Confessions of a City Slicker

I remember that morning when I first saw you.

It affirmed to me that God is listening and He answers my prayers.

You see, the night before I was really upset.  I had lost another puppy months ago and I suddenly felt this overwhelming rush of emotion as I remembered her.  The dam just burst and and the tears wouldn’t stop.  I went to the place where she likes to sleep and prayed there.

I asked for you.

The moment I saw you, sitting there with your other siblings, I knew that God had answered my prayers.  You were exactly what I had asked for, down to the markings of your fur.

I cuddled you in my arms all the way home.  You felt so right there.

Mom named you “Baby”, after the puppy that died before, but you were my butterfly and that’s what I call you.

You conquered my heart in less than 24 hours.  We gave you priviledges that were not given to our other pets.  For one thing, they never get to go to bed with me.

You were so wonderful, never giving us any problems.  You never make a mess in the house, you sleep through the night, and only wake me up in the early hours of the morning when you ask to be let out.

And you held your own against our other pets.  I was so worried when we left you home alone the first time, wondering if they bully you, but when we got home and you came running from behind with your puppy bark, I knew you’d be OK.

I spoil you, but you can get away with anything with the way you look at me and your cutesiness.  But you never take advantage of that.  You always know the limits, even if I don’t set any for our relationship.

You know what?  When I had you, I didn’t mind missing out on things and life.  I don’t want to miss a moment with you.  I didn’t mind being in a deadend job if it means more time to spend with you.  Coming home to see you more than makes up for all the shitty things that happens in my day.

So Baby, for what would have been your 11th birthday, I want to thank you for the most beautiful 6 years of my life.

I love you, Butterfly.

This picture was taken during Conny’s very first belly dance workshop when I was an absolute newbie and absolutely blur about everything.

It’s not very clear here but you can click to see the larger version.  See the girl behind me?

OMG!  Is that Ms B who teaches belly dance at my gym?  Here’s the close up shot, again, not very clear.

Of course I didn’t know who she was then.  Who knew we would meet each other again like that.  Ha ha!

Update: I just remember this workshop was held just a week or two before Ms B started teaching at my gym.

OK, first of all, I gotta stop calling it that.  Belly Dance is what the Westeners call it.  In Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries where this beautiful dance originated from, it’s called Raks Sharqi or simply, Oriental Dance.  It’s a very cultural thing for them.

I really love this dance because never has a dance form been more made naturally for women.  It’s a very joyful and expressive dance, created by women for women.  Of course, the guys have their toes in it as well, but it’s always the women who bring out the beauty of this dance.

So naturally, I was really excited when I found out that Conny will be organizing a gathering of sorts for her students.  So excited in fact, that I snapped up my ticket on the spot, forgetting completely that the date clashed with a friend’s birthday celebration.

**So sorry, Girl, but you know how I get when I hear an opportunity to belly dance (blush!)**

Conny had the gathering at her studio so that we, her students, can mingle and get to know each other.  Yeah, we all only know the girls from our own classes and even then, we struggle to get each other’s names.

This is the ice breaking ceremony.  We were supposed to bump hips first then shake each other’s hands before moving on to the next person.

After that, we did all the routines we have learned before from beginner to advance levels.  Can’t believe how much I have forgotten, even some which I claim to be all time favorites.

It shows that this is something that you have to continue practicing.

This was after one of the routines, the opening dance for the last hafla, in fact.

Conny allowed for a Q&A session during the gathering.  Some students brought friends along who are virgin to belly dance so they have the opportunity to ask questions.

A lady in our group sure has lots of questions but that’s OK.  We learn together, huh?

I discovered how far I’ve come during the free dance session.  When I first started, I wouldn’t be able to improvise to save my life.  Now, I can.

Ha ha…I love to let my hair fly when I dance.  There’s something of a sense of freedom in it.

