Life… the soap-opera reality show

I used to laugh and scoff at American day-time soap operas. Ditto with the Hong Kong melodramatic serials. Sometimes it makes me wonder, who the hell thinks of stuff like these? Do these amazing situations, affairs and relationship circus really happen in real life?

You know, the types like… A is seeing B, but B is in love with C. C doesn’t care or doesn’t know B exists. D loves A but leaves home with a broken heart and disappears from the face of the earth. A begins an affair with E and F has a fall and is paralysed for life.

Stuff like these have certain people glued to the idiot box or they become so obsessed with it that their lives evolve around being there to watch the latest episode. They would kill just to find out if F has miraculously healed and is now bonking D whom the aliens returned after shoving countless probes up where the sun doesn’t shine. And on the first run too... no re-runs, heaven forbid.

But I was having lunch with one of the Princes recently and we were talking about our lives and close friends and stuff. It turns out that our little circle of life seems to have a pretty decent soap-opera quality! Between the few of us, (I won’t name names or highlight nicknames to protect the innocent, ok?) we’ve pretty much seen marriage, affairs, separations, divorces, re-cycling of lovers, death of lovers (well, wife), swapping of lovers, forbidden love, angst, tormented love, best friend syndromes (you know, the end up sleeping together kind), friend syndromes (the I love him/her so much, but he/she just wants to be friends kind), walk outs, inter-racial relationships, one night stands, getting high on drugs, getting pregnant out of wedlock, abortions… it’s endless… and gosh… our average age is still well below 40!

It turns out life around us is pretty much a soap opera and it’s kinda exciting. Now I think I’m hooked and am looking forward to the next episode to find out what’s coming next… something new or a re-hash of some of the above… hey, maybe a new character will appear. And it'll have a tag line too… “Life… the soap-opera reality show”… *hahahaha*

Yup, I’ve lost the plot yet again…

Manual transmission... i like!

Wednesday. Somehow, for some unknown reason, it’s the midweek party nite. Don’t know why, but it’s been like that for years now. Clubs and bars are somehow pretty happening on Wednesdays.

So, with DC in town, us boys went out for a little bit of mischief. We ended up at The Gathering, our regular bar with me & J meeting up with DC and his company for the nite. Once again Mabel’s not there. Must be DC. Of all the times we’ve been there together, Mabel’s either away sick, it’s her alternate day off or she’s simply away on holiday as was the case this time.

Once again, I got myself into a spot of trouble. I’d gone to the bar in J’s car, but by the end, this little minx was asking me to send her home. Boys being boys, DC passes me his car keys… wtf? Couldn't say no after that... But one of these days, someone needs to explain to me why people seem to ask me to send them home fairly often... even when I said I didn't drive? Btw, I'm actually not oblivious to why, I just can't understand it, am I giving the wrong signals? Why doesn't the ones I like get this signal???

Anyway, it turned out to be my highlight of the night… ok, pay attention here, don't draw any conclusions yet. You paying attention? Good, here goes... I’ve not driven a manual transmission since my university days, more than a decade ago! Now, I’ve got the keys to a 1.8L Ford Laser. DC’s got his car pretty well maintained and the engine feels good and strong. It felt great, shifting and powering down the LDP at 3am. My ultimate driving machine gets up to the same speed and has better controls but being an automatic, it just feels different.

Shifting down and powering out of corners on a manual transmission just gives that little extra kick automatic cars don’t have. I think I had DC worried for a bit when I mentioned to him over the phone that his car feels great at speed. And with my propensity to fly down highways, he was duly worried. On a side note, for driving instructions when you come across me & my ultimate driving machine, click here. Heh, not what you expected, huh? But it was my highlight of the night... ;-)

After dropping her off, meeting up with the boys again for some food, it’s time to head back and watch Chelsea vs. Liverpool in the Champions League. Damn, that referee must have been blind. He denied Liverpool a penalty twice. In the end, it was a good game by Liverpool. They earned a point and still top the group. Cool, but damn, it's already almost 5am on a Thursday morning... gotta head to work in a few hours! Anyways, hopefully Liverpool steps up and beat Chelsea when they meet again this Sunday in the English Premier League. Wishful thinking? Better not be.. Goooo Liverpool!

