With a Thursday spent shivering under my duvet, and my tummy feeling absolutely strange… it was spent with me drifting in and out of consciously for a better half of the day.

I was unusually grouchy feeling under the weather, and it ain’t helping when there were quite a load of things at the back of my mind I need to clear, gasp, before the holiday season.

I have been quite a wet blanket with my impending diving plans with Gills to do my advanced open water, with either too much worries of work at the back of my mind, or the fact that the vacay is taking place right at the most crucial peak of all things.

I felt bad when I had shot down the plans for live onboard the very moment it was suggested today. “Is the phone signals going to be any good? Cos it would mean no email, and I need at least contactable by phone.”

Mind you, though the phone call was in the afternoon, I had said that when I was semi-conscious in my sleep after a late night of mahjong.

I want also! I want to dive more too! But but but…. oh well, that’s an adult’s life isn’t it? Obligations, commitments, responsibilities.

I sooooo want cannnn *sulks*

I am just glad to be away for new year, since.. new year doesn’t quite mean much to me. It is just a day I wanna hide away.

As I get older, a new year is just as exciting as adding a new tab to a folder, to box up the previous year, so we know in which exact year we screw up/do something right, and we can always refer back to the folder for reference in the future.

It means nothing anymore.

I think I agreed with myself that I resent new year countdowns, last year.

I laughed and cried at last year’s, despite a joke kinda took on a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think I laughed out of what was expected of me to do so.

I cried, because I really needed to.

The bad start wasn’t an indicator of what a great year it has been, and it was just another bad day.

So, this year, the jump in the last of the 4-figured thingy, is just a jump of December to January. Like November to December.

And most probably I will be fast asleep cos of an early boat ride the next day. Wooohooooo!

Okay, more on that later, cos… I was going to blog about my very excited mahjong week.

My mojo for mahjong seems to at its peak, despite being on medical leave on Thursday, when an invitation came in from the hands-itchy trio, I couldn’t refuse.

So, it was an impromptu session(I love spontaneity especially from my mahjong kakis) at my place, and my cards for the night were good/bad enough for me to have a pending Da Si Xi (Big 4 happiness), and 2 very close chap sar yio (13 terminals).

Like the joke at the mahjong table, so “turned on” but “cannot cum”(-cue shy giggles-), the good hands(no pun intended) didn’t bring the climax.

So there wasn’t any point to my shallow breaths, currents down the spy, shaky hands, increased heartbeats , slight tingles… and absolute thrill as I waited.

But it was a good night nonetheless.

We gave our usual Friday a miss, and I fell asleep early while watching CSI… I feel like an absolute auntie, despite feeling a tad lost without my usual mahjong night.

I took the evening to make a slight change to my hair, though I make a vow never to believe when a hairstylist say “one inch” their sense of measurement must be at the other spectrum when a guy says “9 inches”.

It was at least 3 inches she took off my original locks, but it isn’t a biggie, cos my hair was so thick/heavy/dense/long that the stylist took turns to touch my hair, egging their colleagues on to hold the bunch of hair in their hands… and then asking how I normally survive washing my hair without having sore arms.

I felt lighter, but felt a little naked.

She cut my fringe again, and I feel I look like I am trying to look young.

But you know how hairstylists are good sales people, but I don’t blame them when they thought I was a student and suggested I could go for more vibrant colours(The young stylist had said “Our age we can try colours like this…” cough cough). Wahahahaha.

I had mentioned I have had tremendous hair loss, so it wasn’t as thick as before, and they asked if it was due to stress. Child Birth, I said. And they stopped tending to my hair(I had colour, cut and treatment, which always require 2 of them each taking one side to save time) and stared at me, asking if I had married(er, duh) damn young.

Like you can see, it was just an attempt to rub my ego a little, after suffering so much abuse and bruising to it recently.

A quick late dinner later, I was back home. It was a nice, relaxing chat at the lobby, and I am still working to where I want to be.

***

Was woken up earlier than I had expected to be, to head to Kembagan to get some dive gears, which were on sale.

I didn’t really wanna get anything, but still gave in to the buying impulse. So now, I have a mask, as well as booties. Now, I probably need fins. With the gloves WT got for me, I am all ready to go, though I hope it doesn’t appear overkill on a newbie like me.

It was then late lunch with Stanley and WT at Old Hong Kong cafe at Katong, bored stiff by all their doctor talks, before heading to town to be trigger-happy.

Orchard was so packed. Very much packed with people like me, holding cameras… getting overwhelmed by the human traffic, awed by the festive spirits.

I don’t see people laughing much. I wanted to take street photography(hahaha, I am such a noob), but I just… lack gift.

Wanted to catch Twilight but tickets were sold out everywhere, and we holed up at Borders’ and I was given a book “450D for Dummies”.

No prize for guessing what it is for.

Heading home to curb the itch of the hands with the usual suspects, and it was another night of laughter, and great company.

Special pizza delivery from one very important friend of my life… and it was good seeing her again. Maybe, it will be great if I can tempt her enough to join me for some new year diving, and take our advanced open water together.

Hor, Jijo?

And that marked my mahjong Thursday and Saturday, with Levin lamely joked that we had a kar-long(you need to mahjong to know this) Friday, thus making it up with 2 nights.

It didn’t end till early 6ish this morning.

I was almost too exhausted to realise what had dropped on the floor when I stripped for the showers.

HAHAHAHAHA.

Lauren was exceptionally late for the mahjong session, and we had WT to stand in for him(zzzzzzz… giggles).

WT had lost 30 bucks for him. COUGH. Okay, Levin had helped WT to lose 30 bucks to us.

So, being superstitious about “borrowed luck”, I insisted on returning the pink chip.

Which because of some twist of fate, didn’t happen.

So whenever the chip is in my drawer, I will lose.

To the point Lauren suggested keeping the chip in my bra, and it might help.

And well…. it did, when I put it in the left side, and I started winning 1 or 2 doubles.

But I would lose 3 or 4 doubles.

Hahaha, so he suggested switching side.

Wah. Then I won 5 tais! Self-draw!

My mahjong wifey then placed one yellow chip in each side to follow suit.

Though I remembered it throughout the game, I forgot about it when the game ended.

So when I was in the showers, it hit the floor, much to my amusement. In fact, I was so delirious that when I heard it, I totally didn’t expect it to be the pink chip and had seriously wondered what it was as my vision frantically searched for it.

Anyway.

I am tempted to head to the cinema myself today.

I was tempted to head in to JB myself too.

I was tempted to get my Christmas shopping done…. and I still haven’t done so! Of course, this will come with lugging my new black beauty around.

Despite all the temptation, the greatest evil of all – my cosy, lovely bed, seduced me enough to stay home, and blog… watch CSI… edit pictures, which itself, is a lovely way to spend the Sunday.

Well, the next week will be, challenging, I believe.

Hopefully I can finish whatever I need to before timeline is up, so I can breathe freely, in Phuket.