Monopoly

When I was young, visiting Toys'R Us was a big thing. The toys all lined up the shelves neatly and I was awed by the numerous choices there was. Now, I find the magic gone but somehow, certain toys still managed to capture my inner child.

Before computer became so common place, my friends and I played the board games. After our exams, we had free time and so out came all the board games from: typical snake and ladder, checkers, chess, cards, to the more sophisicated games: monopoly, cluedo and the ever popular uno! I wonder what kids these days play during their free time in school. PSP? Nintendo? We only had tetris then but board and card games were a whole lot more fun!

Looking through the shelves in Toys'R Us, I saw some of these games' attempt to diversify their products. For example, Uno card has Uno stacko or various versions. My favourite game, Monopoly now has a local version-Malaysia version, Disney version and Now-and-then version (with updates places and more recent cost of properties)! There's also a girl's Monopoly version in a pretty little pink clothed box with pink dainty cards.



I don't like playing the computer version of Monopoly. I can't feel the roll of dice, shuffling of money, anticipation of opening the cards and also feeling the characters you get to choose to represent you when you move them! I usually choose the terrier!! :) This reminds me... I still want a dog!!

Fancy a PSP?

When my bf got one.. I thought, "Good... that'll keep him occupied!!" (While he waits for me when I shop or do something.. hehe) Then my brother got one... I got to use it for 2 weeks before he came back to get it from me. I was hooked!!

There's the basic, classic black psp, the white psp, the light coloured ones, limited edition red psp and also the Simpsons yellow psp. Sorry, I'm more into the colours than the specs! For more details, just google.


Two cute games got me hooked within seconds!

Loco Roco
First is Loco Roco... their cute yellow ball characters hopping and singing away (I have their song as one of my ringing tone!) were irresistible!



Patapon
Second is Patapon! Infuriating as it gets when I am out of the beat and have to wait till I get fever again, I still play them!! ;) These blackish fighting figures dance to the beat to war!!



*note the similarities in these games and you'll realised I like simple games with simplified,cute characters!*

Alas, since I don't own a PSP, I have to be at the mercy of two "men" to lend me their psp for me to continue and finish any of these games!! No, I won't buy one because they'll get obsolete before I can enjoy and flaunt my new gadget! I'd rather be at the mercy of anyone who is feeling generous! :) (Or wait till they get a new gadget and pass on the old one to me.. haha)

Calvin and Hobbes...

Since I'm off today, I'd better blog all the topics I have been thinking of the past few weeks but I don't have the time to blog about.. :P


I was reminded of one of my favourite comics recently. A visit to MPH bookshop showed me a special C&H collection!! The Complete Calvin and Hobbes worth RM 599.95!! I was salivating but that's too much to pay from my puny pay!! Sighh... I can just dream about it.

I remember I googled about C&H a time back and thankfully, the website is still around. This is the summary of the characters (based on Bill Watterson's comments which I have excerpted from the website on the link in the right. Enjoy!


Calvin is named for a sixteenth-century theologian who believed in predestination. Most people assume that Calvin is based on a son of mine, or based on detailed memories of my own childhood. In fact, I don't have children, and I was a fairly quiet, obedient kid -- almost Calvin's opposite. One of the reasons that Calvin's character is fun to write is that I often don't agree with him. . . .

Many of Calvin's struggles are metaphors for my own. I suspect that most of us get old without growing up, and that inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way. I use Calvin as an outlet for my immaturity, as a way to keep myself curious about the natural world, as a way to ridicule my own obsessions, and as a way to comment on human nature. I wouldn't want Calvin in my house, but on paper, he helps me sort through my life and understand it.


Hobbes. Named after a seventeenth-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature, Hobbes has the patient dignity and common sense of most animals I've met. Hobbes was very much inspired by one of our cats, a gray tabby named Sprite. Sprite not only provided the long body and facial characteristics for Hobbes, she also was the model for his personality. She was good-natured, intelligent, friendly, and enthusiastic in a sneaking-up-and-pouncing sort of way. Sprite suggested the idea of Hobbes greeting Calvin at the door in midair at high velocity.

The so-called "gimmick" of my strip -- the two versions of Hobbes -- is sometimes misunderstood. I don't think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin's around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination. . . . Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees Hobbes another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense to the participant who sees it. I think that's how life works. None of us sees the world exactly the same way, and I just draw that literally in the strip.


Calvin's Parents. I've never given Calvin's parents names, because as far as the strip is concerned, they are important only as Calvin's mom and dad. Calvin's dad has been rumored to be a self-portrait. All my characters are half me, so it's true in some ways, but Calvin's dad is also partly a satire of my own father. Any strip about how suffering "builds character" is usually a verbatim transcript of my dad's explanations for why we were all freezing, exhausted, hungry and lost on camping trips. These things are a lot funnier after 25 years have passed.

