair? Why?!

Why didn’t I meet his son on the peak? Why my dad has similar name but is not even 1/100 as rich as him?

I am sour.

Yeap, that’s Lena. *beams* Extremely sweet lass.

Lan Kwai Fong was up next.

Boring place.

So was Soho.

Initial plans of partying till late was aborted and Qiwei suggested go back early for the night at 9 plus.

The rest of the trip, I would have mentioned in the posts below.

Our Daily Pilgrimage

I know you guys don’t have to know this. But I was terribly constipated throughout my stay in Hong Kong.

That brings us to the policy we held.

No poo poo in the room.

So, we were smart. Really smart.

We went hunting for the posh toilets in grand hotels.

Wahahaha.

For the first couple of days, we had Eaton.

Sashayed into the lobby nonchalantly with poise was our forte.

We headed straight in for the kill, here.

People, Eaton’s washroom.

Where we think about the larger issues in life, with soothing jazz playing in the background.

And, the full-length mirror was a pretty sight. Yes, I meant the mirror only.

During my time alone on the 2nd day, I chanced upon a gem.

Sheraton.

I ditched Eaton forever since.

Can they make all public toilets in Singapore this way?

Clean, with nicer jazz serenading us.

Posh, very, utterly, posh.

And, the ignorant heart of mine did a staccato when I saw this beside the handwash basin outside the cubicles.

A urinal for the female, in full public view!

I had wanted to try it, but I didn’t wanna embarrass myself by showing that I have no idea which side to face.

Ya, right.

I didn’t want to traumatise the poor toilet attendant who stands beside the basin every second, ya know.

Ya, right.

Chicken.

Sadly still, the coaxing atmosphere didn’t help my congested system.

Lessons Learnt

I learnt something important when it’s finally time to say goodbye.

Lesson 1: You can still miss your flight even if you get to the airport early.

Lesson 2: Gate 3 is of obscene difference from Gate 63.

Lesson 3: Travelators in airports are only one way. It brings you there, but won’t bring you back.

Lesson 4: Gate 3 is not near from Gate 63.

Lesson 5: Gate 3 is at a deserted end of the airport.

Lesson 6: Gate 63 is so far from Gate 3 that you have to get there by tram.

Lesson 7: It takes 10 minutes to get from Gate 3 to Gate 63, if you are lucky, and if your legs can still have the last burst to sprint.

Lesson 8: There are DFS shops are not only near Gate 3. Gate 63 has them too.

Lesson 9: Do not shop alone or lose your companion, if you have one. At least you have someone reminding you of your mistake.

Lesson 10: Realising you get to the wrong gate 10 minutes before the gate closes, is enough to set off a heart seizure. If it doesn’t, the sprint to the right gate will.

Lesson 11: When you take off your jackets and accessories and stuff them into your bag for the sprint, everyone knows you’re taking a flight to Singapore cos apparently, only Singaporeans wear spaghetti straps stuffs.

Lesson 12: Your flight may be scheduled to fly at 8.05pm, with it’s gates closing at 7.45pm, but they could change the flight time to 7.55pm, and gates closing at 7.40pm.

Lesson 13: Realising the gate number written on your boarding pass is 60 spaces away from ya at 7.30 is quite a thrill.

Lesson 14: When fighting for survival, you can run like Marion Jones even if you had limped for an entire day.

Lesson 15: Having cramps in your left inner thigh when the plane is taking off and being bounded by safety belt is excruciating.

Lesson 16: Having cramps in your right thigh, then left thigh again throughout the trip is a challenge when you don’t even have space to stretch.

Lesson 17: Freaks are everywhere. Even on planes.

Lesson 18: It’s a luxury to have 3 seats to yourself and you can lie across all 3 seats with the handles up.

Lesson 19: You can have special privilege when you are a babe hungry. Ask them eagerly when is dinner served, and they might offer you an extra set if they have spare.

Lesson 20: Baileys’s is not chocolate milk.

No, it didn’t happen on me for me to learn all these.

Really.

Erm, yeah. How could I be so blur, right?

I am not such a loser, yuh?

It’s not me.

Okay, dammit. So what can I do to convince you guys it wasn’t me?!

Er…. I won’t swear on it though. *sheepish smile*

Anyway, freaks are everywhere.

The plane was rather empty, and Qiwei and I had an entire row to ourselves.

This guy suddenly shifted to the empty row in front of us, and sat in the middle, so that he could peep through the seats’ gap and see Qiwei when he turned left, and me, when he turned right.

It just doesn’t make sense.

He could sit at the aisle for easy access, and the window seat to see the takeoff, but his choice was rather suspicious when he kept turning his head back.

We shifted to another row behind us, and noticing we weren’t around anymore, he shifted to somewhere else.

DUH.

Argh.

And the big, friendly giant-liked air steward was really sweet to give us double doses of pretzels cos I was giving bambi-eyespuss-in-boots eyes when I asked when would dinner be served cos I was really starving.

May I add the beef stew with spinach was absolutely delicious.

He actually came back to ask if I wanted another set of meal.

I politely replied I would finish with whatever I had and see if I could stomach anymore.

In actual fact, I was looking for him after finishing my meal cos I was desperate for another set.

But, he wasn’t around, and I was too embarrassed to ask if no one offered.

I should have said yesssssssssssssssssssssssssss right at the beginning.

Tsk.

After a sip of Bailey’s, I was absolutely scarlet.

In my dreamy state, I sat at another empty row, looking at the night sky outside the window.

By then, the plane was dimmed, and dark, unlike this picture.

The moon was soaring above the wing of the plane.

Even though the window is tiny, I could see the sparklers in the background of black as I laid across the 3 seats.

I was mesmerised, and it was a kind of …. amazing experience. Such silence, such intimacy with the sky.

Views of Ho Chi Ming City and Malacca. It was hard to capture the crescent clearly though.

It sure was alluring. A picture that teases the mind and sentiments.

Finally, the plane touched down.

Dad picked me up from the airport after giving Qiwei a lift back.

Couldn’t wait to dip into my bed…. miss the companionship of my room so much that the reluctance to end the night early kept me up till 7am…

Good night.

*Breathe out*

And how about an almost 5,000 words post account for my absence huh?

I must be mad.

Work is on tomorrow and I am still blogging at such insane hours. Just wanna get it over and done with just in case my room is in too much a mess to log on tomorrow.

So, 52 comments this time round?

Wahahaha.

More entries to come. About Hiphip, the bear. I bet this is enough for some to read for a week.

You’re sick of me already, aren’t you.