The trick to a Limerick

Thanks to my friend, Boney N, I have been doing a "Daily Challenge" since over a year ago.  I started with the default track of "Emotional Well-being".  Then I moved on to "Conquering Clutter" and now I am doing the "Pleasant Pauses" track which is really very pleasant.

Anyway, a couple of days ago, the daily challenge was to write a limerick.

How to do it

A limerick is a five-line poem that follows a simple rhyming scheme: the first, second and fifth lines all rhyme, and the third and fourth lines both rhyme. Unlike other forms of poetry, all you need to write a limerick is a sense of humor. Need help getting started? Take a cue from Edward Lear, a nineteenth-century writer (whose very popular limericks weren't dirty or indecent!). His limericks typically began with, "There was an old man of ..." or "There was a young lady whose ..."

This was what I wrote...

There was an old lady from KL

and she tried like hell

to write this well

didn't follow the rule

but it's still cool!

I didn't expect to get any response but my friend, Lyn C wrote this comment:

This lady I know is not so old, 

her heart is young

and she is full of fun

although, at times quite bold

 I am told ;-) 

and if that wasn't enough to warm my heart, another friend, Darrell C wrote this:

There was a young lady named Lita

It would be hard to find a lady more sweeta.

She posts pictures on FaceBook

That make me take a second look

Some of them knock me offa my feeta~ lol 

I have to thank "Daily Challenge" for these wonderful people who fill my life with smiles.

Yellow

WARNING

NOT FOR THE FAINT-HEARTED!

Leave now, if you are anti-BERSIH.

*grins*

Apparently, the colour scares some people.

I didn't know that until today.  

BOO!

(gif from photobucket)

Of seeing an angel

Most parents, if not all, will say that their child is an angel.  I don't know about the others but I know my child is an angel and I've got proof!

As they say on Hitz.FM........ G O T C H A!

Mwahahahahahahahahahaha

#2 Of What Makes Me Smile

Children are so innocent and they take anything you give them.  They trust you unquestioningly and they love you unconditionally.

I hardly gave my kids any aerated drinks when they were growing up.  Mostly they drank milk, water or the famous Ribena which, until today, is a favourite.

During one Chinese New Year celebration, I had a case of packet mango juice.  Jared asked for one and in the festive spirit, I said, "okay".  He was about 4 or maybe 5 years old.

As he was drinking the juice from the tiny straw,  he said, “Ummmmmm, this mango juice is nice and gassy”.  I jumped and grabbed the packet from him and screamed, “Don’t swallow!  Spit it out!”. 

It was too late.  He already swallowed a mouthful of what he thought was a delicious aerated mango juice.

I would learn later that he has an iron stomach and a weird sense of food combinations.  This boy can eat maggi curry noodles with cheese.  I think, my godson, Greg taught him this.  Yucks!


When  I tell this story, I always smile.

Of 3 Angels

There are days when everything works out so well that you feel so immensely blessed.  Then there are also days when nothing goes right.

Yesterday was one of those days.

I needed transport to Bangsar because I didn't have my car.

Angel 1 sent me there
Angel 1 also paid for my lunch



Feeling good, I then discovered that I left my passport at home

Angel 2 sold off my 2.30 pm ticket
Angel 2 got me a seat on the 4.30 pm bus



Feeling anxious about how to retrieve my passport from home

Angel 3 came to pick me up
Angel 3 sent me back to Bangsar.

Three obstacles and yet everything worked out so well.  Yes, I remembered to thank my lucky stars and also the angels that made everything run so smoothly.  Small blessings are so necessary.

It isn't the first time that people have just appeared, out of nowhere, to help me.  I am truly blessed.

(all pics from photobucket)

Of nicknames

In my lifetime, I've been called many names.  Okay, I'll admit not all of them are endearing but who cares or keeps tabs on that.  Who even wants to remember when you are called terms which are pejoratives.

Today, someone bequeathed me with the title of "Queen".  I can't share the "why" of it because it's a private joke.   Somehow it made me happy.  Perhaps it's because of "who" that someone is!  Whatever the reason, I don't care!  It gave me a smile that lasted all day. 

