Thanks to my mom who introduced us kids to the timeless, classic films and music of the 50s, 60s and 70s.... I have fond memories of watching To Sir With Love and being in awe of this man who
commanded the scene with his presence.
Watching the way he played the role of a teacher able to change his students from rowdy teenagers, to capable young adults... it made me think of my mom, a teacher who could take any class that other teachers didn't want... and turn them into students who were attentive, passed their exams, and still come looking for her, 20, 30, 4o years after she had taught them.
The
type of teacher, who can get even the most unenthusiastic student
interested in studying...
A neighbor, who was worried that her
daughter was not concentrating in her studies, asked if my mom could
help her a little by some tutoring...
My mom said yes and now
the young girl, excitedly comes every few days a week to study with
my mom... Making her mom and my mom so happy to see her so keen to
learn...
It takes passion, and love and respect for the students you have pledged to teach, to be a successful teacher that will always be remembered...
The sincerity from my mom... The passionate way
she teaches and the love for her students... Her avid love for
knowledge that bounces off her and gets her students interested in their studies too...
I know that the reason I got through my schooling
days and did well, was because of her guidance when young...
Which Sidney Poitier showed in To Sir with Love... I remember there was a scene in the movie, when he taught his students how to make a salad to get them to eat healthy...
And it resonated with me because I remember when I was young... seeing my mom take loaves of bread, eggs and all kinds of food to school...
When the IT guy in my office starts his "explanation" on what's wrong with my PC using words I don't understand, when all I want him to do is tell me my baby is gonna be ok... I also prattle on a little about MacGyver, the 80s series I used to enjoy as a kid... Not really sure why my computer problem made me suddenly reminisce about the 80s and think of MacGyver... I realize I'm a very strange woman.
A Note to the IT guy
in my Office
Look, I don't mean to be the type of person you wish you could erase with a click of your mouse... but could you please tell me
what's wrong with my PC and what I need to do... in a language I can
understand...
and not all that ancient alien stuff you're spewing... Cause I'm listening to you talk and all I hear is "Ancient Astronaut Theorists suggest..."
Think of me as a 4-year-old learning my ABCs... Cause I
didn't get a word you were saying just now... or what I'm
supposed to do to solve my PC problem.
Are you speaking Kryptonese? Cause it certainly sounded like that to
me.
I know these are just common,
everyday words to you.
They're NOT for me.
Yes. This is exactly what you look like to me right now with that fast way you were saying your words, using a jargon, only you can understand.
Hey, you can minion talk me all you want, with your "po-ka" and "la-boda" but the only thing going through my mind is... I want a banana... which would be lovely in some milk shake... that has a dash of rum... Cause that oatmeal I had for lunch didn't really satisfy my gastronomic urges.
You can stare at me, all you want, Michael Scott, but I'm willing to bet a lot of IT people in your "office" have also filled you with the urgent need for a spiked milkshake.
Yes, Mr. IT Guy? No... my mind isn't wandering... Still paying attention... but still not getting what you're saying...
Whoaaa... So that's how the insides of a computer looks like... And that's why you brought all your gadgets... I was wondering why you needed all those mechanic tools...
Was kinda worried you were going to use them on me... to you know... tighten those bolts in my head...
No... I'm not giggling at you... Just randomly giggling at my own stupid joke... I do that all the time... laugh at my own jokes... They are not funny... but they seem to amuse me...
What's that you said? No!!! I don't really have bolts in my head... It was a joke...
I know... I know... The joke wasn't very good... I didn't say I was Wanda Sykes...
What, Mr. IT Guy? Wanda Sykes??? Oh... She??? She's a comedian...
I was trying to be a comedian too...
Why do you have the confused look on
your face, Mr. IT Guy?
The look that says, “Please don't quit your
day job”.... which, to be honest, is a look I get often at my every attempt to be funny...
So you don't watch comedies? You probably watch IT movies, eh?
Like what??? Maybe Swordfish??? I watched it during my university days...
Haven't seen it? It's an IT film... It was about hacking and stuff... Hugh Jackman was in it... Yeahhh the Wolverine guy...