Adrift in a sea of boredom...

I usually have dinner with the family on Sundays. This week, I had a craving for seafood and since it was my sister's birthday on Tuesday, I took them to Subang for crabs.

Over dinner I mentioned my plans to uproot and perhaps move to another country. Time for a change, I told them. My mom was obviously not enthusiastic about the idea. Dad chips in that I've been saying this practically all my adult life, but never saw it through. I think he was trying to quell my mom's fears that her eldest son wants to leave the country and she'll not get to see me more often. As it is, she complains that I don't visit her often enough. After all, I stay in the same city as they do, but only visit them one day in a week. That's enough, don't you think?

My sister knows I've got a severely short attention span, so she asks what I'd do if I got bored in a foreign country; to which I answered that it was for this reason that I'd decided to put in an application at work. It's a long shot, but I'm hopeful. I am bored. If you remember, this was why I decided to blog... cos life has become a little too routine and mundane.

My mom then comes up with a gem... she said, it's not a move I needed, it's an anchor in my life that's missing. That's mom-speak for drop this insane idea and go find me a new daughter-in-law instead.

There had been a few that I'd have been able to spend the rest of my life with, but one's passed on, the other doesn't want anything to do with me anymore and my dream girl, Jessica Alba simply doesn't know I exist. Some are probably eager to be in that position, but they either make my skin crawl or simply bore me to death. Now that wouldn't be a good idea. I know I said whom god loves die young, but this would simply not be a win-win situation for me at all.

Hah, an anchor indeed... nuh-uh, I'm resigned to stay adrift in a sea of boredom for the time being... and perhaps if my long shot sails in, who knows, maybe the anchor is waiting there...

On a lighter note...

A married couple was sitting in a fine restaurant when the wife looks over at a nearby table and sees a man in a drunken stupor.
The husband asks, "I notice you've been watching that man for some time now. Do you know him?"
"Yes" she replies, "He's my ex-husband, and has been drinking like that since I left him seven years ago."
"That's remarkable" her husband replies, "I wouldn't think anybody could celebrate that long."
Services will be held for Husband #2 at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Forever Green Mortuary.

Rambling, rambling, rambling...

I had a dream last nite.. the type that u wake up from to find your heart thumping and adrenaline pumping... no, not a heart attack or nightmare. I had one of those dreams where you're the action hero, James bond, ass-kicker rolled in one.

It must have been a good dream, cos I woke up with a rush... of the adrenaline type, ya? Not the blood rushing south, national anthem types, ok? So I'm now wide awake and feeling good... then frustration... within seconds of waking up, I couldn't remember a single bit of the dream other than knowing it had been a good dream. So i turned over and fell asleep again... waking hours later... and missing my appointment.

Sent my car in for repairs today. Recently my ultimate driving machine became a Proton wanna-be. My power window switch failed and every time I needed to pick up a parking ticket or buzz into the office car park, I had to perform the proton specialty of having to use the door instead of powering the window down.
With the car in the workshop, I headed to town to settle some governmental business. Unfortunately all I got was the federal run around instead, so I gave up and went shopping. At least I got to use the Malaysian public train/subway system... it's pretty convenient... sort of... until you realise the nearest station for your destination is still like a good 10min walk away!

So, finding myself in KLCC on a Friday afternoon, I looked up my friend Jackie and managed to coerce her into playing hooky and visited the Aquaria with me. *sigh* KLCC Aquaria... it's pretty much a ho-hum affair if any... It'll need some time to mature if it even wants to compare to the one in Sentosa, Singapore. It just doesn't have enough fishes and the signages... what's the point of having signs about the display when it's not lit and impossible to read in the dark? And if it's lit, it reflects off the display, obscuring the specimen.

The thing I notice most whenever I go into KLCC on a weekday is how much I miss working in high density office environments... there's just so many people around.

All in all, it was a fun day not having to go into the office...

