Monkey Business

So, this whole week has been a school holiday. You'd think that leaving the two 'old folks' at home would be fine... but lo and behold, they end up in monkey business! Now, now, keep your creative juices to yourself... when I say "monkey business" I literally mean m-o-n-k-e-y business!!

Well, it goes like this. Mum wanted to wash her car (not required to rush off to work, for once!) and that was when she noticed this primate looking down at her from our porch roof. The cheeky monkey had a faux leather belt at its waist, signifying that he must have been someone's pet. The straw that broke the camel's back was when the monkey started peeing on the roof and so mum started shouting and dad came out to investigate.

Naturally, the nosy joke-of-a-dog doberman pinscher was yapping away when he discovered the long-tailed intruder on his turf. Zack's bark was such an annoyance that the monkey was trying to rip off my roof tiles to throw at the dog - to shut him up!

So, together my parents embarked on their first attempt at shooing the primate away, by spraying water at him. This made the furry friend flee. However in defiance, he came back. And thinking that the tactic would work again, they hosed the monkey down, but this time, our little friend stood up and enjoyed the stream of water - trying to get a mouthful of water, in the process! The cheeky monkey must have been thinking "if you can't beat it, join in the fun and enjoy it!" hahaha

Seeing that the "water cannon" tactic was not working anymore, dad went looking for the PVC pipe device thing that we used to use to pluck mangoes before we cut down our tree. With that long wobbly pipe, he tried to scare off the monkey. However, that little cheeky bugger tried to catch the wobbly end of the pipe with his small hands - failing many times to grab a hold of it. In the end, he managed to catch hold of the pipe and tried to chew it to smithereens! Somehow or another, my parents gave up the pursuit and decided to leave the animal alone so that he would get bored and go away on its own accord.

Mum just continued on with washing her car. The monkey looked on. When she was done, she went in and my parents watched behind the drapes at the window. Mr monkey attempted to climb down the wall but could not find his footing half way down, so he climbed back up. After some time, the observers lost patience and retired to their daily chores and so, the monkey saga ends there.

It seems that today, the monkey was plaguing one of the opposite neighbour who was preparing food for her business (assuming that it's for Ramadhan bazaar). According to dad, there were shouts in interval coming from that direction. I guess the cheeky Mr monkey decided to take a tour of the neighbourhood and paint the town red with all his antics!

Competitive Flatulence

Something weird has been happening in my office for the past fortnight. There has been this farting competition (for the record, yours truly did not participate! I still believe that that sacred act of letting off air should be saved for the privileged few *wink*). There has been countless instances of fart ambush taking place among the older generation.

Being one who is uncontrollably tickled by stupid fart jokes, I've found this behavioral display quite amusing. Thankfully I have not become one of the targets for a fart ambush. I guess my gender still offers me some sort of protection!

It's funny to see how fart is used to:

1. wake people up
2. attack people
3. make people stop watching movies on company time
4. announce his presence
5. tease people
6. just an excuse to make people jump up and run away

Ah, the many uses of fart! Of course, what I'm referring to are the loud ones, and not the deadly silencers.... hahahahahaha

Sugar-Coated Vility

I remembered reading an NST article online last week while scouring the net for news - it made me think about the world, how it is today. The article was about how kids these days are exposed to sexually suggestive materials at such a young age that they do not even understand the severity of what they are watching/listening/imitating. The writer mentioned watching a little girl barely out of her toddler years gyrating to some hip hop songs, which seemed cute at first but upon pondering deeper, was disturbing.

It's shocking how some parents actually think such acts are cute or adorable, and they encourage their kids to perform these seemingly innocent dances for friends to watch. The truth is that most of us don't think and analyse whatever we see or hear anymore. We have become like rubbish cans, consuming anything that is thrown at us. These days, we can't afford to be too lax about common day-to-day things which we are exposed to. Think about it. Every day as we drive to work or walk to class, we are likely to see at least a dozen billboards or pin-up advertisements. Without us knowing it, we are gradually being brainwashed to 'want' to live a certain lifestyle or 'own' a certain product or 'yearn' to eat a certain food. Advertising and media have adopted a subtle way of weaning us into thinking that "bad things" aren't "that bad after all."

