Eventually, There Will Be A Post About Divas.... (Not Divers!)

Music is the soundtrack of life. I can listen to new songs and appreciate retros. Some black metal scourge songs were even good too. Heck, I even like polka! But this is not a post about my weird music taste. 

I was listening to the radio just the other evening, and heard a song by Doris Day (the announcer mentioned) but I forgot the title. So promptly I log on into the net (Wikipedia) to look for her songs and wow! this woman had 30 albums and hundreds of songs. As I winnow in her hundreds of song titles (650), I got lost and totally forgot what I was after. All that time I was thinking; gosh, if she had hundreds of song, she must've memorized a lot of lyrics! As a teacher, I look upon such individual highly indeed. And she is still ALIVE (born April 3, 1922)!  


This is what I called a Diva. A talented, beautiful woman with a very long list of achievements.


This is so not true in artists nowadays. They came up with a couple of mediocre albums and then wanted the world to treat them like royalty. One of the reason I despise entertainment magazines is because of the useless contents. Why must I care if this guy smooch with this girl at this gay party? Do I need to know what this snotty bitch wears in her private apartment? Should I loose any sleep if this teen heart throb was ditched by his slutty girlfriend? I might like your songs, but I will never invite you for tea.
Your immoral values can taint even the vilest hearts (I am aware that this conundrum IS possible).


I always told my students (those with tendencies to idolize improper idols) that; You might care for them all you want, but REMEMBER, they don't even know and care that you exist. Pathetic.  


Back to Doris Day and the many deserving ladies we call the REAL divas.... I just hope the younger generation can relate to the greatness and grace of the yesteryears, which are always forgotten.


In those days, they got class :) 


p.s. - One of my fav songs will always be 'Perhaps 3x' :)

No New Entry?

Wait for it.......... Wait. Wait.

Maybe He's Born With It.... (Yep, a total rip off from Mabelline's motto)

I do not look as handsome as I ever wanted to be, but I am not that ugly either. I am not skinny, nor muscular, and I do maintain my weigh by watching what I eat. People do not say nice things about my character, because most will find me weird, and the goodie-two-shoes will often label me as vulgar and maybe 'evil'.


I got compliments in only two things; I am brilliant (in some stuff) and I have nice skin.


Let's speak about the biggest organ our body is covered with - the skin. Nope, I do not have fair alabaster skin. (I did have dreams marrying a woman with such skin. And had married one. End of story). Nor I was beautifully bronzed by the hot sun of the Equator. You all KNOW I like dark places. Like a cockroach :)


My skin is blameless, not flawless though. And quite nice for someone my age (32). Many a time a fellow teacher or friend would ask what make up or stuff I use on the skin. I just said I never use any (really) and maybe sometimes a facial mask or so. But that was rather rarely done. Oh, and I eat lots of vegetables and clean my face with water ONLY.


They didn't believe me. Especially about the cleansing of the face with water.


A long time ago, my face was quite terrible, with pockmarks and ruined by pimples. A face of red misery. A kind lecturer in the university suggested that I wash my face with water ONLY and eat a lot of vegs, especially tomatoes to build a healthy skin. She swore by it.


I practiced her suggestion and now I swore on the success too :)


My adopted son, Herry (if you remembered him) had a pimply face, and his good looks was wrecked because of it. When I met him last February, I was aghast with the rampant acne fest, because it was even worse than two years before. The horror escalated when he told me that his mother asked him to swab his face with cleaning fluid (with green lime as a basic ingredient) and use FACIAL CLEANSER and SOAP!! By all that is GOOD!! [His mother, a fine woman, has fair and faultless skin / face]


I threw the offending bottles out of his bag and reminded him what I taught years ago about face-care. He never use soap or any other cleanser since.

Later last week Herry sent his latest picture by MMS. He was excited to show me that his face was WAY better than last time we met. His mother sent her regards too :)  

The pic on the left was taken a few months ago. The right pic was sent last week.

See the difference :) And it can only get better :)

P.S - I should be a beauty consultant.... and charge people for results.

Suddenly I Feel Like Having Sandwiches....

I hate sardines, canned that is. But today, while lazing away on my bed, I thought of doing something radical for the next meal, which may include canned sardines.