Calvin's mom is the daily disciplinarian, a job that taxes her sanity, so I think we get to see her at her best. I regret that the strip mostly shows her impatient side, but I try to hint at other aspects of her personality and her interests by what she's doing when Calvin barges in. . . .

. . . As secondary characters, I've tried to keep Calvin's parents realistic, with a reasonable sense of humor about having a kid like Calvin. I think they do a better job than I would.


Susie is earnest, serious and smart. . . . I suspect that Calvin has a mild crush on her that he expresses by trying to annoy her, but Susie is a bit unnerved and put off by Calvin's weirdness. This encourages Calvin to be even weirder, so it's a good dynamic. Neither of them quite understands what's going on, which is probably true of most relationships.


Miss Wormwood. As a few readers guessed, Miss Wormwood is named after the apprentice devil in C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters." I have a lot of sympathy for Miss Wormwood. We see hints that she's waiting to retire, that she smokes too much, and that she takes a lot of medication. I think she seriously believes in the value of education, so needless to say, she's an unhappy person.


Rosalyn. Probably the only person Calvin fears is his baby-sitter. I put her in a Sunday strip early on, never thinking of her as a regular character, but her intimidation of Calvin surprised me, so she's made a few appearances since. Rosalyn even seems to daunt Calvin's parents, using their desperation to get out of the house to demand advances and raises. Rosalyn's relationship with Calvin is pretty one-dimensional, so baby-sitter stories get harder and harder to write, but for a later addition to the strip, she's worked pretty well.


Moe is every jerk I've ever known. He's big, dumb, ugly and cruel. I remember school being full of idiots like Moe. I think they spawn on damp locker room floors.

Cloud obsession

I started focusing on clouds because of this pre-conceived image in my mind... Lazing under the sky. Most of the time when I am stuck in a traffic jam, I take this opportunity to stare at the sky. The most interesting time I get is in the evenings during sunset. Every evening is a different scenery. A different hue and tone every second of that moment. I'm amazed of the painter of our sky. :)

Anyway, ever wondered or even remembered the names of the type of clouds? Basically they are divided according to the different level. See some of the attached images I found online.



Opps, forgot to save the original link. Anyhow, the ones we normally see is the fat,roundish,fluffy-like cumulus clouds, which you wish you could hug! :) Then when you're on the plane above this cumulus clouds, you get to see the cirrus or cirrocumulus clouds!

When I think of clouds, I will always think of this favourite scene of mine from Hercules where King Zeus creates a little Pegasus for baby Hercules!! :)

Classic Movies

I grew up watching RTM2. I remember that I could even know when they play reruns. Those days, we were fed by classic movies by Shirley Temple, Elizabeth Taylor and many more. Somehow, through this, I grew fond of those classic black-and-white movies and even musicals.

I also remember watching these 3 funny men (Curly, Moe and Larry) poking away at each other eyes and doing funny antics!! The three stooges . Not to forget another black-and-white comedy classic is Charlie Chaplin.

I was utterly delighted when my parents finally subscribed Astro (even though I wasn't living at home) but I could always come back and watch it! There was this channel called Turner Classic Movies which showed all these classic movies. Alas, not long after, the channel was removed. I was sooo sadd...

Nowadays, thankfully, I can find such movies being sold in the market (even though now it's more towards VCD). I'll wait for the DVD version sold at affordable prices later on. Here are some of my favourite movies, without any preference in their arrangement:

1. Breakfast in Tiffany's
Audrey Hepburn's most well-known role is that of Holly Golightly in this film. She plays a complicated, eccentric New York party girl who has her sights set on marrying a millionaire. George Peppard plays her neighbor, Paul "Fred" Varjak, a writer who is "taken care of" by a wealthy woman played by Patricia Neal. Based on the novel by Truman Capote, this film is brilliantly directed by Blake Edwards. Peppard's and Hepburn's characters are meant to be together, but it takes time for the insecure Holly to reach that conclusion.

The highlight of the movie is when she goes out, in the rain, looking for the kitten she threw out earlier. She looks so forlorn and sad. Not to mentioned the memorable song, Moon River, makes this movie one of the best so far! :)

2. Gone with The Wind
This film, based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, is a story told from the Southern point view during and after the Civil War. Directed by Victor Fleming, it stars Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, Clark Gable as Rhett Butler, Leslie Howard as Ashley Wilkes, and Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton. Scarlett, the spoiled, self-centered, rich girl is in love with Ashley, the upstanding, honorable young man. Ashley is engaged, then married to Melanie, a sweeter-than-humanly-possible young woman. Rhett is tough and arrogant, and he mistakenly thinks that he can win Scarlett's heart. He realizes too late that she will never truly love anyone but Ashley.

