Guys nowadays... sighz...

Okok.. this is not about all guys.. it's basically just 1 guy fren of mine.
Gals, have u ever wonder why the guys nowadays are so petty? Yes... I wonder if being metrosexual or SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guys) have anything to do with their sensitivity level.. Does it work both ways i.e. they're more sensitive to your needs but at the same time, you've to be more sensitive to theirs??

Well... the above para was just a general comment abt most guys nowadays.. but back to my story abt me & my guy fren..
I'm currently taking pop piano lessons with a fren. We're into our 3rd level (where there're 4 other frens in the 1st 2 levels but they subsequently dropped out leaving us as the survivors). One day, the piano teacher gave me a call asking if it was alright to change our weekly lessons from Wed to Fri since she's doing some re-shuffling among her classes. Much as I do not like lessons on Fridays (well, that's the time when my frens jio me out for coffee, let our hair down, etc.), I was agreeable as this condition will last only abt 2 mths plus. And knowing how busy our teacher is with her lessons, I agreed to help her inform my fren. I sms him, & he replied "ok". So our lessons were "officially" changed to every Fri. As this narrator here is getting a little senile, she actually forgot that on the following Fri, she had brought tickets to watch a performance. Hence, no choice.. msg teacher, asked if can postpone or change lesson's timing. Then, at the same time, msg-ing my fren to inform him abt the situation. I was rather tired that day.. coz plenty of work to clear & just stepped out of the office abt 9+pm.

Surprised that there was no reply from my fren, abt a couple of hrs later, when I went online & met my fren, I asked him if he received my msg. He went something like "Are we both taking piano lessons together?" "Er... yes..." "Then I'd appreciate it if you discuss with me first before talking to the teacher."
I was mad to see this statement appearing in my MSN msg-box. Hence I reiterated "I was merely checking with the teacher if there's another arrangement" (of coz since knowing her busy schedule) "& if you're unhappy, u shld have replied to my msg. And I'd appreciate it if you can actually let me know if u're unhappy abt the arrangement." Being deat beat, I did the most sensible thing next. I logged off & went to bed. But my hp sounded. My fren just msg me asking if the change to Fri was my idea. I told him it was that of the teacher & that I logged off merely coz I was tired. Next morning, having no choice but to settle the lesson issue, I had to msg my fren again. I told him that if he was unhappy with the arrangement, kindly let me know & lesson will go on on Fri & I'll just miss a class. He replied "If I have to change my personal appt to attend piano on Fri, I'd not complain. Tell me if I'm unreasonable for asking you to discuss with me first before talking to the teacher. If yes, I'd not argue." "No, I wld not say u're unreasonable. But I do not understand what is the issue here. I merely checked with the teacher if there's another time & if u're unhappy, shld hv let me known." And I ended the exchange as I refused to argue over sms-es. It's both stupid & counterproductive.

On Sat, I received a msg from my fren, informing me he was in KL & would appreciate if I can ask the teacher to switch the lesson back to every Wed or Sat instead. I was pissed... & told him to inform teacher himself. He replied that it was more convenient since I was in S'pore & he further requested to postpone lessons for a mth since he's going to US & Europe end Aug. I told him to negotiate with the teacher himself. I was hopping mad.. This guy here had agreed to the change in lesson timing without thinking further. He flared up at me thinking that I was the one who went ahead to change the lesson without asking him. And what's more, he refused to admit his mistake when I told him the "truth" (yeah.. the truth he wasn't "listening" to right from the start..it's the teacher's request to change the timing!!). And he has the guts to ask me to inform the teacher after "gunning me down" a couple of times. Told him sms-g me from KL is more ex.. calling will be cheaper. Refused to listen. Refused to call the teacher too since he thinks overseas calls are ex. Well.. if u decide to be cheapo, solve your own prob.

Well.. I know there's no point getting angry with such a guy.. It might be just an oversight on his part. But there're certain principles of mine here that he violated: 1) I hate to be maligned. 2) I hate to be scolded for no rhyme or reason. 3) And if you've violated the first 2 principles, you jolly well apologise & being a soft-hearted person, I might just relent. You can simply tell me u made a mistake in assuming that I was the one who made the change. Fair enough.. I'll just over-look the whole matter. I do not like to argue but neither will I back away from a situation where I am not at fault.

Pride's important to everyone.. not only to a guy. But if you let your stupid pride stand in front of you & it blinded your vision such that you made the wrong judgement if then, even refuse to admit your own fault, then accept the consequences & dun whine. When I knew he misunderstood me, I explained. But this fren just refused to accept or "listen". How can anyone pour any more water into a vessel when it's full (so full of himself or of wrong conceptions)?? Sigh.. I can only say good luck to this fren who wishes to change back the lesson timing.. coz I'm totally against weekends (not to spite him but I generally have quite a few appts on weekends). So guess he'd hv to readjust his schedule around the lessons these few weeks!

Are my internal organs intact???

I know I've not been blogging for a long time. Other than being rather busy with work, I was also suffering from a rather bad cough. I've never had such a bad cough.. can you imagine coughing for close to 2 mths & not recovering?? I've seen my GP twice (& he charged me $60 on 1 particular visit for some very strong antibotics) & even an expensive Chinese physician once. End results: everyday take medication, sleep, wake up, 'expectorate' (in case anyone does not know what this mean, it's actually vomitting out the spit), go to work, cough, work, cough, go home, cough...
I coughed till my colleagues shun me!! Ever tried coughing till so badly that you feel as if you're coughing out all your internal organs?? I even cough till I vomit..