He can do such diverse roles, don't you agree? Comedy... Drama... brooding... Did you know he once played a
Duke... I love the Victorian era... Especially
the big hoop skirts.... One of my favorite authors is Georgette Heyer and her Regency books...
Man. Hugh Jackman is such a cool actor, isn't he?
Wait... Hang on... I didn't catch what you were saying, Mr. IT Guy?
No... Nothing is wrong with me... Why do you keep asking me that...
No... I'm not talking about Victoria's Secret... Why do all men only think of models? Like couldn't men just stick to thinking of sports...
Yeah I do like to talk a lot...
You don't really consider hacking as IT?
Well... Ok... I hear you...
What did you say, Mr. IT Guy?
That you were probably not even born yet when I was doing my degree?
The best thing I did of late, is not just taking stock of my faults but coming to the realization that as humans, we're all flawed and that aiming for perfection should never be the goal. So this is the tale of me finally accepting the person I am, to realize that it's ok to be me, and although I should not change the person I am to please others, I could at least try to live a good life through the words of wisdom and example shown by the people who inspire me.
This
post is in a more serious tone... or as serious as I could be, I
guess... It was one of my pensive mood days, that made me contemplate
life... and if I'm doing enough for those around me especially my loved ones, and being the
best that I could be around them, and not hurt them by my
words and action.
Many of us will never know what it's like to go hungry. To look at a piece of bread and hope that it will last. But there are many out there who know what it's like. And it made me ashamed for the trivial things I worry about while there are people struggling just to have a decent meal.
I know what it's like to struggle. And saying this, I'm in no means making light of the real struggle people are going through now especially those suffering from the effects of the pandemic...
There's nothing I can do to make things better for them... Although I wish I had the means and resources to do so... All I can do is pray every day that things will get better for them... and try to help as much as I'm able to... with the little I can do...
I didn't come from a rich family. My parents worked hard to provide for us, my siblings and I, and although it wasn't easy, my parents always made sure we had enough, even if my mother, I now realized as an adult, sacrificed, by skipping her meals...
She wore shoes that were worn out and almost falling apart and clothes that were frayed... yet never thought of buying something new.... because money was scarce and she wanted to keep what she had for us.
I
cannot imagine the love it takes to do that. To say you're full and not
hungry, so that the people you love, your children, can eat... To not buy things for yourself, to not see to your comfort and pleasure, because you're thinking of your children.
And my mom has
never changed. Even now, she will still willingly give up her meal if
she sees there's enough food for only one person...
My parents struggled, worked extra hours and extra jobs, to make sure we had a good education and the best life they could provide for us... They filled our home with books and good meals...
It
could be just a simple dish, nothing too elaborate, but boy were they
delicious...
I never realized, until now, how lucky we were as kids, to
have a mom, who could take the little things she had left in the fridge, which sometimes wasn't much, and
with her love, creativity and passion, turn them into delicious,
hearty meals.
Many childhood memories such as this...
So maybe we never went on trips or had expensive gadgets, which as children, we were perhaps not as understanding.
I remember all the times as a kid, when I got a little jealous, for not having the things my friends had, without seeing my parents' sacrifice and struggle...
Most importantly, not seeing how others have it worse... To be grateful for the little we have and find joy in the simple pleasures of life...
I wish I had been a bit more kind and understanding.
To realize that sometimes it's not just the expensive trips to exotic places
that's needed.
That my mom could make even a trip to the
Mall or a meal out, at what was famous at that time, White Castle,
fun and exciting.
She entertained us with stories, and introduced us to the Oldies... Songs, books and shows she grew up
with...
I remember her tales of disguise and chivalry as she got us to
watch The Scarlet Pimpernel, and introduced us to Elvis, Cliff Richard,
Johnny Tillotson, the Everly Brothers, and so many others.
She got me
to love books by introducing me to Georgette Heyer, describing the scenes... as I was young and Regency
English was a bit too difficult for the 12-year-old kid that I was back
then....
But over the years, as my reading comprehension improved, I grew to love those books... appreciating Heyer's unique, witty, humorous play with words...
So I may have stayed indoors
reading all the time and missed out on being active out in the sun.... but being a shy kid due to my obesity and lack
of communication skills... the life I had with my books was all I needed
to give me a great childhood.
