'Tis the season

Every year, around this period, when the seasons change and the cold winds blow...it happens. Free flu vaccinations, increased tissue sales and runny noses. And without fail, one of us will catch the dreaded cold, and pass it on to the other.

Hubby caught it after coming back from Sydney, and now, I have been infected. I know how they say sharing is caring but this is one thing that he can keep to himself. I hate the whole scratchy throat and Rudolph-red nose...and I especially hate the coughing, blocked nose and general tiredness.

But it's too late - I've caught it and now, I'll just have to let it run its course. *sigh*

On a lighter side, I found this poem quite hilarious. My colleague sent it to me today, after hearing that I was unwell...

Love Story

I will seek and find you.
I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.

I shall make you ache, shake & sweat
Until you moan and groan.

I will make you beg for mercy,
Beg for me to stop.

I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I'm finished with you.

And when I'm finished,
You will be weak for days.

All my love,
The Flu

Now get your mind out of the gutter and go get your flu shot!

Stress...

Finally, after 3 weeks of continual stress, my boss is back from her holiday. It was an absolutely stressfuly period having to deal with her direct manager (oh man, talk about micromanaging!!! Why do we have so many control freaks running this planet?!) but I can honestly say that I've grown a littl' bit from the experience.

I also noticed that different people handled stress very differently. One person became a kiss-ass (oh, I hate such people with a passion!!! Truly! I guess in one sense, it could be looked at strategically as 'playing the politics game'. I hate doing that. Maybe I'm a littl' bit naive but I believe you treat others how you want to be treated. Universal law...no point going behind someone's back - they'll just end up finding out. And they'll have the knife you stabbed them in the back with too!).

Another person, was very uncomfortable with the stress and ended up being very very quiet. YIKES! Now, I counted on this person as this person is very knowledgeable but when crunch time came, this person clammed up. It was a crucial moment as we had an important visitor come see us...and I was let down. I couldn't believe it...

Other people tried to make me a dictator...and others made fun of the extra hours I was putting in. The only thought that I had in my head was of blue skies, clear ocean water and a spot for me on a hammock under a shady tree. That, and that I really really enjoy being in the team that I'm in.

But I guess what was most important was that I learnt that I bottle up all my stress. And maybe that's due to the upbringing that I've had. But generally, I think I take stress pretty well...and I hope that when we have kids, we can stress them healthily and have them cope as well. But now, all I'm going to think of is doing my job and focusing solely on that...and my seaside hammock!

&, oh...remind me to chain my boss to her chair - she's never going on another holiday again!

Cramping my style

God made us have pain receptors for our apparent own good. It tells us if water is boiling hot to prevent us from scalding ourselves. It keeps us from burning our fingers by playing with fire. Our receptors are what make us pass out if the pain is too great to bear. Pain is God's way of saying "That's not good for you, don't do it again".

So why is there an associated pain with a woman's menstrual cycle? Isn't reproduction supposed to be a natural cycle of life and death? What is God trying to warn us - "Caution : Release of fluid out of the body"? If you follow this train of thought, then why is it that men don't experience any pain when they have wet dreams? Sort of the same concept (expulsion of fluid from the body and is part of the reproductive process) and yet, is arguably more pleasurable for the male than for the female of the species.

Why is this so? Have we gotten the raw end of the deal? Not only do we have to deal with this bloody encounter, we also have to carry additional weight around for 9 months (at the very least) and suffer through the process of bringing a child into the world through an opening that's supposed to suddenly be incredibly elastic. Then we have to go through the exercise of breast feeding (which I hear is incredibly painful when the baby starts teething).

So why is it that men don't have to suffer any of this? Where has God written that the bearer of pain be the woman? I swear if I ever find the source of this, I'll definitely bring out my liquid paper and change it to be the man.

But right now, all I can do is whine about it and bring out more chocolate to try and soothe my pain. *sigh* Thank God we have stash of Easter chocolate...now, let's start with the bunny's ears...

Wow!

I was going to do a post on "Fast Food and Its Ramifications" (see Izso, this is when you push for a post!) but thought this video was much more interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRZv6NGjdc

I couldn't believe what I saw - have a look. It's pretty amazing what an 84-year old person can do if the will is there. Heck, anyone should be able to do it if the will is there.

Now let me go pick my jaw off the floor and re-think if I should continue with my train of thought on food...

2nd skin

Men have it easy. There are only so many types of t-shirts, shirts, shorts, pants and briefs that they have to worry about. Not to mention shoes and other accessories. Easy. I could probably dress hubby with my eyes shut - all his clothes match each other and even if they didn't, he wouldn't mind.

Women, on the other hand, have it hard. Shirts, blouses, tops, sweaters, cardigans, vests, pullovers, t-shirts...and I haven't even described any other items of clothing! But the hardest bit of clothing (I reckon anyway) is finding the perfect bra - one that doesn't dig in, loses its elasticity, has straps that can be easily adjusted, scoops up your rolls of love handles and puts it all into a cup that allows for some womenly curves to peek out seductively.

I've been looking for the perfect bra for so long...and now, I think I've found it. Just a bit of unsolicited advertising but wearing the perfect bra is like having second skin on.

I happened to be window shopping online and thought I'd try a new lingerie label. There were the cutest littl' pale pink boycut panties on sale that I fell in love with and decided to purchase. The panties came and were so comfy that soon after, I went down to Myers to look for the brand.

Low and behold, there was an entire section of Elle Macpherson Intimates underwear. So I went to try on the bras and found it to fit much more comfortably than the bras I buy back home! I was pleasantly surprised because I figured that the 'ang moh' body was different to the Asian body.

So now, I don't have to wait for my annual trek back to Malaysia to buy underwear - I can get it all here and save that littl' baggage space for work shoes...or shirts...or blouses...or skirts....or pants...or dresses...or shorts...