Fast n Furious

Last weekend, I was drafted in as a replacement driver for John King's Fast n Furious team in the 3rd round of my-kart's Mega Endurance Kart race. The event took place at the Sepang kart track on Saturday the 17th.

I was a member of my-kart when it was first formed several years ago, but since then, my passion and interest in karting had long since waned. What else is new, right? On top of that, I've been steadily slipping back in the sports club' championship for the past 2 years. So much that I've now been relegated from premier to the 2nd tier of drivers a.k.a beginners and slow pokes. Imagine my surprise when I was approached by JK to drive for his team in the 100cc kart endurance race. With the boys off partying in Miri and having no other mischief planned for the weekend, I jumped in.

Saturday came and I was up by 0630am! OMG! I don't wake up that early on a working weekday but I was up. We were at the track by 0800am and I was soon reminded why I sort of lost interest in karting... you spend more than half the time sitting around waiting for one thing or other. And when you finally got to drive, it's over in 10-15 mins!

Anyway, the race involved amateur karting enthusiasts from all over KL and even had a team from Singapore. It's a 100 minute endurance race with 4 drivers to a team. The compulsory driver changes came between 20-30 mins, 45-55 mins and 70-80 mins. I was down as the 3rd driver in my team.

Now, JK knows quite well that I had lost interest in karting as well, but he's always out to have fun and to win. With his usual drivers not being available, it was up to me to fill the gap. So his words of encouragement might have been that, but to me it was pure and simply additional stress and pressure. By the time I got into the kart and out on my practice laps, I was fairly nervous. Now, I'm typically confident of myself, but this time I was apprehensive. I'd not raced 100ccs in more than a year and have not been doing well when I was. In fact, the last time I took part in an endurance race in Sepang, my team came in 4th and that was because of me ending up on top of another kart right at the very 1st corner of the 1st lap!

But when you race for John King, you've gotta give it all, not screw up and try for a win, nothing less. Added to this was the fact that everyone else on the team was posting less than 60s per lap. The other teams were averaging 60s. I had no idea what my times were. Right before I was to go out, one of the karts' brakes failed and the driver smacked right into the tire walls. Great, what a confidence booster. So my practice laps ended up in slow traffic. Even so, when I checked my times, it was promising. Nowhere near the 56/57s the other guys were posting, but at least it was in the sub-60s.

After the practice laps, came more waiting. By the time the race got underway, it was well past noon. The team started from 9th place, as Risman reeled in the teams by posting 56s laps. John was up next, jumping into the kart without his gloves as Risman misunderstood and came in early. Keeping up the pace, John posted 57s laps. When my turn came, the team was well in contention, either in the lead or a close 2nd place. Apprehension, apprehension, apprehension.

All the apprehension and nervousness went right out the door once I was in the seat and up to speed. I just kept John's advice in mind. Stay out of trouble, keep to the lines and have fun. We had to re-fuel during my change and may have cost us the lead and some lost time. Once on the track, it was my turn to reel the lead team in as I clocked in 57s laps. Lap in, lap out, it was brake, corner, apex and accelerate. Easy peasy. Why was I so damned nervous earlier? Being one of the top drivers previously, I averaged 57sec laps as well back then, and still do now. *shrug*

Once I handed over to Shahnaz, it was a done deal. Within moments, lapping at 56s, he was right up and past the leader effortlessly. Towards the end, a little drama developed as both the 1st and 2nd placed teams broke down. Fortunately for team Fast n Furious, our breakdown came right at the 100minute mark. We won by 3 laps, driving in a total of 101 laps to Gila Racing's 98.

In the end, I enjoyed myself and left with my confidence restored, but of course... I mean we won, right? Anyway, I realised I was wrong in the beginning, the pressure to win, do well and not screw up was not from JK or from driving for his team. It was simply another aspect of my life that had changed recently. I lost confidence in myself. I've been ignoring and keeping away from the things I enjoy and do well in. Because of that, I lost confidence and wallowed. But when it came down to it, things worked out as usual.