This gif speaks to me on so many levels...
My siblings and I didn't need trips or items of luxury to keep us entertained...
It was sometimes something just as simple as putting our mattresses in the living room to sleep, while we watched late night movies. Our own version of
camping...
A good reminder to me to never forget that it's not the big things that
matter...
The little pleasures in life, that my mom provided for us,
like good meals and her tales of adventures, are what matters.
It may have been hard on my parents to pay the bills and put food on the table, but they gave us a happy childhood with many memories that we will always treasure... We were truly blessed.
My parents taught us from a young age, through their example, to always do good, be a charitable person, and treat others with respect
and kindness.
From my father, who was involved in charitable work, and committing all his time and effort in improving the lives of those he had pledged to help. Who was willing to go hungry and give the last cent in his wallet just to help someone in need.
During his funeral, we met countless people who talked about all the things my father had done for them, and my only wish is that my father could have known of all the love and respect people had for him, and the many lives he had touched and changed for the better.
I wish I could have told him how proud I was of him... and what an inspiration he had been to me...
From my mother, who was a good daughter, wife, mother, sister, aunt, teacher and friend to those around her.
Who has always put others before herself, and whose students still remember and come looking for her, 20 years after she had taught them, just to say hi or to invite her to their children's wedding dinner.
Like how many people actually think of inviting their former teachers to their wedding or their children's wedding.
I barely remember my teachers except for those exceptional ones who cared, so for my mother's students to always remember and think of her, is a testament of the type of teacher she was.
The only way I can repay my parents for all that they have done for us is to try to live by these values that they tried to impart to my siblings and I, and hope I never give them a reason to be disappointed in me.
Sharing
my thoughts on the movie, Never
Been Kissed, and the TV series Alias... in my usual rambling,
I-wish-she-would-stick-to-the-point, what-is-wrong-with-her, way...
I
go on and on about those two movies and other movies I've watched,
from Little House on the Prairie, to Life is Beautiful, to Columbo,
and 12 Angry Men, to Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, in a
strictly you-call-that-a-review-it's-all-over-the-place way....
There's also some embarrassing prose about my celebrity crush, Tyler
Hoechlin... And my nobody-asked-her-or
cares-but-she-wants-to-share-anyway TMI confession... about being
romantically challenged...
Hey, if Josie Geller can make a
confession like that. So can I...
Of course, she gets a kiss from a
gorgeous guy at the end of her confession... Me??? All the action my
mouth wants is sinking my teeth into a delicious chocolate truffle... preferably spiked with rum...
Probably not a smart move talking about chocolates spiked with rum in front of Mr. Goody Two Shoes, Clark Kent...
I wish there were more men like Clark Kent.... Or John-Boy Walton...
I like goody two shoes men... but most men nowadays seem to be goody half shoe... sometimes no shoes at all...
Cause
I'm into the Clark Kent kind of guys - the ones who gush, are sweet, dorky... and shy...
Not the Bruce Wayne types, who changes women like I
change toothbrushes... which is usually every few weeks... because I wear out the bristles pretty quickly... My teeth are Wolverine wanabees...
What it feels like for my toothbrush bristles... when my teeth get to them...
Anyway... When you're someone like me, who can resist many things... but not when it's covered in chocolate...
And you discover alcoholic chocolates for the first time... that your siblings were nice enough to buy for you... it's when you realize why Forrest Gump said life was like a box of chocolates... delicious and sinful!
Oh yes, Elsa and Anna... I hear you...
You know you're of a different kind of... let's just
call it... the “limited edition” species... when you wish you can high 5 characters from an animated movie, for their love of chocolates...
Actually when you wish you could eat their chocolates... Those chocolate eclairs in the movie, although in drawing form, sure did look good...
Tummy
approved...
So sexy...
I do have a tendency to watch animated movies... and since I don't have any children to use as an excuse for watching them.... I have to watch these animated movies in the privacy of my home...
Because after all, why else would you have kids? You need the kids as a buffer... Other than using them for your own viral video...
Like it doesn't matter if they are dying.. or in pain... A parent's
first thought used to be “I NEED TO SAVE MY KIDS... OH POOR BABY... STOP
CRYING”...
