36 Hours of Freedom :-)

How does that feel like? 1 12/ day of complete freedom?

F'course it feels good. According to one of (my) favorite and reliable sources, 'Freedom' is...

"(the idea of being free) is a very broad concept that has been given numerous different interpretations by different philosophies and schools of thought. The protection of interpersonal freedom can be the object of a social and political investigation, while the metaphysical foundation of inner freedom is a philosophical and psychological question. Both forms of freedom come together in each individual as the internal and external values mesh together in a dynamic compromise and power struggle; the society fighting for power in defining the values of individuals and the individual fighting for societal acceptance and respect in establishing one's own values in it.

Freedom as the absence of restraint means unwilling to subjugate, lacking submission, or without forceful inequality. The achievement of this form of freedom depends upon a combination of the resistance of the individual (or group) and one's (their) environment; if one is in jail or even limited by a lack of resources, this person is free within their power and environment, but not free to defy reality. Natural laws restrict this form of freedom; for instance, no one is free to fly (though we may or may not be free to attempt to do so). Isaiah Berlin appears to call this kind of freedom "negative freedom" - an absence of obstacles put in the way of my action (especially by other people). He distinguishes this from "positive freedom", which refers to one's power to make choices leading to action."

But to me, freedom means no Christine. No Christine. Yes, the quiet/tranquil/serene 36 hrs without that loud/noisy and sometimes-delusional sister of mine. Another sister of mine, Pauline, checked out early as well, since her darling is in town today...

My sister's on her working trip to the east coast (Kelantan, Terengganu). These hours of freedom are rare gems, baby!!! Usually at this time of the day she'd be roaring at the top of her lungs at the smallest possible things (???) or seeking solace in front of the mirror for hours (esp. since she did a new 'do a few days back) admiring whatever that's (left???) there... :-)

Hmmm...less than a day to go...wonder when will her next assignment be? Is that why Pauline always pray that Chris gets an overseas posting??? Ouch~

Incapacitated + Liquid Diet for 3 Days = Happiness & Dropped 2 lbs…and counting…

After a few hours of excruciating pain I finally decided to pack loads’a stuff & go back home. Hometown, that is. My parents’ place where I grew up, had my sweet childhood and where my dog is at. It’s a good thing too, since I didn’t have to get my butt up and cook (mom’d do ALL that~~) & listen to that mildly sociopathic Christine whine, brag, boast, and scream just about anything that comes by.

When I reached home mom was already visualizing my would-be clinic etiquettes. Oh boy, maybe u should stay in bed for a few days, she said sympathetically (???) I could still talk with limited speech ability, plus my gum was slightly swollen, and I was taking antibiotics. So I guess I didn’t appreciate it when she treated me like a baby~

The second day…Boy oh boy, mom was probably right. My swollen right cheek was like the face of a roughed-up Sumo wrestler. I have pix of that but I wouldn’t put them up for a million yrs for Pete’s sake!!! Mom shrieked and dad was also surprised (not many things surprise him…) then I asked Christine whether this was normal, her hesitant Yeses cast some clouds of doubts but I decided to wait for another day…

The 3^rd day…Thank God the swell slowly soothed. I had liquid diet these few days and was dying for something solid, preferably something savory, something rich & aromatic, something like…French toasts & coffee. But mom said no coffee :-( My liquid diet consisted much of juice, powdery organic drinks and porridge…God I miss my homemade salad so darn much…

The 4^th day…Ok my swollen cheek was much better but I still looked like someone who just got creamed by some high school bully…2 word, NOT GOOD. But I’m glad that I’ve shed some lbs while I was still ‘incapacitated’ and recuperating at home. 2 lbs…and counting…haha…hAhA…HAHAHA :-) Guess I’ll have to make do when mom decides to boil porridge again~

Removal of my wisdom tooth & the horror that follows

I had a dental appointment on Monday (May 5) supposedly to remove 2 of my wisdom teeth. This is my first time to have my tooth extracted so naturally I didn’t feel quite in place. Yes, my very first toothie…at the age of 23 ½…

Removal of the wisdom teeth on our upper set of gum is considered normal extraction, the ones below is considered surgery, but the one below was giving me problems so I guess I’d be incapacitated for a few days :-(

When my name was called I felt a sting inside me, and numbness to a certain extent. I lied on the recliner (???) and an assistant gave me enough anesthetics so I couldn’t feel a thing in the next bone-crushing hour…

So I didn’t feel a thing the next hour. But the pressure and bone-cracking (my toothie…) sounds made me wanted to scream but I couldn’t :-( The dentist pulled and kneaded my facial muscles like she was making dough…Thank you Lord for inventing anesthetics…

When it was done I told them not to extract another one. I had planned to have both teeth on my right sets removed…but heck no!!! I’d pass out~

And then, voila! There it was, the little rascal (or so my mom calls it) came out and was right in front of me. I almost couldn’t believe what a tooth-in-the-flesh could bring about such world misery. I suffered a good full week of gum ache because of It. Well, one of the speculations about King Tut’s mysterious death was because of his wisdom tooth …

