Journey mercies

We had a company meeting today and during the team building event we had to complete as much series of activities as we could to gain as much points as we could during a limited time frame. It comprised of physical, sensory, mental, etc type of activities.

A girl and I got ourselves busy with the mental activities, and one of them was to solve some anagrams that represented countries.

As I sat there staring at the jumbled words, my eyes would just glaze over them and suddenly I would see a word lifting from it and I would say, "I see KINGDOM!" And the other girl would be quick to work out that it was the United Kingdom.

Then another anagram we would stare at it for a while and I would say, "I see SOUTH!!!" And she pointed out it was South Korea.

And I realised, I've been trying to work out the anagram in my life at the moment, just like that.

Apparently I complain/moan/nag too much.

I've turn into an obsessive monster over the state of the kitchen ever since I moved to 52. It drives me absolutely nuts when I see dishes piled up at the side, dry but unkept.

Nuts!!

That being said, a lot of things drives me nuts these days. And so I've made a rule for myself to control my tongue - if someone does something that inconveniences me, I won't say a word. But if it inconveniences someone else, I will say something. At least that way, I know when I do say something, it's not my feelings involved and I can say it dispassionately and not in a critical manner.

Today when I got home, a rubbish bag lay just outside the front door, which somebody didn't make the time to take to the trash cans. After a long day of work, I don't really like being greeted home by trash.

So I asked one of my flatmates (knowing full well she wouldn't have done that) about it, just to practice how to gently tell a person that I preferred not having that habit ingrained in 52. Thankfully, the person I asked understands me well enough now to offer to relay any messages of things I really dislike so I wouldn't annoy other people.

At any rate, I think I've actually complained less than I did months back. But I was still doing that inwardly to the point of giving myself a headache!!

Thankfully, we keep a Bible in the kitchen where people read it as they are having their breakfast or other meals. Everytime a complaint creeps up in my head now, I've taken to channelling that energy into memorising verses from the Bible.

I've done more memory verses than I've ever done in my whole life as a Christian.

It's freaking brilliant!!

My godson on his Christmas present from me. I've a funny feeling like his brothers, he's going to grow up to be quite a large lad.

I was at my aunt's last weekend, and his other two brothers were staying over as well. We had fun just hanging out with each other. Before their mom came to take them home on Sunday, she told me that their dad had told them to tickle me for him, but Brendan, the sweet and sensitive second child had said no, because I was his favourite (2nd) cousin.

I told him to tickle his dad for me and he grinned happily while his boisterous older brother lifted his hand and offered to sit on his dad for me.

With three boys, my cousin definitely has his hands full.

When I first came to Ealing, I was introduced to 52. That's where my church started decades back and today the family that owns the house continue to be spread out over the world doing mission work.

I was never too keen to move into 52 because it really is such a public place. Everyone comes into 52 and people do come by to tell us they just dropped by to watch a DVD.

Oh wait. That's what I used to do. No one really does that now.

But parties are usually held here and people are always in and out of the place and I wasn't keen initially because I'm the kind who likes to walk around with hair uncombed and still in my PJs.

But, with unforeseen circumstances that required me to move, I decided 52 would do for a temporary arrangement till I decide where I want to live long-term.

52 is... special.

You either love living here or hate living here. It can get a bit too much after a while.

Cheap rent is one of its biggest advantages though.

The best thing I love about living in 52 is how there's a never ending supply of food. I even have a magical wooden bowl where fruits always appear in it. 2 lemon becomes 3 lemon. 1 Tomato becomes 2 tomato. 3 bulbs on onion appears. Bananas appear.

I'm still waiting for the durian to appear.

And I love how the girls all get along really well, sometimes I feel bad for Chris but he's usually out anyway. Oh and cheap rent.

The worst thing I hate about it is, big house + lots of people = constant mess. I've had to stop my verbal complaining because I was getting too much with the complaining. And I'm the messy one in my family. Can you imagine.

And even though I've stopped complaining verbally, I'm giving myself a headache with the complaining that's going in my head. So I'm also slowly trying to rein that in.

At the very least, I think 52 is doing a world of good of helping me control my complaining and nagging habits. Hopefully, this will mean I'll be a much more pleasant wife to somebody!! Character building, definitely. All the other girls are just so gentle, nice and polite I feel really ill-tempered sometimes. Love the time here, but when it comes to moving out I doubt I'll be too upset!

