Category: just for fun

For the past several years, my birthday have been connected with work related trips. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed those trips (some more than others). But this year it was different. My birthday fell on a Friday this year and one of the world’s music legends was playing nearby. I decided what the hey, why not make a non work related trip on this year’s birthday? So bit the bullet, and the voilà! A nice birthday weekend, complete with chocolates on my bed 🙂

To those who were wondering where I disappeared to and failed to send birthday greetings, well the pictures above should give a clue or two. Once in awhile, we need to give ourselves a break on our birthday, don’t you agree?

Sometimes, the line between what’s real and what’s fiction get blurred. Example: a telephone conversation with my brother about our Dad’s recent diagnosis for  prostate cancer

Me: “Oncologists have different opinions on the treatment. We need to talk to more than one.”

Brother: “We need to talk to (dr) Wilson.”

And just who is Dr Wilson? He’s a great doctor, empathizes with patients, does his research. Only problem is that he’s a doctor on the TV series “House”.

Yes people, my family definitely watches too much TV.

Oh dear, resistance is indeed futile. Now blogging is mobile.

Please pray that I don’t go ignoring humans & stayed glued to this device.

Then again, it might be too late anyway …

Please pardon my language 🙂

Since jumping on the social networking bandwagon and joined by a gaggle of young(er) cousins, you can’t help but feel, oh, I don’t know, old? :::Smile:::

Case: Just yesterday one of said young(er) cousins announced that her mobile was broken beyond repair and she was looking for advice for a replacement. I of course, replied the “responsible” way ;-): “What’s your budget?”

She said (in a typical teenager way) “Dunno. Dad just said to get a replacement.”

Now at this point I was beginning to wonder. Back when I was her age, my Dad would never just offer, but he would set the limit if I asked for a new whatever. Of course, back in the 80s, no one in Jakarta had even heard of mobile phones 🙂

OK, so today I read her status “I was offered to choose (popular trendy fruitphone models) but I chose a (less trendy smartphone made by Scandinavian geeks). So proud!” (names have been changed to protect the innocent).

:::self-pity mode on::: Hey, why is it nobody is buying me anything? My young cousin was just an example. I can go on about my married friends who often say “Wah, I don’t know, I just got this from my hubby” or “well a present from hubby”.

And then I look around to see who can get me the new 5th generation IPod Touch for my birthday and realize, waaah, no one’s getting it for me … And that, my friends, to be honest, it just… sucks, because sometimes, you just want that present from that special someone where there is no budget limit… sigh.

Arrrgh! Enough wallowing!

:::self pity mode off! This is why:

The same cousin mused “I wonder if I can go to (popular destination in SE Asia) to see (some band I can’t remember)” and when I offered “cheap ways” to get to said destination, she said “no too expensive for me. Can’t save that much”

And in a moment of being selfish and totally immature, I thought “Hah! I win! I actually can BUY a ticket to any tourist destination (as long as it’s economy, haha) and see whatever I want because: I have money, and I don’t have to ask permission anymore, hahahaha!”

Hey, life doesn’t seem so sucky now 🙂

Ever had a toy that you loved and cherished forever (or so it seems)? For me it was a chimp called Jocko. Around 30something years ago, my Dad brought Jocko home from Germany. Dad explained that Jocko was special because he had a “knopf im ohr”. He was made by a famous toy company named Steiff. Steiff made high quality soft toys, all in Germany (no “made in China” for them!). Obviously, more expensive than other soft toys. Their trademark was the “knopf im ohr” or the “button in the ear”. Expensive? Obviously. My Dad must have skipped some meals in Germany to get me Jocko (I LOVE YOU DAD). Jocko became my best friend, sleeping next to me on my bed. I loved soft toys as a kid (and an adult, too!).

Years passed and since I moved around a lot in the 90s, Jocko got lost somewhere in the jungle that was my soft toy collection. I had tons (or at least a few boxes) of cuddy soft toys.

However, I always remembered Jocko because of the “knopf im ohr”. When I got the chance to visit Germany, I realized how precious and expensive Steiff toys are, which made me love my Dad even more. Then one day last week, I saw the orange kitty in the store, and I fell in love all over again with Steiff. The 50% discount helped also :-).

Anyway, this is dedicated to my Dad, and to the kid in all of us… everybody needs at least ONE cuddly soft toy in their lives!