I went to the weekly produce market and bought some tomatoes, bird eye chillies and a couple loaves of bread. But of the canned sardines....  well, they don't have the size that I wanted - which is LARGE. So I tossed the tiny cans aside and picked up a large can of mackerel in tomato puree instead.


Arrived home 20 minutes later and started to slice up the tomatoes. And then I tossed a tomato, onion, garlic,  6-7 chillies, two dollops of mayonnaise, the whole can of mackerel and some salt into the blender.... And blended away till all was really smooth and surprisingly, PINK.


So, I put some sliced tomatoes on a bread and spread my new-found blended paste on it, and gave it a bite.... Cool. It was rather good. So I prepared a LOT of sandwiches (by finishing two loaves) and put them all in a plastic container. This I stored in the refrigerator for later consumption.


That's how dinner, and tomorrow's breakfast and lunch (maybe dinner too) is done :)


p.s. - I don't have to take the pictures of said sandwiches. It looks like any other regular sandwiches, minus the garnish and fancy trappings.    

Hey, Aren't You....

This afternoon, I received a call from my aunt, a nurse in the district hospital as I was viciously reprimanding my students in the laboratory. Come to the hospital after school, I want you to get vaccinated for free and this offer will not last long. And I said OK.

H1N1 vaccination is not cheap. Oh yes, the second wave of the virus is already here. But please don't panic. Not yet anyway :)

So after school, I drove to the hospital, parked my vehicle at the visitors' parking lot and walked into the building to seek my aunt. I know the layout of the small hospital because I used to frequent it before; mostly visiting sickly relatives and of course, my aunt. She directed me to a couple of nurses by a counter to fill up some forms before the vaccination, for official use (things to read and sign, who knows I might die the next day BECAUSE OF the vaccination).

As I was writing in my particulars, one of the nurses said; "Hey, aren't you Rahmah's son-in-law?"

All I could do was squeak a weak "Yes."

The other nurse too my finished forms and asked me to accompany her to another room for the shot. As I was listening to ANOTHER nurse about the little side effect I might get after, A DIFFERENT nurse injected; "Hey, aren't you Rahmah's son-in-law?"

With a weak smile (I knew my smile was weak, because I intended it) I said yes.

And they jabbed me with the needle, while the nurses laugh at my discomfort. I just so hate receiving shots!!

My aunt asked me to have a few dessert after the vaccination in ANOTHER room next door with many many DIFFERENT nurses already inside. As I anticipated it;

"Hey, aren't you Rahmah's son-in-law?"

-------- < o)0(o > -------

You see, as many of you already know, I got divorced last July 2009. My ex in-laws works in that very hospital, thus everybody was invited to the wedding years ago. It was a beautiful ceremony, easily the most lavish one might ever attended this side of the district. So everybody remembers...

My ex in-laws are among the nicest people I ever knew. It was a great tragedy when my wife and I got divorced because the scheming bitch got a change of heart and ruined everybody's life. The sins of the daughter made the parents embarrassed in public. But I will not dwell on that as it was ancient history.

Now I am back at home and still doesn't feel any side effects of the vaccination (mild fever, spinning head etc.) Wow, the diet of onions and garlic does keep the insignificant illness away :)    

Pets Switching Places

Kiki, my domestic long hair calico cat told me a few days ago that she and her new roommate, Kiko, needed a bigger cage. Kiko, the female short hair kitten moved in when I decided she was big enough to join Kiki in a cage. The cage they were in, although have 3 tiers, was rather cramped.

Meanwhile, a step to the right, the Ferret Duo were making a great fuss about not having enough fresh air to breathe. Last year when I decided to get ferrets, I bought a large wrought-iron cage for cats and then wrapped the entire cage with plastic nettings and fasteners; young ferrets can escape through the bars quite easily. Now both of my ferrets have grown and they didn't need the extra precaution anymore.

I went out with a couple of friends (One decided to get a guinea pig, though I was strongly against this) and we went around town; pet store cruising. I bought a lower white cage for my ferrets, and decided to move the cats into the greater cage, after removing all the plastic nettings.

My cats are happier with their huge abode. My ferrets don't even care about the size of their new house, as long as I put enough food and treats inside.

"Huzzah for Boss!"