Yes.. yes.. I know the entire description is rather gross.. I was rather disgusted with myself.. especially when I'm on the train! Sigh.. still hacking away a little.. but not as bad as initially.. only at times an outburst of coughing.. Thanks to a kind colleague of mine who's also a doctor, when I mentioned my problem to him, he gave me some medication & did not even charge me for it! Well.. that's a benefit if you work with a doctor :p :p

Clams for pets??

Last Fri, after a taxing week & quite some OT, went with a friend to M Hotel for their buffet. Thanks to this fren of mine that has joined some gourmet club, I always get to enjoy good food at a cheap rate. It was a steamboat buffet.. & there was a wide assortment.

The service was excellent & they even provided each customer with a whole fresh crayfish! There were also many pastries/desserts to choose from. Even lohan guo drink & honey sea coconut. However, this is not another food issue though the food was good too..

I was seated next to my fren & there was a huge steamboat pot in between us. I was happily eating when I saw that my fren had this 'incredulous' look on his face.
"What happened??"
"I saw the clam move.."
"Are you sure it wasn't coz the plate's wet & it was the water that moved the clam?"
"No.. I saw it open up & stick out it's tongue to lick the piece of fish!"
"Really?? I wanna see!"
So what we did next was to put a slice of beef next to the clam. It slowly opened up & stuck it's 'tongue' out to lick the beef. When I knocked on the shell with my chopsticks, it retreated a little, then continued to 'savour' the beef.. Gosh.. I was so amazed!! My fren then took the clams & threw all of them into the pot when I was done with my "examination" & taking pics of it.
He took them out & was happily eating them.. offered some to me but I rejected. Well.. I'm no vegetarian.. but I try not to eat food that is still moving & I can see that! Some warped logic I know.. I'm still killing animals by eating them.. but still...

Anyway, conclusion of the whole episode: the seafood at M Hotel is really fresh!!

To barter your love???

Well...Not much creativity on my end again.. :p
This is an article that I find extremely true... & most of us are victims of this many a times...
Hopefully after reading this article, you're able to realise the pitfalls & prevent yourself from falling into an undesirable situation again!
______________________________________

You usually do what you're told or asked to, even when you really don't want to do it. You keep your grudges inside, but because you feel mistreated, you grumble, complain and have frequent bursts of anger. You feel suppressed, but just can't seem to say "no".

Does that sound like you?

If you're consistently suppressing your desires to accommodate other people's needs, even it makes you really unhappy, perhaps you need a shift in self-perspective. You probably feel that if you don't give in to others' requests or demands, that people will not love or accept you anymore. You believe that their "love" for you is based solely on the pre-requisite that you comply with their every wish.

People trapped in such relationships can't seem to refuse the requests of family members or friends. And their family members and friends have become so used to seeing them in the submissive role that they often think that's what makes them happy, so they leave them to it. These people also get feelings of self-worth from being the "victim", the "martyr", or the one who has to sacrifice his own needs to accommodate the desires of the people he loves. This is a false line of reasoning that he has allowed himself to believe.

But your family members and friends will just as easily love you even if you can't give in to their desires. Love does not require that you suppress your true self and happiness. Love does not need you to be dishonest about your real feelings.
True freedom is found in giving out of love and not out of fear. When we give out of fear of rejection, we are not really giving but bartering whatever we are giving in exchange for others' acceptance.
No one can respond to what others ask of them all the time. And you are just as worthy of love even when you can't accommodate the needs of others.

Is it time you allowed others to be responsible for their own reality? And for you to be responsible for your own happiness?

Ikukan

Well.. this is going to be another "food, oh glorious food" session. Well.. pls do not attempt to advise me that too many of such sessions are detrimental to my health & waistline. I promise I'll bash anyone up for telling me that ! :p

Anyway, the "flavour" of the month is Ikukan!
This is not a place that I'd have ventured to on my own.. coz the prices are really not too cheap.
However, it was a "thank-you" dinner for a CEO of some hospital.. so no choice.. must be more "attas" (high-class?). Ikukan's setting is rather nice & simple, mostly making use of white furniture & comfortable seats.

They offer 3 set menus and ala carte dishes. The set menus cost $36, $50 & $62 each. Deciding that it's not often that I get to pay so much for a meal, I chose the $50 set. It was an excellent choice. I was able to select 1 dish each from 4 different groups: appetizer, mid-dish, main course & dessert. For appetizer, I chose the seasonal variety: consisting of a sample portion of tamago, squid, duck, seaweed, fishcake, wintermelon & salmon. The appetizer was really nice.. I enjoyed the squid a lot as it was grilled & tasted extremely fresh & sweet.

For mid-dish, I decided to go for something different instead of the sashimi that's so typical of Jap restaurants. I chose a dish consisting of sweet potato & mozarella cheese. It was heavens... Imagine sweet potato wrapped in cheese & fried with a batter till it's crispy.. Then add a nice sauce to go with it.. Every bite consists of sweet & saltish, creamy taste.. I really enjoyed the food though it was a "cheaper" choice compared to sashimi! But looking at my colleagues' sashimi, it came in a round globe(bowl) of ice.. & there were thick generous slices of raw fish & some other seafood. Heavens too!

For main course, I normally take sukiyaki..this time round, hearing that the place is famous for their charcoal grilled items, I chose the grilled beef & it was excellent. Served with a side salad that was made up of various greens & a nice vineger, the beef was succulent & grilled on the outside but soft & tender on the inside..

For dessert, I chose the "sweets of the day" - a raspberry cheese yoghurt ice-cream. With every bite, you taste the berry & the cheesy yoghurt taste.. Being a dessert person (I always get scolded by my frens for looking at the dessert menu even before deciding on the main!), I find this a fantastic combination.

A costly price to pay.. but for the exquisite & fantastic food, it was worth every cent! :))))))