Monday, May 26, 2008

Another Quickie

Been behind in my blogging so here's another round of shorties:

SCHOOL'S OUT
Since it's gonna be a long break, we decided to take some time off for a quick vacation. Nothing fancy - just a 3D/2N at Malacca by the beach. The boy's been re-enacting our last holiday by the beach, so we thought we'd cut him a break and actually bring him back to the surf and sand. Poor kid's been going around with his spade and bucket pretending to bury himself in the sand.

INDY'S BACK
Mae and I snuck out to see this last Friday. It's cool seeing Indy back in action. I came out entertained, but not sure if I liked it very much or just a little. Sean Connery should have come back. *sigh*

MOVING HOUSE
It had to happen some day and from the looks of things, probably in August or September. The place is much bigger, though still very much a condo. Renovation and furnishing will sap away all our savings. But a little change is good. We are preparing to transition Jesse into his own room. So far, he seems enthused by the idea.

XM IN THE SHOP
My beloved old junk, Citroen XM is in the shop again. Sent it in early in the year to do some wiring, despite it not really needing any repairs. Busy (and overly laid-back) mechanic took some three months to sort out the wiring and when I got it back, something didn't work quite right and now it's back in the shop. Been a month now. *sigh* I deserve this. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I don't know why I do these things to piss myself off.

ULTRAMAN
Jesse's into Ultraman these days. He wants an Ultraman suit but the don't sell them anywhere. Thank God for small miracles. So far he's got Ultraman figurines. In various sizes. He's got the DVDs. He's got the pyjamas. Books. Stickers. He's even got an Ultraman watch. And that thing that let's him turn into Ultraman. (Back in my day, we called it the Beta Capsule).

NETTED A GNAT
I've been selected to participate in a product trial. Today, someone's coming to install a GNAT set-top box in my home. It's supposed to work like the Astro Max, but I hear its way cooler. To be honest, I'm not really sure what it does. Somebody asked me if I wanted one. "Is it free?" "Yup!" "Okay, I'll take two!" Nah. I'm getting only one. But hey...

OK, that's it. Thank you for reading another episode of Loopy Meals.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Testing

jesse-revision

mugging for the exam


This week was Jesse's last week of school for the term. It was also the week of his first school exam. He's only just four, but already in his second year at school and now taking his first exam ever.

"I'm not gonna make him study," Mae announces all week before the big day, "He's only four lah". But like any self-respecting soccer mom, she makes a last-minute, about-turn, the night prior to D-day. Thankfully, Jesse enjoys his school work, so he happily (even though the photo looks otherwise) agreed to Mommy's suggestion for a quick revision.

Despite telling myself that this was just a small little Kindie test, by the following morning, I was worried sick about my boy. I wasn't so concerned about his results as I was about how he'd deal with not knowing answers, if that should ever happen. How would he feel about it? What would he do? Would he get creative and start copying his friends' work? Would I be upset that he cheated? Or would I be proud that he dealt with it? Heh.

I would have thought all my exam-related anxieties left me when I left school. But it seems they have returned to haunt me. I loathe exams with a vengeance. I remember for months after my STPM exam, I woke up in the middle of the night screaming. But that is a story for another day.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Wisdom Teeth

Last week, Mae and I visited a dental and maxillofacial specialist. You see, my poor wife's lower wisdom teeth never quite came out. Instead of growing upwards like all clever teeth should, these guys decided to grow sideways into the rest of the others. As you can imagine, this causes some discomfort and at times, immense pain.

Unfortunately for Mae, her teeth are resting on her nerves, making their removal quite a complicated procedure. In fact, most dentists she saw had recommended Dr. Ling as the man for the job. We were worried. What if a slip of the hand severs the nerve and Mae ends up with a paralysed jaw? What if a wrong move gave my poor wife a crooked face?

"The worse case scenario," according to Dr Ling, "is that you will have a numb sensation on your lips all your life." According to the good doctor, the risks are not terribly high, only 5-10%. And the chances of healing from such an event is 98%.

"Then she won't feel anything when you kiss her," said my colleague Rat, later that day.

"Is that all you women think about?" I said. Mae had said the exact same thing when we left the clinic, and I had told her as I told Rat, that there were more important things than kissing.

"What else is there?" Rat enquired.

I just gave her a shit-eating grin that spoke volumes. Heh. Despite my best efforts to prove otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have to concede that, like all men, I was just another bastard. :)