Will I re-kindle my passion and interest in karting? Not likely... it's not quite passe but is an old activity. I'll not likely give it up totally, but bring on the new ones! *grin*

The team won and I contributed. More importantly, I had fun. Here's what my-kart had to say about Fast n Furious' win and some photos. Oh yeah... one final thing... my first karting trophy since 2003... =D

Tony Roma's ribs...

I love Tony Roma's ribs. The pork ribs taste absolutely heavenly to me. It's one of my required stops when I visit Singapore. To me, Tony Roma's is synonymous with pork ribs - original baby backs or Blue Ridge Smokies. So imagine my reaction when I read that TR's will be opening in Malaysia soon... Tony Roma's without pork ribs... hmm... just another reason why I'll keep going to Singapore.

Oh well, I'm sure the recipes will taste just as yummy with lamb or beef ribs... I mean, it's an international franchise and it's already in Indonesia. Well, I can't wait... hurry up already.

It's a body slapping, hand clapping, feet stomping sensation!

When I was in London several years ago, I'd wanted to check out what the fuss was about a particularly noisy theatre sensation. Unfortunately, the seahorse fella I was with wanted to catch Les Miserables instead. So you can imagine my excitement when I'd heard that Malaysia Airlines was bringing Stomp to KL.



Stomp is a percussion performance based on rhythm and sound generated by commonplace non-musical props, such as brooms, dustbins, match boxes, plastic tubing, plastic bags, buckets and even the kitchen sink. It's pure and simple noise presented in a rhythm that gets your feet and hand tapping, clapping, stomping along throughout the performance. Noise from everyday items and even junk turned into rhythmic music, it's simply fabulous.

Stomp opened in KL at the Istana Budaya on Sep 13. I caught the performance last night on the 14th. The Istana Budaya is a nice theatre and is surely capable of hosting many more international performing arts productions. It's just a pity we don't get enough of these productions coming this way. After last night's show, I can understand why too. A huge West End and Broadway production comes to KL and it doesn't manage to pull a full house on the 2nd day of it's run. I find that just plain disappointing. What is it about the performing arts that doesn't seem to interest many Malaysians?

Surely not the cost of the ticket? I mean RM250 is reasonable, no? Or RM200, even RM150? In fact, most of the seats that were empty were the RM150 and RM200 seats. On top of that, there was a 15% discount for the early birds attending the first 3 shows. So what does that say about Malaysian's appreciation of the performing arts? I can't imagine the show not pulling a full house due to a lack of marketing. Over the last couple of weeks, you could see flyers, posters, newspaper articles and television ads highlighting this amazing show coming our way. Getting tickets was also easy through online booking at axcess. Yet, the theatre was surely no more than half full. Hopefully, they start pulling in more crowds.

Oh well, looks like Singapore will still be the place to go when one feels the need for more variety and options in the performing arts. Which is fine by me anyways and it's not like I need an additional excuse to head south frequently anyway.

That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the show. It was excellent, and absolutely enthralled me from the start to the end. Lasting just short of 2 hours, the rhythm of dustbin banging, plastic bag rustling, newspaper crumpling, basketball bouncing and so much more will have you tapping and clapping along with them all night. I especially liked the rhythms created by the plastic tubings. I think over the next couple of weeks, we'll see and hear a lot of people try to rhythmically play everything from matchboxes, keyrings, tabletops to anything they can get their hands on.

Overall, it was a dustbin banging, body slapping, hand clapping, feet stomping sensation. Simply brilliant. Check it out.

It's Mid-Autumn

I am Chinese… Chinese Malaysian for the anal, but yeah, Chinese. Well, that’s what jumps out at you when you look at me. I am Chinese in blood and name. But having been brought up all over the world, I’m not your typical Chinese. I can’t speak or read a word of mandarin, and I can’t write my name in Chinese. When I make that statement, I usually get this look of disdain and eyes roll back, etc… but do I look like I care?

So, I come into the office this morning and I find a mooncake on my desk, with a message, happy mooncake festival. Cool, I haven’t had breakfast… then I realize it’s white lotus with a single yolk… yucks. Anyway, after a quick investigation, I find out who’d left it there for me and courteously send my thanks. The reply was “you’re welcome, happy mooncake festival in advance.” In advance?

