A ring is round, it has no end...

& that's how long I'll be your friend

Last nite, we took a girlfriend out to celebrate her *ahem*th birthday (it's not nice to give away a woman's age!) *grin*. We went to a Turkish Restaurant called Alanya. Not bad decor, dim lighting, very romantic, a tad bit stuffy...but good food (sorry, no pics) and good company.

Anyway, I've known this girlfriend since I was in Uni. She was my IP201 tutor, and then became my half sponsor for my Australian PR. In the good old days, she fed us vegetable lasagna and made the best rocky roads EVER! & she made a promise to us 5 years ago - "If any of you get married, I promise to make a trip to Malaysia to attend the wedding".

Good to her word, she came for our wedding. & we're glad that she did because we found out that that was when she came to the realisation that we were friends. Full stop. Nothing more, nothing less. Not tutor-student. Not sponsorer-sponsored. Not mentor-mentee. Just friends.

I asked her what made her think that there was an ulterior motive for our friendship. She said that she had always thought that people wanted to be friends with her because she gave them her time, advice, opinion, money...bla, bla, bla...the list goes on. She never realised that we were just friends. That we wanted to BE her friends just because. That that is what friendship is all about, just being a friend.

It's taken awhile for her to come to that realisation...but now she has and she has come to grips on that with all her other friends and is enjoying just BEING a friend to her friends and not having to live up/give advice/be a mentor/etc.

To me, its kinda sad that it took this long for her to realise it. But I'm happy that she has come to accept it and I'm happy for her...because it's nice to have a friend who just wants to be...a friend.

Just Do It!

How well do you know me? I've written a quiz 'How well do you know Lil?' on Bebo. Click below to answer the questions and see how well you do:
http://www.bebo.com/inviteq/1696264826a24630294b

Blah blah blah...

Huh?

I don't get it. Why do people complain? Hang on, that's not right. I understand why people complain. What I don't understand is why some people complain NON-STOP???!!! Isn't it exhausting? Don't you think you need to get over the issue and just get on with your life? What good is it wasting hot air over something that you have no way of changing?

This colleague of mine, complains everyday about the bank screwing up his loan application, how slow his builder is going, how he's never going to be able to move in, how his furniture company is ringing him everyday, how the boss doesn't treat him well, how there's so much work, how his dad should be looking after his mum and not working, how there should be a pay increase...on and on and on! Even I find it exhausting listening to him (which shows you something coz' I'm not one to make it a big deal if someone needs an ear to bed!).

But for some reason, it's not getting into his head that it's the same story over and over again and if he doesn't get out of this rut of looking as if the sky is about to fall, he's going to be in the same cycle of unhappiness and pessimism.

And it's not just him for that matter! I find the people here seem to complain a whole lot more than back home! Now, why is that? Is there more stuff to complain about here? Is it just because they have it so good here that they don't realise what its like being in another country where getting the same standard of living is almost non-existent? There are so many things to be thankful for. What happened to looking on the bright side?

I just pray everyday that I don't turn into one of THEM! Remember, tell me off (especially you Pugly) if I start to complain! Or just tell me to shut up. 'Nuff said.

To know Malaysia...

Check this out:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lepak

Dolphin kick

Splash!

I bet when you see 'dolphin kick', you picture in your head some mean-ass dolphin, tying a red band around his head and using his ummm...tail...to annihilate the ummm...bad guys (bad fish?!?)! (See, I can see this mean-ass dolphin in my head but when I try and describe him on screen, the poor dolphin seems like some wannabe fish who's trying to get into Hollywood!)

Anyway, moving on, that kick's got absolutely nothing to do with the mean-ass dolphin. It's this 'kick' I learned at swimming yesterday (rather, attempted to learn). The instructor was trying to teach us what we needed to learn to perform the butterfly stroke, which incorporates the dolphin kick to get you moving!

Oh, in vain his explanations were! The two of us were confused at what he wanted us to do. Clear as mud I tell you!

"You move your body like this" (and he's gesturing with his hands and doing what looks like the hula dance gone wrong).

And off we go trying to follow his instructions, only to have the both of us look like how fish do when they're out of water, trashing their bodies on dry land (only a thousand times less graceful). Did I mention I didn't move forward at all?

Mr. Instructor then says that we should do porpoising, which will definitely help us get the movement together. Even more gesturing and monkey jumping! You basically spring off the floor of the pool, jumping upwards and out, and then dive back into the water to touch the floor of the pool and stand up.

***Betcha can't imagine ME doing this! I couldn't either!!!***

And we're off again, this time looking like 'ikan bilis' frying on a hot pan. And while all this is going on, I'm thinking "I'm too old to be doing this".

So today, as I write this, I'm thinking of my aching legs and body (and ears! God knows how much water's gone into them...I needa get me some earplugs!) and not feeling the least bit excited that I'm getting older after reading Pugly's comment. Sure it's good to be alive...but growing older can wait another day.