----- But that’s nothing compared to what I’d have to go through the next 4 days -----

The story is on my next post, of course… Meanwhile, u can check out pix of my toothie…teehee…still very ‘bloody’…

Ridiculous menu pricing…

DucKing Restaurant along Jln Persatuan (opposite Section 17 PJ) in a newly-built business square called Jaya One. My hands are pictured holding up the menu, a sign that incongruously reads: PRICE FOR THIS MENU, RM 1,500 +++ (US$ 450) I was like, WTF???????????? C’mon, there must be some sorta explanation for this??? Maybe there’s just a market out there I never knew existed…

Car smashed into fencing of a government building (near Taman Jaya LRT Station, PJ, Malaysia)

A Proton Wira ran over the fencing of a government building in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. No sign of anything, it looked like an abandoned car when I took the pictures—it was really odd, considering it was midday when I found this ‘picturesque’ site… only a handful of passers-by…

The Kuala Lumpur Olympics Torch Relay (April 21, 2008)

I reached KLCC around 1pm today. Just for the Olympics torch relay. The Chinese Olympics Committee people arrived from Bangkok to KL late Saturday night, bearing the historical torch with them. It was said that the flame of the Olympics torch has never been put out. I find that hard to believe…

The 10-mile route (16km) started from Dataran Merdeka at 2:30pm. Reached at 6pm. I don’t know what on earth would take them so long. Rain started pouring in at 4pm and sea of people started to gather under sheltered covers, but splashes of rain didn’t deter thousand of Chinese students and nationals screaming “中国加油！奥运加油！北京加油！”…

Tens of thousands of spectators and onlookers gathered at the majestic KLCC park under sun and ultimately, rain just to catch a glimpse of the torch and the bearers. Luckily for some, they did. I’m one of the thousands of unlucky ones :-(

Snapped hundreds of pictures and some videos. Here are some of the pix I took. Will try to upload videos to Youtube~~ Also, found out later a Japanese family-of-3 and a monk were among the few who got arrested…When in KLCC, there were people thinking out aloud why there were no pro-Tibet protests…I wondered the same thing but am so glad there were no complications.

Finally, speech from the vice chairman of the Chinese Olympics committee (I think…) I really wanted to take pictures with some of the big shots but the security was beefed up and areas were barricaded. At around 7:00pm I sandwiched through sea of crowds and headed straight to the LRT station, too much Co2 almost suffocated me… (or according to CSI, a fancy term call asphyxiation)

Here’s an article from Cable News Network… (or according to some of the Chinese students, Certified Nonsense Natter) :

Chinese students cheer Malaysian torch relay

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Hundreds of flag-waving Chinese students gathered at the starting and ending points of the Olympic torch relay in Kuala Lumpur Monday, far outnumbering the handful of people who carried pro-Tibet signs.

Heavy security was in place to protect the 80 runners carrying the Olympic torch along a 10-mile (16 km) route through the Malaysian capital, ending at the Petronas Twin Towers.

About 500 Chinese students attended the relay, carrying pro-China signs and heckling the few people taking a pro-Tibet stand.

The Chinese students wore identical shirts with the slogan "One Dream, One Nation," and many of them had Chinese flags painted on their faces, according to witnesses.

An Olympics organizer said the Chinese Embassy arranged for the students to be there. Several of the students told CNN that the Chinese government provided their transportation to the event and gave them the flags and shirts.

Witnesses said the Chinese students overwhelmed a woman wearing a "Free Tibet" shirt and holding a pro-Tibet sign, hitting her with small Chinese flags before she was carried away unhurt by a photographer.

"As soon as spectators saw what she was doing, they immediately mobbed her, hitting her with flags," said Brad Kesler, an American tourist who was there to watch the start of the relay.

Kesler said the woman was holding the sign and not yelling.

At least two other people carrying pro-Tibet signs were carried away by police. It was not clear if they were detained because of a disruption or if they were removed for their own safety.

About 1,500 people attended the relay's start in Independence Square, according to witness estimates. Few of them appeared to be local residents -- a member of the Malaysian Olympics council explained it was a work day.

Malaysian actress Marina Mahathir, one of the 80 torchbearers, said she was "very excited and very proud to be carrying the torch." She said she did not expect any of the violence that disrupted the relay in several other cities.

Earlier torch relay stops in London, England; Paris, France; and San Francisco, California attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. Some protesters in those cities tried to disrupt the relay, and police made dozens of arrests.

The flame will arrive in Jakarta, Indonesia late Monday for a torch relay there on Tuesday.

A dash of Color :-)

Pictures snapped after a huge downpour back home… And what do they say about rainbows and sunshine? The 7-shade layered arch is a sign of renewal of some sort or the beginning of a new journey? Or in my case, damn rain disrupted my satellite television signal for hours? :-(

On the other hand, I still enjoyed the colorful sight. I kinda wish there was Aurora in a place like mine. The bow is nowhere close but it’s the closest we get here in a tropical region… Now Aurora Borealis, that W-I-L-L be a phenomenal occurrence…