Right, after eyeballs roll and heads shake, I find out that the Mooncake festival, or Mid-Autumn festival is on Sunday. After some googling and reading, I have this story on the mooncake.

The story of the Mooncake.

The mooncake, a customary gift during the Mid-Autumn Festival, made its first appearance in
Chinese history during the Yuan Dynasty.

For almost a century, the people of China had suffered dire times under oppressive Mongol rule. Until the mooncake came to the rescue.

In 1368, in an effort to overthrow the Mongols, the Chinese baked hundreds of little moon shaped cakes during the Moon festival.

However they contained an altogether different filling from the white lotus or red bean enjoyed today.

Inside were messages that were secretly circulated among family and friends, inciting them
to join an impending rebellion.

Dismissing the innocent looking mooncakes as part of the festivities, the Mongols were taken completely by surprise by a well planned rebellion. And the infamous Mongol Yuan Dynasty came to a humiliating end.

Every Moon festival since, mooncakes have been exchanged and enjoyed to mark the occasion.

Happy Mid-Autumn’s Festival… in advance. Advance notice expires Sunday, 18 Sep.

Pseudonyms, codenames and nicknames

As promised, I’d like to share a list of the dramatis personae in my life. Not that my life is a play, just that we boys get up to quite a lot of mischief, so best to not name names, you know?

• dc – aka flyboy in Brunei.
• J – aka old man, but sometimes also known as oneshotcan. He’s the other J.Welch.
• Belle – there’s baby belle and there’s lady belle. Together with J, they make up the Welch family.
• E-ki – she’s going out with Aki (real name).
• Plane jane – as plain as Dubai can get.
• SYT – old man’s sweet young thing.
• Snowbell – lawya turned HR.. & she sings!
• ffkQ – Postmaster General of the SITI GPO. Constantly skips events, favourite phrase is I didn't promise!
• Wombat – woman about town.
• Mish – hmmm… just started work at DuRex. Errr… I mean DuMex and leaving for *** soon.
• Seahorse – she’s hot but VERY angry.
• The Princes – name says it all. Mr Prince and significant other.
• Yen – Not the JPY. Aka YenZ, significant part of the Princes.
• The doctor – bubbliest doctor I know.
• Goddess – intern, off preparing to jump out airplanes.
• Gassy – was called fizzy, but is just too intense, so gassy is more appropriate.
• Skinny – friend of gassy.
• Aggie – woman’s husband. She’s quite skinny too.
• Woman – Mr. Simon. ‘nuff said.
• Telly tubby – poor Alan.
• Fabre“no“gas – hit on jaja binks and got warned off by her guard dog.
• Addie – Singtel 18 year old.
• Liz – errr… Elizabeth?
• Princess – aka dancing queen, but I haven’t really seen her dance. Better known as “The neighbour”.
• Awan – sportstar going out with the princess.
• Ryan – no nickname. Footballer, diver, just don’t call him playa.
• The auditor - she's super hot and a potential for the vacant goddess spot.

There’s a lot more, but I guess I don’t get up to enough mischief with them to warrant nicknames… yet... sad but true.

Happy Birthday Mr Prince!

A close friend of mine has reached the umm... golden... no... grand... no... oh well, whatever, right? Well, a certain C.Prince reached the awesome age of 40 last weekend. 4th of September to be exact. Yup, you read right and it's no pseudonym or code or nickname. A very Happy Birthday to my friend, Chris Prince. He's not royalty by the way, although he may very well be to his beloved mum. And to a certain significant other perhaps, but nevertheless he is a Prince to the rest of the world, albeit by name. Did I mention I also know a King? Same case, not a blue blood, but still a King.

Mr. Prince is an ardent fitness enthusiast. If it's not running, it's biking. And not running or biking in the flat open roads, alright? It's running and biking up hills, mounds and mole hills in the jungles. To the extent of spending a night in one, jungle, that is. Not that he planned it, mind you. He was just so enthusiastic about fitness that he lost track of time... and the way home. But, this is not about him keeping the wild animals company one night in Tioman. If he's not in the jungle, he's on the water, rowing. Which leads me to this...