So let me see if I can put here all the nice nicknames that I've been given (in no particular order).

Queen (latest, haha!), Baby, Darling, Honey, Sweetheart, Love, Dear, Princess, Dearie, Girl, Doll, Baby Girl, Baby Doll, Lovey, Sweets, Sweetie, Sweetie Pie, Cutie, Babe, Sugarpie, Angel, Star, Little Star, Gorgeous (hahaha), Hot Stuff, Friend, Precious, Sexy, Yang, Sunshine, Amor, Preciosa, Reyna,  Linda, Querida, Estrella.  

Wah, I'm feeling kinda "high" now.

Sticks and stones 

may break my bones

but names

will never hurt me!

now changed to

Sticks and stones

may break my bones

and nicknames

make me happy! 

(all pics from photobucket)

Of using online resources! (or a euphemism for stealing)

Yup, some people really make you feel like you are lacking when they appear to get everything done so effortlessly. Somehow, Bree Van de Kamp of Desperate Housewives comes to mind. Every strand of hair is in place, she cooks, bakes, does gardening and her house is spick and span.

If you browse online for stories about people who are organised, you may stumble upon this:

You're probably wondering how I got it all done so early, or maybe you've already decided I'm one of those crazy, completely over-organized women who get everything done ahead of schedule. Well let me assure you, that is not the case, at least not the crazy part.

I had a great reason for getting my shopping finished early, besides just seeing if I could do it. I wanted to be able to enjoy the holidays with my family just a little bit more.

Source! (Always give credit to the source when you use their work!)

Believe it or not, I was told that these lines were borrowed stolen from the link given and presented as if it were someone's original writing.  It set me thinking that some people like to create false impressions.  

When someone can't write, that someone can actually take the trouble to surf the net to cut, copy and paste stuff from all over to pretend that it's original.  I was told there is a slew of this stuff which someone claims is her own writing or as she puts it "using online resources".  

*Wags finger*  No, it's not!!!  It is certainly not using online resources when you give the impression that you wrote it yourself.  In fact, it's stealing other people's words and claiming them as your own.

I have been amused to be told that the majority of her so-called blogs (hidden inside FB, for obvious reasons) had consisted of words or paragraphs stolen or edited from online pages.  

It is so easy to check.  All you have to do is copy a handful of those words, put them in inverted commas like this "The mood is peaceful and I although I have a lot on my mind, I am grateful for a productive day. It never quite seems to be a full enough day but I know that life has a way of always making us desire just a little bit more", and then paste them on any search engine like google.com.  Voila!  You will find the page or magazine that it was taken from and in this case, from here.

There were tons of stuff taken from all over the World Wide Web.  Some were wholesale copying and pasting. Some were edited and/or replaced with carefully selected words.  No mention was made of the source.  Incredible!  The deception runs thick and deep.

Unbelievably, she says integrity is her prized possession.

Does she not worry about being found out?  What do her friends think of this?  I have to believe they do not know.  So for how long does she intend to deceive them?

I think one of the reasons is that she can't stop because she's been basking in the lavish praises heaped upon her.  So she has to carry on with the sham.  This is why they say, "A lie takes care of the present but not the future".

More pertinently, the question would be, if this were your friend, what would your reaction be?  She isn't my friend and so I can just shrug my shoulders, giggle about it and laugh it off.

Nevertheless, what if he or she were my friend?  What would my reaction be?  Good question to think about.

I suppose I'd lose respect and trust for that person because telling a lie is one thing but perpetuating it is another.  I would also have to re-evaluate every single thing that person had said because once one's credibility is gone, one cannot recover it. Not 100 per cent anyway!

I may say all this now but I really don't know what my reaction would be if I found out something like this.  I really don't.

As far as I know, none of my blogger friends does this.  I guess it would be difficult to know why anyone would want to do it.

My friend ZR has a good explanation for "Why people do it?   

He says, "There is a deep emptiness in the human psyche which the owner tries to fill by dumping second-hand or borrowed wisdom into it but like a castaway who drinks from the sea to quench his thirst, the more he drinks the more thirsty he becomes, the seeker who looks outside will never be fulfilled ...".