I don't mean to be preachy, but I've found that this has already happened to me. It really is a surprising discovery for me, and at times I worry that I might just sway towards the wayward side if I am faced with a decision at any future time in my life. I guess ultimately I will never know how I'd react until I cross that bridge.

Not long ago, I was listening to my iTunes DJ and came across Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl, which got me thinking of the said article. I must admit that I find this song very addictive. The tune just gets into your head and sticks there for hours! Kudos to the song writer. However when you listen attentively to the lyrics, it's not something that you would recommend your younger sister to listen (for the record, I do not have a younger sister... I'm using that phrase just to prove my point). It's disturbing how so many negative messages are nicely wrapped up in seemingly fun and innocent packages. And the worse part is that we accept these things willingly into our lives, sometimes even making it our favourite songs/videos.

Moral of the story is that we should take everything with a pinch of salt. Always spend some time to meditate on what we are about to consume.

Ranting While Its Still Fresh In My Mind... Pls Excuse Me!

Blood is thicker than water - that is total bullshit! I don't know why such a small thing can make me cry so much (and it's been months since I've cried), feel so much hurt and disappointment, hate someone so much!

At times like these, you really get to see what are the priorities in someone's life and how far down the line your position is. Family is more important? Not any more, I guess. Silly of me to have always thought that.

Just to clear the air, I'm not talking about my parents. For unlike someone, I still consider my parents as priority in my life. Along with my ah yee and uncle.

It's sad, but the reality is this. And there's no denying that the situation could get worse. As the decision to set priorities in one's life is up to the person himself. No one else can do that for the person. So, I guess its gone-case situation - looking as what has been happening lately.

I guess this is goodbye.

Prayers Answered, Note the plurality

Something miraculous has been happening. God has been answering my prayers and all in His timing. A friend recently told me that we should be careful of what we pray for - and I do agree to a certain degree, but I believe that sometimes when we are just so moved to pray for something impromptu, it is all in His plan (although the prayer answered may prove to bring future hardships) for your life. When I hear true life stories of people ending up leading a totally different life than the one that they had planned out earlier, it scares me of how powerful God can be, but when I ponder deeper, it is what that person has gone through which makes him who he is today. A stronger person who has made more impact than he had originally set out to do. And as hard as it is for me to admit it, I do wonder what is His plan for me.

Recently, I've been praying for a number of things (which I will not disclose here, but some of my Christian friends will know what I'm talking about... thanks for the prayers!) to happen in my life. And I find it weird, in a good happy refreshing way, that He has answered them all after I quit worrying about them and relinquish all authority over the matters to Him. "Casting my burdens upon the Lord" has never meant so much to me as it does now. Within the last few weeks, God has answered several of my prayers in the same pattern where I worry my heart sick of the matter, then I give up and surrender it all to Him (I literally tell Him that!) and within a few days He answers my prayers! My aunty says I'm too impatient. Perhaps God is trying to teach me to be patient and that all will come to pass in His timing, not mine.

One other thing I had and have been praying for is encouragement. And He has sent me that indeed, without me having to physically ask for it, it has been offered to me! I did not tell anyone about this and it came as a shock to me when I realised that my prayer had been answered. It definitely is a sign from Him.

However (ah, that evil word that can be equated to a "but"!), being the weak human being that is in a comfort zone way too snug for anyone's good, I feel a fear of the changes that has to occur. On one hand, I can't wait for the positive development but on the other hand, my feet feels like they are made of lead and I keep turning back to gaze longingly at my security blanket. I need to overcome this fear of change. I need to stay true to my resolution of trying many new things this year (only four more months left). I need to start tuning the distractions out and listen to Him. Now, how do I do that?