MSC Watergames 2005

It’s a water carnival that’s jointly organized by the Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC) and Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) companies located within Cyberjaya. I believe it is a brainchild of Mr Prince. If you’re around at that time, come and have a look. Events will include single, double and quad scull races, a dragon boat race and kayak race. Since sculling is still a relatively small and unknown sport in Malaysia, it will be interesting to see larger scale participation in it. Who knows, it might just spur a growth in this area and we’ll start seeing more white sculls on the lake.

Want to know more about sculling or rowing? Go to FISA.

Greek Mythology

Greek mythology has always been a topic of fascination for me. I love reading about the gods and goddesses, the heroes and heroines, the titans and the monsters. The winged horse Pegasus was a personal favourite, together with the tales and adventures of Perseus, albeit influenced by the Hollywood version of the tales in the movie Clash of the Titans. The gods and goddesses held me in awe, from Zeus and Hera, to Apollo, Aphrodite, Athena and many more. Heroes such as Jason, with tales involving the argonauts, the golden fleece, Theseus and his fight against the minotaur, Heracles (Hercules in Roman mythology) and his twelve labours. The Trojan war, so told in the Iliad and who can forget Odysseus' fantastic odyssey simply trying to return home to his wife after the fall of Troy. I love Greek mythology.

Why this topic today? Well, it started with the revelation that I called a friend of mine goddess. It touched off this bout of ribbing from someone I call princess. Yes, yes... there seems to be a trend here... All this pseudonyms and nicknames or codes as it usually were. It really is interesting, the use of codes and nicknames... I think it deserves a posting of its own one day. I digress again. Well, this princess (*smile dearie, you know who you are*) has of late given me a lot of ribbing. Goddess was the most recent, so as usual I rambled on and tried to smooth talk my way out. In doing so, I mentioned that princess was better than being a goddess after all in Greek mythology, goddesses were usually jealous of the princesses because of their beauty or perhaps their love for a prince or hero which the goddess favoured or had simply angered the goddess. Obviously I was spinning shite at the rate of a loom a minute or some crap like that... =D

So being a typical geek, I came home and decided, there might just be some truth to the shite I'd spun earlier. So out with the books and on with the research. I'm sure I'd read somewhere that a goddess had had a heroine or princess killed or sent a monster after or something. I might have confused it with Hera's wrath. Hera was harsh and vengeful, usually towards those who did not reckon with her power or wronged the weak or defenceless and was particularly relentless in pursuing the mistresses and illegitimate children of her husband. Little wonder as she's the goddess of marriage and childbirth and the legitimate wife of Zeus, and he was Casanova and Hugh Hefner all rolled in one and more!

Here's an example. This is the tale of Echo and Narcissus. The nymph Echo, being a follower of Hera had angered her for endlessly talking about Zeus' love affairs. To punish her, Hera took away Echo's voice, so that she could only repeat what other said to her. Well, Echo fell in love with handsome Narcissus, but she could not tell him. Anyway, vain Narcissus would only stare at his own beautiful reflection. Thus, Echo pined away among the rocks, leaving only her repeating voice behind. Hmm... not exactly a case for the princess vs goddess case, but I felt it was interesting... don't you? *grin*

Here's another interesting mythological fact... err... somehow, that didn't sound right. The messenger of god, Hermes, (the Greek one, not Gabriel & certainly not my beautiful English Cocker Spaniel) was the only one of Zeus' illegitimate children not spurned by his wife Hera. Okay, I have to admit, I can't find any stories to support the princess better than goddess spin, and I can tell you want to read more about Greek mythology anyway, so on with it.

The movie Clash of the Titans was my first real exposure to the worlds of Greek mythology, but like many other stories, it didn't escape Hollywood dramatisation and re-imagining. The movie featured the gods and their gifts to Perseus to indirectly assist him in his quest. Gifts ranging from the sword of Hermes, invisibility helmet from Hades, the shield, Aegis from Athena which eventually Perseus used as a mirror to kill the gorgon Medusa. In the movie, Pegasus flew Perseus to the gorgon's home and he'd also been given an owl which was also Athena's sacred bird as his guide.