As a kid I remembered asking my grandma, "Why are you always in the kitchen?"

Everytime I went back to Taiping, my grandma would be busy in the kitchen day and night. Only after dinner she would emerge from the back of the house and sit and watch TV at the front.

I can't remember her response but since moving to London and slowly learning how to cook, I can very easily understand now how much time one can spend in the kitchen, especially if you're preparing for the family, breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Sometimes I cook big portions to last me a few days, sometimes I cook different stuff for a few days in a row. Most times I only prepare the easiest and fastest kinds of meals which involves sticking bread into the toaster.

I miss how easy Malaysia is to just pop out to get a takeaway. But I have to say, I really am enjoying living in 52 as well. Food never runs out in 52 and there's always food to be shared and everyone keeps looking at what the other cooks because everyone has different tastes in food and new types of food keeps getting introduced.

The only problem I have is a few of the girls enjoy baking and they are always leaving cakes on the kitchen top. One can never starve in 52, but it almost means it's very difficult to diet in 52!

Some months back, I got up in the morning with my mind fixated on wearing my long black jumper with tights and boots.

The thought just stuck in my head and refused to let it go.

I was running late, and I couldn't find ANY of my normal black tights anywhere but was so sure I had at least one pair somewhere I emptied my wardrobe a couple of times in my search for my tights.

I ran out of time but refused to admit defeat, so I decided that the only pair of tights I did find will have to do. A vermillion pair of tights I bought months back which I did not expect to be as bright as it was when I opened the packet. I didn't wear it for a reason, but I put it on and asked a few of my flatmates what they thought. All of them said yes, it's nice, go with it, and silly me, I trusted them.

While I was waiting for the bus to the train station, I thought I caught a few glances at my tights and I realised with a sinking heart what a mistake I made.

When I got to the office, I dashed to the toilet first to check my tights and felt my heart sank. The lights in the house I'm in is orangey and not very bright. The lights in the office is bright white lights. The vermillion tights screamed in those lights.

What was worse. To my utter horror.

My black jumper was not as thick as I thought it would be. I could see the shadow of the vermillion tights through the black jumper and because I was wearing black underpants, see the faint shadow of black underpants beyond the vermillion. I wanted to cry at my fashion faux pas.

But another girl came in at that time and she kept assuring me it was all right as long as I didn't walk terkangkang.

I tried to minimise any walking or standing that day, kept stuck to my chair as much as I could. No one said anything in the first few hours.

Then it started...

"Ooooh... Christmas lights?"

"Wow... where are my shades?"

"You're err... very colourful today..."

"Cool!! I really like them!! Really!!!" Overcompensated enthusiasm, so I gave him a -___-" look.

"You're very festive today..."

The best response I had was from Gurjeet's email, "What girl above the age of 14 buys orange tights!??!?"

Bitch.

Never wore 'em again after that day.

I was annoyed this morning to find that the trains were working despite the snow and even MORE annoyed when I got to the office to find only a handful of people from my department turned up.

But when it started to snow again at 11.30 I had a bad feeling and phoned my manager to get her ok for me to leave early in case the trains does get disrupted later and strands me in the office. I got home about 2pm and in another 3 hours, the trains did get disrupted.

I didn't sleep too well last night actually; for one because I slept a little late as I was gambling on getting snowed in. Then I couldn't fall asleep because I think I was too excited about getting snowed in and have a day of doing nothing.

But when I finally went to sleep I was woken up a few times throughout the night. The first time was when I heard a noise from what I thought was the direction of Sara's room, which was downstairs. A noise like heavy box being shuffled on the ground.

It stopped and I went back to sleep. Then what seemed like an hour afterwards, I was woken up again by the same noise of a heavy box/furniture being moved, but this time the noise was upstairs, and in the empty flat beside my room, which the owners of the house keep empty for the family when they are visiting London.

And then a SLAM sound of what seemed like the door to the flat just outside my door followed by a small shake on my door because of the strength of the slam.

I didn't bother getting up to check because I really wanted to sleep and I didn't want to get out of my warm bed.

