Interesting BLOG

The question of what makes an interesting blog came up after having read my pals’, my student’s, Xiaxue’s and my hubby’s unkind remarks about mine being boring. If one practises what one preaches, why won’t he start one?

Whilst my pals’ blogs gave me the inspiration to start one, Xiaxue’s and my student’s, code named FK henceforth, somewhat wavered that inspiration. (For those ignorant of Xiaxue, she’s one Singaporean teenage girl whose blog is visited so frequently that a company decided to sponsor her blog, xiaxue.blogspot.com)

A visit to Xiaxue’s blog brought forth loud vulgarities screaming into my eyes. Although FK’s was cleared of that sin, his was direct translations of thoughts in teenage lingo, as suspected by one Guest Blogger on sxxxxx.blogspot.com (hidden to preserve blog’s anonymity, not screaming vulgarity).

What happened to standard English writing? Shouldn’t we be penning our thoughts in presentable English sentences, in the least? Has the old school of thought, that good writing reflects a good author, become obsolete?

So my question to my self-proclaimed-but-no-practical-experience-blog-expert-hubby is, “Dear, besides your cosmetic advice on photos, which blog style in your opinion is appropriate and attractive?”.

THE END.

Touched

Who says bosses are nasty? Mine made a trip all the way down town, from Clementi Hill, just to have lunch with me, or more specifically to buy me lunch, without any official agenda at all! Wow, what have I done to deserve this? I really meant the last sentence.

Then again it shouldn’t come as a surprise knowing that one of them took over some of my duties, not once but twice, when my pregnancies were made known. The other was always “banging tables” for me to get things done my way. I am not a manipulative person to begin with, you know?

I recalled one of my ex-boss ever said this, “A subordinate’s relationship with his boss is at best a love-hate one.” Am I lucky to have found 2 with whom I have love-love relationships with? Or is because of the luxury of time and humane presence in our academic industry that such bosses exist, which brings forth the point that humans are by nature nice and caring?

Whatever it is, I am indeed TOUCHED!

Have I Lost It

Not so very long ago, I recall, I was very attuned to every new fashion trend, hairstyle or even lifestyle there were in the market place. In what Hokkiens might term as "seng mok", I call this the attribute of "situational awareness" (SA).

Then came pregnancy and motherhood, not once but thrice, and that threw me off the SA track. The following encounter best illustrated what I meant......

In an attempt to maximise all freebies that I could possibly set my hands on, I went on my first gym visit after donkey months, since Chloe (my youngest) was conceived, last Thursday. It was a promotional offer by a certain credit card company that entitled members 2 free visits to a reputable gym every month.

Armed with my big red bag, I embarked on this jittery journey during my lunch hour. Once aware of where big names were located, I found myself asking passers-by where the gym was. When I finally found my way to the reception counter, again I had to ask for directions to the changing room and lockers, only to be "conned" into buying a $1-looking-lock for $5 to use a locker.

Standing in front of the towel lady asking for towels would not amount to any SA I suppose but I did just that, only to be asked for my towel card which I only managed to find after minutes of ramaging through my big red bag. The best part was I could not even locate the toilets in the changing room to release myself prior to the workout. So as you might have guessed, I did it with a full bladder.

Thinking that my ordeal was finally over after washing up, I galantly walked towards the reception counter to sign out, only to be shown repeatedly to a corner to collect my sign in card. Of course, again I took some time and a trainer, unfortunately not quite good-looking, to help me with that simple DIY task.

Have I lost it? I know some of my "pals" would argue that I haven't as I never had it to begin with! Nonetheless, I am going to the gym again today, to recover some lost grounds.

Late or Not

I had arranged to meet a student prior to work to return her autograph book at 0830 today. So being the ever-on-time me, I woke up earlier so as to be at the meeting place on time, or as usual, before time.

0820, I was there and, quite frankly, happy to be there earlier than my student. I just hate to make others wait for me, or for that matter, inconvenient others. That is just VERY ME and am proud of it.

0825, an sms came, "I'll be slightly late", to which I replied, "How late?". An almost instantaneous response came, "10 mins".

0845, we finally met.

Although I was quite happy sitting there waiting whilst digesting the shenton way morning fashion parade (and hopefully learn a style or two), I was nevertheless LATE for work this morning. Should I be annoyed? Has punctuality taken on a new definition in the younger generation leaving me, the dinosaur, still mulling over my ancient dictionary for "punctuality"?

Hypocrisy

Lunch with an ex-boss and a visit to a friend recently, both of whom I used to love and hate all at the same time, made me wonder if I am a Practising Hypocrite (PH).

The dictionary defines hypocrites as persons who profess beliefs and opinions that they do not hold. Whilst lunches and visits do not qualify as beliefs and opinions but why do I actually bother to engage myself in these outings even though I used to not like them, remember? The mystifying outcome was that I actually enjoyed their company thoroughly????

Did my opinion of them change, is the situation different now, have I mellowed or have I matured such that those tough lessons delivered by my ex-boss then are now understood and appreciated? Or that the situation that my friend is facing now makes her more deserving of sympathy than grudges? Or have I aged such that I am much lonelier now, craving for any form of social interaction?

Maybe Baby

Visiting a friend in hospital last evening because of a mis-carriage makes me wonder if I should have a baby number four. I mean here they are, trying hard to have a baby, when we can have but we choose not to. Aren't babies gifts from God above?