He goes on to say, "Not being able to fall back on their own resources, such people do gain satisfaction from basking in the shade (praise) of the works of others just like camp followers or fans like to stand close or be taken pictures of with celebrities partaking and enjoying in their reflected glory. This is innocent and healthy enough up to a point but beyond that it can get sick when you can only live in the shadow of other people, of belief systems, of super this, super that, without which you feel you are nothing, without self-worth, directionless ... people must regain their self-belief and trust their own minds, for better or worse, and not be dependent on constructed realities ...".

I find it amazing that someone with other natural talents would want need to put up a charade that she can also write!  There must be some deep-seated feeling of lacking.

Am I worried that she will chance upon my blog?  No, why should I?  It might do her good to know.  There is a remote chance that she doesn't even realise or think it's wrong.

What about her friends reading my blog?  Well, maybe they will see things differently after they read this.  Perhaps they will tell her that she needn't pretend to be what she's not and that she's acceptable just the way she is.

After all, not everyone can be Bree!  

(all pics from photobucket)

When the PM came a visitin'

Last Sunday, on 10.10.10, the Prime Minister of Malaysia came  to Taman Seri Sentosa for, what I believe to be, a Hari Raya Open House celebration.

Am I glad he came?  Yeah!

Traffic was a bit heavy, I saw a lot of people but it was too crowded for me.  So no detailed reporting because I wasn't at the Open House Celebration.

Oh, no wonder, the entire stretch of 
Jalan Taman Seri Sentosa 
has been retarred.  Yahoo!!!!!

 It took them only two days to get it done.  Efficient heh!

I wonder if therein lies a hidden formula for when your area needs sprucing up!

Of The Games Children Played

I began writing a blog post about the qualities I looked for in a man and half way through; I had gone off on a tangent.  So I'll have to get back to that in another time and space.

I digressed so completely that now I have a totally new subject.  I hope you enjoy it anyway.

I grew up in the years when it was safe to roam the nearby rubber estates.  There was a group of about 18 boys and girls.  We used to play football, badminton and catch tadpoles.  We played this game of one person chasing the others with a wet tennis ball.  If you were hit, then it was your turn to chase and throw that tennis ball and although it was painful to be hit, everyone laughed and ran away to avoid being the next victim.  

As I relate this story now, I wonder how many of the younger generation would understand that kind of simple joy.  We didn't have videos, play stations, computer games or any of the high tech hand-held games that seem glued to the hands of children these days.

In those days, riding a bicycle was "the in thing".  It meant  your family had money and could afford one. 

We played so many games that seem to be extinct now.  I remember playing a game called "What is the time, Mr Wolf?" and today, talking with my colleague, she mentioned a game called "A E I O U".  We burst into laughter because this was an era when these were all common games we grew up with.

Being in almost the same age group, we could remember those childhood games like "Hop Scotch" and "Skipping Rope".  I can still hear our childish voices singing, "Blue bells, cockle shells, easy, ivy, over".  As we sang, the rope was swung back and forth under our jumping feet, but not turned over. Only on the last word, "over," the rope was turned fully.  

If there are any young people reading this, they would probably say "and...” expecting much more.  They don’t know the simple pleasure of just jumping around with friends!

Another favourite was "Police and Thieves".  We used to recite in Chinese what sounded to me like "Tim peng peng, yow peng peng, tim toh hoe yahn, hey cho peng"

Then there was also another game called 5 stones (usually 5 tiny pillows filled with rice, sand or saga seeds).  This game needed much skill and dexterity to win.  We could spend hours playing this.  I suspect the kids of today would turn their noses up at all these things that my generation found so enjoyable.

When I tell my son or nieces and nephews about those days, I can sense their bewilderment at my excitement over those games.   

To them, it’s a totally new and different world today.  Nothing is exciting if it doesn't come with audio and visual aids.  

For those of my generation, the rain was our toy and the outdoors was our playground.

Sadly, the young of today don't even know what they have lost.

(All pics from photobucket)

Bullshit Protector

Many of us are in dire need of this. Wonder who's selling and where?


I got this picture, in an email, from my cousin. Can't give credit to the origin since I don't know.

about a year ago, I wrote ....