Gimme A Break

Got to the mall at 10:45 this morning, spent a full 15 minutes circling around like a hawk and finally found a parking spot on a lower floor.

All the usually quiet restaurants had long lines outside and the maitre d’ was popping out every few minutes promising to have a table available in a half-hour! A half-hour? We’d have starved to death just waiting in line.

When we came out of the parking lot two hours later, we ran smack into another parking lot of a different kind, a traffic jam for as far as we could see. Took a fair bit of offensive driving to get us through that mess, I must say (LOL).

Sure signs the festive shopping madness has begun… and with it, the stress of getting anywhere on time and with my hair still in place. No point saying, I’m not going shopping till this madness is over - because we all know, shopping (whether for survival or for fun) has become an inevitable part of our lives.

So since you must, then you will … go with an uncluttered mind, with a clear objective in mind of what you are going there to buy. Make a list. Stick a pencil behind your ear and tick off the items as you pick them off the shelf. Stay on track with what you need to buy.

(LOL) Easy to say. Maybe achievable for guys - zip in, go straight for the shirt they want, buy all the colors it comes in and get out, all in the same breath.

For the girls, impossible! We got to look at the design, try it on, see if it makes us look fat, ponder over whether the color will match the skirt, pants, earrings or shoes we already have, compare pricing, you know, little things like that.

That’s what we call shopping. What the guys do, we call buying. And there’s a world of difference between the two. Think what a world of difference it would make if only the men went to the mall.

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I thought I could go back to driving a manual car. Just like that. No sweat.

I was wrong!

Stick shifts and manual transmission?? Aargh!

This morning, I dropped off Big Blue, my mini-van, at the mechanic’s and thought I’d get her back by evening. Turns out I wouldn’t get her back till tomorrow. Shucks. I hate leaving Big Blue at the mechanic’s overnight especially since I need her to get to the gym, bad.

So happens a friend of mine has a spare car sitting around this week. He warned me that “it’s manual, can you handle it?”

“Sure,” I replied. “No problem, I’ve driven a manual before…” twelve years ago.

I hopped into the car, adjusted the seat and mirrors, turned the ignition and was all set to zoom off into the sunset. And I would’ve too, if I could just get that darned steering wheel to budge.

It was like I was trying to drag a plane out of his driveway. It felt like a ton! After a few futile turns, I just sat there laughing and laughing so hard tears were streaming down my face. It was crazy. There was just no way I was going anywhere in that car!!

Just as well that he called to see how I was doing. “Hey, how’s my car treating you? Great little number, huh? Just don’t rob the bank in it!” he chuckled.

“If I did rob the bank, I’d be a sitting duck!”

So much for feeling gung ho. I don’t know how I ever drove a manual before but one thing’s for sure, there’s no turning back now.

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Last month, I saw this salt lamp in my brother’s room. Fascinating! It looks like a piece of rock blasted from out of a cave somewhere. No, wait, on second thought, it looks like one of those infamous feng shui things they tell you to place in the north-west corner of the house to bring instant good luck.

Yeah right! There’s no way I’m going to fall for that. But I’m told this rock releases positive ions to purify the air we breathe. By converting positive ions into negative, it helps to clean the air of toxic fumes and harmful elements. It’s apparently good for those suffering from sinus, asthma, allergies, stress and a whole bunch of other modern ailments.

Sounds good but does it really work? Eager to convince me about its benefits, my brother gave me one of his salt lamps to take home. “Put it in your room, keep it on 24 hours a day and you’ll start to feel the benefits.”

Well, I guess it looks harmless enough so I’ve placed it in the kids’ room. It emits a warm cozy glow and… well, okay, I’m not sure if I’m imagining this, but the room seems cooler. In our hot equatorial climate, that’s not a feeling you get very often when you step into a room when the air-conditioner is not on. So I’m guessing this lamp may have something to do with it.

Anyways, if nothing else, it works great as a night light tucked in the far corner where the brightness is partially hidden so it isn’t too bright that the kids can’t sleep. We haven’t started feeling any positive effects yet. In fact, the kids tell me they sneeze even more now (LOL). Well, at any rate, the kids have their three wishes ready and are still waiting for the genie of the lamp to appear (LOL).

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Wow! What a weekend! I’m still spinning from that rockstar-themed karaoke (3 hours of what no one could actually call singing LOL), six straight hours of shopping, three treasure hunts (two that we organized for the kids and one the kids organized for us) and many pots of coffee.

But who’s counting anyways? When a busy person takes time out to have fun, there’s just no stopping to count. We just go all out to paaarty (LOL). By Sunday night, I was all but zonked out.

Monday morning, I dragged my feet into class. Yep, the part-time job I’ve just started. I am excited about this change in my routine, the social interaction and of course, the extra money.

But at the same time, it sorta cramps my style, you know. I’ve gotten so used to dictating my own schedule and doing what I want when I want, it’s hard being bound to a schedule I have no control over, you know what I mean?

This is terrible. I shouldn’t talk as if my part-time job is a chore. Well, it isn’t, honest. I only work a couple of hours a day so I still have the rest of the day to do what I want. What’s hardest is having to crank up this old engine (read: me) after it’s been sitting around for a year, you know (LOL).

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Well, today’s the day the kids have been looking forward to. My cousins and their families are in town and I can smell a family reunion coming up. So happens it’s our new nephew’s ‘full moon’ as well.

‘Full moon’ is the traditional celebration of a baby’s first month where we deliver packages of red eggs, rice, curry chicken and roast pork to the homes of relatives and friends as a way of informing them about the new addition to the family. We’ll also be having a family dinner to celebrate.

It seems every six months or so, we find excuses for these huge family reunions. The funny part is none of us actually plans these reunions, they just fall into place. Getting five people together is hard enough, what more five families with kids and grandparents?

So we just decide to go out for dinner. It’s embarrassing how we always end up filling up half the restaurant. We’ve given up doing headcounts because it just gets too confusing. But these get-togethers are a whole lot of fun and we usually end up chatting till closing time when the waiters come to politely shoo us out.

It’s true what they say about food being central to the Asian culture. Everywhere we go, we’re constantly on the lookout for good food (LOL). Actually we don’t have to go very far - we’ve got food from all over the world right here in the city. Mmm, all this talk about food is making me hungry already (LOL).

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