Well, as with any mythology, the stories change with each telling. This much I gathered from my books... Perseus, was the son of Zeus and Danae, who together with her child, was cast into the sea in a wooden box by her father, Acrisius. He'd done this after an oracle told him that not only would he not have a son, but his grandchild would kill him one day.

Upon being cast into the sea, mother and child were saved by the fisherman, Dictys, brother to Polydectes, the king of the island who in turn sent Perseus off on a quest to kill the gorgon Medusa. In his quest to kill the gorgon, Perseus was gifted a sword by Hermes and a shield by Athena. He also needed a winged sandal, an invisibility helmet and a magical bag. To obtain these, he was to find the nymphs from the North, through the aid of the Graies. The Graies were 3 old ladies living in a cave that shared only one eye amongst them.

Stealing the eye and using it to obtain directions to the nymphs, Perseus obtained the items needed to aid him in killing the gorgon. With the winged sandal, he flew to the home of the gorgon. With the invisibility helmet, he lay hidden from the sight of the gorgon and with the shield as a mirror, he slew the gorgon with Hermes' sword. With the magical bag, he carried the decapitated head back to Polydectes.

Now, as it were, on his way home to save his mother from being forced to wed Polydectes, he comes across Andromeda chained to a rock by the sea as a sacrifice to a sea serpent. This came to be after her mother Cassiopea angered Poseidon after claiming to be more beautiful than the Nereids. To cut a long story short, Perseus kills the serpent, marries Andromeda, returns to his island home and shows the head of Medusa to the king as proof of the completion of his quest. In doing so, Polydectes was cast into stone and Danae was saved from having to marry him.

You'd think that was the end of Perseus' story, right? Well, remember, the reason his grandfather cast him and his mother into the sea was because the oracle had foretold that he'd kill his grandfather. Perseus returned to Argos to assure his grandfather he had no such intention. Finding Acrisius in Larissa, he assures him that and takes part in the local games. As the fates would have it, the discus hurled by Perseus accidentally hits and kills Acrisius. Perseus returns home and in the course of mythology becomes the grandfather of another Greek hero, Heracles. But, that's for another day.

Did I mention I love Greek mythology? *grin* I hope everyone enjoyed that.

I'm a brown tiger... riiiigghhtt!!!

Okay, since posting What's in a sign, I was sent to the Doubutsu Uranai Cottage. At this link, you key in your birthdate and sex to find out what sort of an animal you are. I did it and I'd like to introduce my inner animal, the Brown Tiger. Mind you, this is not the American Indian ritual of finding your animal spirit guide, but fortune telling website, based apparently on the four pillars of destiny derived from the yin/yang theory of five elements! *phew*

According to these 4 pillars then, I'm a brown tiger. And my characteristics? Well... you go figure. If you think it's true, cool. If you think otherwise, excellent.. regardless, it's an entertaining read. Just don't read too much into it, ok?

"You are Brown Tiger, who will not bargain about your love affair, or suck up to your boss. So your words carry a lot of weight.
And your attitude is at ease any where you are, and this creates feeling of security to others.
You are not a shy person, and can clearly state your own opinion to anyone.
This powerful conversational skill tends to be attractive to others.
You also listen to the other person carefully, and can adapt flexibly to situations, by correctly grasping their points.
You dislike getting in unnecessary conflict. But you possess a strength to not withdraw when the need arise.
If you get too confident over your ability, people may think you pretentious.
You may look as though you are contemptuous to others.
You are quick thinker; you can make quick decisions, and is a person of action.
When the time comes for the need to stand up and act, you will.
You have a face of a theorist.
The way you can talk logically persuades other people.
Although you are not a smooth operator, you can not act negligently; you are a very responsible person.
Although you are a late starter, with experience, you will be able to acquire further insight and self-criticism. "

I got linked!

Well, guess what... I got linked. Check this out... you can access 5 finger adventures from here!