What stands out to me, is despite how spoiled Scarlett is, Rhett still loves her. She finally learns to be independent through all the hardship. When she realised her mistake of not loving Rhett, it's the momentous scene where Rhett says, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

I-ma-gi-na-ti-on!

When I'm upset or down, I always use a little imagination...
To daydream my worries or sadness away!! ;)

Actually, I just stare at lovely sceneries and wish I was somewhere else. As if I can run away from all these worldly nonsense and rat-race...

Basically, I have this little mantra. I say "I wish I was a beautiful butterfly and then I can fly up up and away!" Sigh, too much of Disney and Pixar movies.

I caught that phrase from Bug's Life when the fat caterpillar wished he had wings to fly. That scene is the best. When he finally emerges from his cocoon, he has this cute little wings which obviously cannot sustain his weight to fly! But no harm, dreaming! :)

Something to ponder about...

Looking outside my own life... I looked at the country I live in and wonder...

Malaysia's Timeline

Malaysia's 50 years anniversary

Chinese?

In face, I just saw a book on the shelves recently entitled, "The Different Chinese" which compares chinese world wide from China Chinese to Malaysian Chinese. Still thinking of getting it to have a nice laugh at how it summarised and generalises certain behaviours of Chinese of different countries.

Anyway, those are something I can read and ponder about but many people do not want to face the reality of this. Some gave up and ran. Some stayed on and pray. What will I do? Will see how my plans go...

Learning-working Experiences...

Working in the marketplace allows us to meet all sorts of characters in this world. Sometimes, in the smallest firm to big large corporation, there will be all sorts of colourful characters from different backgrounds, culture and upbringing who meet and work together... in the name of money and survival.

Well, I am the "happy mouse" working in a small firm, minding my own business and doing my best. Someone mentioned, "Don't be a mouse that didn't even realised someone had moved her cheese". I'm not sure if that's the case, but subconsciously I do feel it is time to move on and try different pastures (take note I wrote "different" and not greener).

Definately, people come and people go. New jobs and higher demand in the market creates greater opportunities for all who dare to venture. I have new colourful colleagues. From the typical "ham sap" guys who ogles at any sexy or revealing piece of meat to the nosy one who ask you every single detail and spreads it faster than a bush fire!! From them and myself, I learn a few things.

I learn the meaning of sexual harrassment. It comes in so-called joking teasing sexual remarks which makes one uncomfortable.
- Thank God, after warning him a few times, that stopped... and I pray it stays there.

I learn about backstabbing with people complaining directly to the boss of things you supposedly did and you being uncorporative, with other people fueling or spreading that in truth, he is MCP who doesn't like to work with women.
- Thank God, he left. But sadly, he left some trails of misconception. Ironically, I only knew about this a month after he left. Need to be more aware!!

I learn about trying to delegate tasks when I myself is unsure about the task itself. Painfully, I feel so helpless when I couldn't answer their queries.
- Thank God, with experience, time, trial and errors, I learn and improve.

I learn not to be easily offended or upset when people use hurtful words or you happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
- Thank God, I realised it and am trying to control my emotions by not taking it to personally.

I learn not to be too nice or friendly to colleagues who might mistake that you are open to relationship even though I thought the label of having a boyfriend states the obvious.
- Thank God, I realised it even though a little too late and am trying to do something about it. But he still doesn't get it. Arghh!

I learn to always get instructions from clients or other consultants in black and white on any major changes in the project.
- Thank God, I have a colleague who guides me in this. But I have to learn to know it myself.

I learn to keep my opinions to myself but sometimes when provoked, they do leak out!!
- Thank God, I am still trying.

I learn that I should be improving more of myself to be more valuble because employers cannot appreciate you based on loyalty but on capabilities and performances.
- Thank God, He gives me many wonderful opportunities.

The list goes on... but I write some of them here to remind myself and review what I have learn and done. I want to make sure, I seriously learn from this to avoid any future complications. I pray He'll continue to give me strength, wisdom and guidance in dealing with people.

Sigh!!!

Sometimes, you try to avoid confrontation and conflict by minimising any conversation or even meeting the person itself. But how long and how far can you run?

How do you avoid unpleasant conversations?

Frogger Game!!

I used to play this game on this 'green 30cm X 20cm X 20cm box' with black screen and green images. It's a portable game like tetris but this one was bigger and bulkier. When I see this game. it makes me reminiscence of those days when I was young.

It takes patience as you bring the frog safely across the street. These days, I still get impatient trying to win this game. Try it! :)