I checked with all my flatmates today whether they were making the noise or if they heard it. None of them got up around what I guessed was around 2-3am or heard anything except one girl who said she might have heard something but was unsure.

Nothing was stolen, so we don't think it was a burglary and I highly doubt it was just a dream because I was sufficiently annoyed in the morning from a disturbed lack of sleep and I dream enough to recognise a dream.

So what was it?

HmmMmmm...

Oh yarh, while I was away in Cornwall where I went with 8 other friends, the day before new year's eve, I nipped to the second cottage we rented to get some mugs and I had a feeling. It was so out of the blue and random that I thought to myself it must not be my imagination.

That same night the room I was sharing with Emma was freeezing while the night before it was so hot I couldn't sleep properly. I went to the toilet to brush my teeth after making sure the windows were shut and remembered looking at the door I left half open before going into the toilet. When I came out, the door was shut. I thought Emma might have come back, but the room was empty and there was no way the door would have shut by itself and there was no draft because the windows were shut tight. 1 minute later Emma came bounding up the stairs and into the room. And she exclaimed that our room was 10 degrees colder than any other rooms in the cottage.

Ahahhhh... have I got your attention yet?!

Emma left the next day so I had the room all to myself on new year's eve. After dinner on new year's eve, I decided to retreat to my room for some contemplation. It was freezing cold again. After a while I was sitting on the floor writing in my journal over the bed when I had that feeling that someone was overlooking my shoulder, reading what I was writing. It's annoying no matter person or spirit to read what's private, so I told it to go away but I think I shooed it away temporarily only.

After a while I had to sit against the heater because the room was freezing so much I started to chatter.

Ahhh... say what you will, whether it's my imagination or anything, I know what I felt. There was something in the room that night and morning. I woke up in the morning and felt something press down on the mattress behind my back. I said a quick good morning and then went back to sleep. See, nothing interferes with me and my sleep.

I think having experienced this extraordinary experiences a few times now it doesn't ruffle me as much anymore except for the occasional malevolent "vibes" I get where fervent prayer and a quick getaway from the location shakes it off.

I just really get annoyed when, you should know this by now, it disturbs my sleep. So here's hoping that last night there was a logical explanation like one of my flatmates being an a sleepwalker because I think I've already spooked out a few of them.

Some weeks back it snowed in the evening, which thanks to a doctor's appointment for a check up, I got home just when it did.

Because road transportation after that went crazy.

The next day (unfortunately the snow wasn't enough to make the road transportation go crazy the next day) in the office, I heard stories of people being trapped on the roads for hours because cars were sliding awry with the ice on the road, and being unable to drive up hills and cars being abandoned. One of my colleagues took 9 hours to get home which usually takes him 45 minutes.

Can you imagine, 9 hours?

Guess KL traffic isn't really that bad after all.

He was saying it was quite surreal, to see cars abandoned in the highway, people walking along the highway, some cars overturned. It was as if the world was coming to an end. But he didn't want to abandon his car since he had to make his way back to get it anyway so he stuck out the 9 hours. But with no food, water, cigarettes running out and he couldn't even call anyone to chat and pass time because it ran out of battery, he was very angry when he got home at 4 in the morning.

So it was quite understandable actually when he spent the entire day in the office today talking about the weather.

He kept updating me every half an hour with the forecast about how it was going to snow heavily tonight or tomorrow.

It snowed a little when I got home from work. And about 10pm it starting snowing heavily. The snow is piling up really high and I am HOPING for the snow to cancel the trains in the morning so I can get a day off!

SO I hope it snoooowwwss heavily as I sleep. As it is the train website seems to suggest there will be disruptions to the trains in the morning.

December was a heavy month. It's the end of the year, it's Christmas and everyone just wants any reason to wind down and party. I never spent so much time with my colleagues before with all the Christmas dinners and lunches.

This year the company annual Christmas party had a medieval theme to it and everyone was talking about it for weeks on what they would wear. One of my flatmates is pretty good with her hands and I was going to pay her to make me an outfit but another flatmate (thank God for 6 flatmates, they all have their different uses!) said she had a dress sitting in her wardrobe that I can use. So yay, without a penny spent!

Mine felt a bit like a cheat and really simple and ill fitting compared to what all the other girls wore to the party but hey, not a penny spent so yay!