I guess I have to say a few words about this fella, huh? I call her goddess. Not that I worship her or anything. No, far from that. I mean, yeah, she's cute and all, but c'mon... goddess??!! I don't even refer to Jessica Alba as goddess, and hoo-weee... she's hot! Jessica Alba, I mean.*hee*

Well, one fine day in a fine cafe... she was talking about this fella who freakily worshipped her, apparently... and the first word that came to any sane person's mind was hmm... goddess? So the name stuck and I got linked!

It's also time for me to say au revoir to this little goddess... she's heading back to University in LaLa Land... No, hang on... that's on the other side. Nooo... she's heading back to the Big Apple! 'til we meet again, goddess! You've been amusing... =D

What's in a sign...

Who is fond of life and jest and pleasure?
Who vacillates and changes ever?
Who loves attention without measure?
—Why Gemini!

I'm a gemini. Born in June & proud of it. I read this somewhere... (well, excuse me, I read a lot, so forgive me if I forget to keep track of all my readings) Anyways, where was I? Oh yes... I'm a Gemini and I wear it on my arm too... huh? what? yeah, you guessed right... post for another day. Onwards already!

"The Gemini nature interacts with the environment, investigating, learning, knowing and exchanging ideas. Intellect and communication dominates Gemini. Seldom is a twin more entertained than in the midst of exchanging ideas with others of an intellectual nature.

The social butterfly of the Zodiac has lots of friends. In fact, the Twins should have twice as many as any other Sign. The Twins can bond well with lots of different kinds of groups. If they get bored with one set of people, they always have a few more groups that will be more interesting -- for awhile. Gemini is a sociable creature who enjoys having friends. The best way to develop a bond with a Gemini is to make an intellectual connection.

Being the most versatile and changeable of the signs, Geminis are seldom what they seem to be. Nothing is ever written in stone by Gemini. They are truly a free soul, driven by curiosity and a desire to know and do. They usually have several things going at once, and within such chaos, they thrive.

Geminis are bright, witty, entertaining and rarely get deeply absorbed in any one task. There are just too many things to do and know, and so many new people to meet. It will always be what they aren't doing, or don't have, or the people they haven't met that intrigue them the most.

Geminis are optimistic people. All things are fresh and fascinating for the twins, it's the way they like it to be. Geminis have a youthful demeanor, sometimes childlike. Routine is boring, and boring is not allowed. Restless, with an active imagination and a keen intellect, life must be lived to the fullest for Gemini. Perceived as a game, life is best played with swift moves and entertaining teammates.

Geminis are expressive folk, known for being great story tellers, have a knack of making life a little more interesting for the rest. They are a mental sign and therefore logical, even brilliant at times, possessing a great deal of charm. On the turn of a moment, Gemini can become cynical, biting, moody and quickly angered. Inseparable as two sides of a coin, those born in this sign can be dazzling and irresistible or inconstant and irrational.

Geminis probably make better friends than they do lovers. They are entertaining companions and are more intrigued by the idea of love than the actual day to day involvement. What intrigues a Gemini is the unknown. Geminis are fickle. This is not intentional, it is their basic nature to be so. Life seems too short a span to get very serious about anything for a Gemini. So, in love as in life, intensity of feeling is always fleeting. It is, while it is! "

When I read that, I went, "Hey, yeah, it sounds like me." But realistically, how much of it is really me? Or rather, how much of me is a result of what I've read? Did it truly describe me as how I've been astrologically defined or did I simply associate myself with those traits because I've read that's what geminis are supposed to be? And since I read that's what a Gemini's supposed to be and I'm a Gemini, therefore what I read is like me... man, I'm getting a headache.

I guess I better keep true to form,and say that I believe it's time to change the subject, after all it's gotten boring and it's simply an irrational thought. *acks* my throbbing head! =D

And as fickle as we are... a parting shot!

GEMINI LIKES

Talking,
Novelty and the unusual,
Variety in life,
Multiple
projects all going at once,
Reading

DISLIKES

Feeling tied down,
School,
Being in a rut,
Mental inaction,
Being alone