Some girls are really crazy about upping their skills.  They go for workshops everywhere.  Me, only when they come to my turf.  I’m not so nuts as to go all the way to AS or SP.  The toll charges and gas will probably amount to more than the fees they charge to attend the workshops.

Can’t wait for this November’s hafla.  My first glimpse of a male belly dancer and I will definitely try to attend his workshops.

You said you’re not interested to know, it’s none of your business.

So why the f@#& do ya still ask?!?!?!

You said we have the freedom to work anywhere we want, just like you are free to rot in that shit hole.

So why the f@#& do ya still ask?!?!?!

Because your beloved got his balls bashed?  Oh poor thing!

Hah!  Serve him right.  There is a God after all and he punishes the wicked.

Do you really think we are as naive as we used to be?  I’ve said it before, we may be dumb enough to be fooled by that cunning smile of yours and your overtures of friendship before.

I think we have been stabbed in the back often times enough to wise up, don’t you?

We were so nice to you.  We really think of you as our big sister.  We told you everything!

Now I wonder how much of what we confided in you was conveyed to your beloved, perhaps during your pillow talks?  Yeah, we know what’s going on.  You betrayed us to get your CB scratched.

That is why we are out here now, enjoying our lives while you’re still stuck there :p

There are some people whom I find absolutely frustrating to talk to because they have a very one-track mind. Their train of thoughts can be heading directly towards a collission course or about to plunge into a ravine but it’s full speed ahead for them.

Case in point, a dear friend who will insist on using some absurd old wives tale she got from the internet as basis for her arguments. Even when I state that my conclusion to something is from what I have and seen and discovered for myself, she will carry on with her rantings, totally oblivious that it’s pretty much a one sided thing and that I am on ther verge of vomitting blood.

Gosh, I wonder if she listens to herself when she blabs.

Sweetheart, here’s something you gotta know about information that you find online.

Most of them are only part of the story which is extracted from a larger story for the purpose of getting backlinks, traffic generations, search engine optimization or selling something.

It’s not that they are purposely deceiving people.  Their information is still real, just not complete because that is not the real of purpose of them doing it.

The only people who’s information are likely to be correct are those with credibility, proof of success and a network of influence.

These are the people who you can be sure will give you real information, but if it’s free, you better believe that there’s another piece to the puzzle that you have to buy from them to complete the whole picture.

Information abounds on the internet. You have to use your own judgement to sort through the junk from the truths.

So Hon, the next time you see that I am not continuing a conversation with you or roll my eyes, please, zip it!!!!!!

I have been super busy lately with the boss launching a new product, so there have not been much updates.

After 3 weeks of transcribing over 15 hours worth of audio, finally it’s over.

At least the boss was impressed with what I gave him, calling it a "solid" piece of work that it justifies the amount of time I had to spend doing it.

I’m mighty proud of it myself, especially the graphics that I put in, considering  I don’t have any changgih software like Photoshop to work with.  All I had was a photo editor and the very basic Paint application.

Still, if the boss thinks that it’s a solid piece of work, I’m not gonna argue with him ^_^

Makes all those nights working till 2 am in the morning worth it.

I naively thought that I’ll be able to make it to Body Pump last night, but sadly, that was not to be.  My arms were all cramped up from all that typing and I’m experiencing aches the no amount of weight lifting can give me.

So folks, want well toned arms?  Just get one of those typewriting CD games and abuse the keyboard

Note: Check with the experts first before you decide to give up your gym membership to do this.

The Olympics have started barely a week and we have watched our team being struck down one by one.

Only one man is left standing - Lee Chong Wei, our last remaining hope to score a medal.

If he makes it, then it’s a proud moment for "My People" in this country to show "The Other People" that in the end, it is one of us that brought home the glory.

Not that it will create much of a ripple because The Other People will just turn a blind eye, lie to themselves that this did not happen and continue living happily ever after underneath their coconut shell.

I thought I was deeply indebted.  There have been nights when I lie awake and worry about what my next credit card bill is gonna say.

But after getting updated recently about somebody I used to know, looks like my situation is not as dire as his.