On a different note; I was introduced to the Malacca SPCA centre yesterday by my friend's student, who is living close to the place. The barking of so many dogs welcomed us, and yes, they were MANY canines, of every size. But of course, I went to the cats section for a quick look and it was quite a sad sight. The place was clean, but the building was in great need of repair. The staff told me that maybe they have to move to another place soon, because the rent had escalated recently.

The cats are all of domestic breed, and none was a looker. But I was interested in a huge black cat with yellow eyes. My friends told me, as I was stroking it that she looks like Salem, the witch cat. I am always interested with black cats (none was sold at the pet shops, unfortunately). If my funding is more than adequate soon, I might return and adopt that cat.

Favourite Nicknames (I gave myself and forced everybody to use them)

In response to a fellow blogger's entry; Technobabe, I'd like to discuss about my odyssey to find the perfect nickname :)     


Nobody gave me a proper nickname when I was younger. This might sound sad. Either I was an unlovable child or I had a very boring social life. But I beg to differ :) you know how vicious children can be, the nicknames they gave were not usually flattering. And I have WAYS (cruel and unusual, even for a kid) to make them lose interest to pin me with any unsavory nicknames.


And during my university years, I took up the name 'Strider' after Aragorn's nickname in 'Lord of the Rings; The Fellowship of the Ring'. I love the book and I did walk a lot those days, in my high-cut basketball shoes. :) Walking was actually a hobby. Sometimes I walked back to the dorms so late at night (usually after a midnight show) and the security guards would call me the 'boy-who-walked-back-so-damn late-why-don't-you-get-yourself-a-bike-like-other-normal-people-you-git.'  


The nick 'ion' stuck to me when a fellow student-teacher said I was so volatile, easily moved by things that interests me (Ions - charged particles, positive or negative). I put the nick 'ion-strider' in the first blog I ever had a long time ago (this is my second).


The recent nick SHADOWTHORNE (not -THRONE, as I have no interest to be a furniture!) manifested after I read the very excellent 'The Dragonbone Chair' by Tad Williams. I like dim and dark places, ergo SHADOW [Really, I don't kid you. I have all the dark tinted windows of the lab closed before teaching. The kids study with me in low light, because the teacher doesn't like bright places. And yes, I don't even bother to switch on the lights too]. And I was usually a THORN at somebody's side / back / bum / heart / sole. I have more female friends than males, so the saying 'the thorn among the roses' is always thrown at me.


Ironically, the meaning of my Arabic name is the exact opposite of my chosen nickname. Shows that sometimes the labeling of every item is not always correct :)  

Of Potato Salad and Shopping for Mustard

Mister Spencer L Casey has been so gracious to share his potato salad recipe in his blog. I have always like potato salads, but never been able to make them because I do not know how. I have some potatoes in the kitchen and I boiled, skinned and cubed all of them (10) and then put the soft taters in the refrigerator for tomorrow.


You see, I do not have enough ingredients for the sauce...


So after work tomorrow afternoon, I will visit the supermarket next to the school. What I need are; Pickle.... check. Red wine vinegar... why the hell I need red wine? Chinese red vinegar should suffice. Black olives.... ??? I do not wish to drive all the way to Tesco for this. Mustard.... what is mustard anyway? 


I know what it looks like (yellow sauce) and where it is always used (hotdogs and burgers). But I don't think we have mustard here. But who knows.... I haven't checked the entire conditiments section yet.


May the mustard be with Me!  

WarHammer 4000 Dawn of War; SoulStorm

Mwa ha ha ha ha! I've finished printing the Science assessment paper for next week and it's high time to continue destroying infidels and heretics in planets far far away (in my PC).


Gosh, why I was never aware of this amazing RTS game before? Maybe I was blinded by the fantasy and medieval genre, my first love; in books, movies and of course, gaming. (Note to myself; Let's watch 'Clash of The Titans' this Sunday in 3D!!!!)


For now, I am playing the Sisters of Battle [Adepta Sororitas], those highly religious female knights with huge swords and bigger guns (WARGHHH!! I LIKE!!). And they'll scream "Die, heretics!'" "We only serve the will of the Emperor!" "We shall cleanse this planet with Fire!!""Infidels, you will be judged!" etc I just love zealots. The devotion shown could lift an entire mountain :)

Why I chose to play warrior princesses? Believe it or not, I am quite the feminist (NOT feminine!!!) And just look at that bad-ass chick :) Now that's a lot-of-wimmin :D