Sure, I max out my credit card every month but I’m slowly getting it under control, unlike some friends who took up personal loans to pay up their credit card bills then get themselves more deeply in debt because they can’t pay off the personal loan.  Shame on you guys :pppppppp

I have to keep myself under a strict budget every month so that I don’t over spend and mess up my whole financial plan.  That means no spending on frivolous extras unless I really need it

What little side income I make only takes me so far.

Having said that, sometimes I wonder why am I not thinking of ways to make more money instead of living on what I have?  After all, millionaires like The Donald and guys in his league have been advocating this for years.

Anyways, back to my friend.

Seems he’s gotten himself in so deep, he’s considering borrowing money from some questionable parties he found online.

Dude, I really wish I can reach out to you, but I can’t, and I know that deep down inside, you won’t accept any help from me either.  I really hope you have given a lot of thought about this before doing anything you might regret later.

Good luck!

I was driving home through a quiet suburban neighborhood when the surrounding area suddenly took on a somewhat ethereal quality.

Maybe it’s the haze enveloping everything in its shroud but things sure seemed…………different.

It was real quiet, too quiet if you ask me and Linkin Park blasting through the stereo system of my car couldn’t do much to change the overall mood at that time.

It’s almost as if I had inadvertently driven through an inter-dimentional door and caught a glimpse of the world beyond.

Then it hit me - Hungry Ghost started a few days ago.  The doors of Hell supposedly opened and the hungry denizens of the netherworld are prowling the streets looking for food or revelling in the temporary freedom that they get once a year even as I sit here and write this.

This is the time when parents set a curfew for their virgin daughters.  Hah! As if that will work in this day and age.

Strange things have been known to happen, some fatally dangerous if one is not careful about his deeds and words.

Once again, for a few nights at least during this whole month, neighborhoods will come alive with Traditional Chinese Operas or concerts, for the the enjoyment of the living and the dead.

But it seems due to the recession, it will be a quieter affair this year.

Yeah, quiet indeed.  I have seen nor heard a whisper of anything thus far.

But whatever it is, I couldn’t get out of that neighborhood soon enough.  It was a huge sigh of relief when I finally hit the highway with its busy traffic and I can sing along with Linkin Park again.

Been getting tired of my tight curls lately, but I’m not gonna straighten them.  Sorry, but straight hair is so boring and has no character whatsoever :p

What I wanted was those springy big curls I have seen on TV, but to my disappointment, my stylist told me that it is only achiveable through the use of a curling iron.  Bummer.

He suggested using big rubber rollers instead of those conventional plastic ones that results in big waves rather than curls.  They resemble these long, rubbery rods and because I have very thick hair, it was quite a weight on my head.

I like the finished look, a kind of messy bedroom hair.

Folks, your moms might have heard of my new stylist, S.  He was a prodigy during their young days.

S told me that my mom used to sport long hair.

No way!

"Way," he said.

Then why, for the love of God did she insist on subjecting me to a short crop when I was a kid?  It did not help that I was a chubby kid and a short crop only enhances the roundness of my face.

Sure, people find it absolutely adorable, but even then, I knew that round was unacceptable, especially for a girl.

Besides, I have really stubborn hair that requires lots of time under the hair dryer to tame.

So when I finally got the chance, I rebelled and let my hair grow.  I find it so much easier to manage once it grows past my shoulders because then, those few stubborn areas are not so obvious any more.

I can tell you that caring for short hair is a real bitch.  The short styles might look sleek and polished, but I tell you, they grow out of shape within a month.

And during those times when you are pressed for time or dead tired but still need to style it right, you’d be cursing whatever evil demon that possessed you when you decided to lop off your crowning glory.

There have been a few times when I let that crazy demon possess me, like the time I wanted the Scully hairdo.  But the long nights under the hair dryer trying to get it into shape finally got to me.

So for now, my crowning glory stays long and glorious.  Besides, long hair = sexy, no