Nowadays, it's just “Where's my phone!”....
Sorry kids... I
guess it's tough being a kid in the 21st century....
They already have to suffer through 21st-century parents putting
fancy names for them....
It used to be simple ones like Tyler... Now the
names are just plain weird, hard to pronounce or remember....
Like naming
kids Cabinet... Cabinet Smith...
Sorry, Cabi... I feel you, bud.
Anyway, animated movies... Love their cute, funny characters... especially the
kids...
If I could I would so adopt Agnes....
I don't care if she's animated...
I don't discriminate...
Hmmmm... Now that I think of it...
Maybe "adopt" is too strong a word...
I do have a tendency to get overly attached to the films I watch...
I
screamed at my tv, “yes
pick her pick her”
when Meredith Grey gave her “pick
me, choose me,
love me”
speech... Maybe I even cried a little...
My
heart melted (the fact that it was Tyler Hoechlin saying those words
made it even more melting-worthy) when Clark Kent said the lines,
“There was no going back after the first time I saw her”...
which was how I felt the first time I ate a creamy potato salad.
Like
I wish I had one of those thingamajig... what do you call them...
yeah... boyfriends... so I could give romantic tv character speeches
to...
But then again, I'm not really the type of woman who would beg a
guy to love her so... yeah... maybe not the Meredith Grey speech...
But
I did once tell the bowl of ice-cream I was
eating, “Nothing
truly ever made sense until you came into my life”... It was a rough day, I was feeling mushy...
Another time, I came home from work... and saw my mom had cooked spinach curry, my favorite,
with green peas, also my favorite.... in that special way she does it...
And it had been months since she cooked it last... and I almost lost
it... I hugged the pot of curry and cried...
I think I said, "I'm
just a girl, standing in front of you spinach, asking you to love
me... or at least to taste as good as I remember you"...
Luckily my mom didn't say this to me... or maybe she did... internally... but hey... as long as it wasn't said out loud...... I guess she's used to the crazy things I
do...
I mean she has caught me saying, “You
complete me”
as I gazed lovingly at the slice of pizza I was eating...
Slowly and
softly to make it sound more sexy... like you see all those seductive women doing on tv...
I didn't look sexy...
I looked like "Donkey" from Shrek...
I did make the mistake of doing the sexy voice thing to my food... in front of my mom, who asked me, “why are you talking in that voice.... are you sick?”...
Glad to know that my sexy romantic voice is the same as someone being sick...
Maybe I should date an animal too... like say a werewolf... the Derek Hale version...
Not liking the idea, eh Derek?
This is also my mom's general reaction around me...
I guess when you have a "unique" daughter like me... the Derek Hale exasperated expression tends to come naturally...
But
I'm not a total loser... I don't always say words of endearment to
food...
I occasionally say it to my dumbbells... Which is not weird at all... It's not like I call them my honey iron bunny... That could be considered weird... I'm not the cooing honey bunny kind of person anyway...
Although when I go on
holiday or if my family visits, and I can't do my workouts for a while... when I'm able to come back to my workouts again, I say “I've missed you” to
my dumbbells... Wait, is that weird?
Looking at those biceps, Tyler, you probably understand loving your dumbbells too, don't you?
So I
guess nothing surprises my mom anymore when it comes to me... Why
do you think she's trying to sell me on eBay...
I mean... she would if
she knew how to use eBay...
Cause I'm the one who usually does all her online things... like updating stuff to her social media accounts...
I mean she can ask me, "Can you upload the photos of these cute kids and their Catechism work to Facebook"... which she usually does... but she can't exactly say, "Can you find me a new daughter online... a higher grade one... and see if it could be exchanged with you"...
Cause that would be tacky...
Really nobody cares? I thought my life is a constant source of entertainment...
Who am I kidding... Even I get bored when I start talking...
I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm sorry...
Those rum chocolate bars sure did taste good...
Which is how I feel right now...
Oh man... when you start a blog post with the resemblance of a drunken babble...
So anyway... Back to my review of the movie, Never Been Kissed...
I watched the movie "Never Been Kissed" the other day...
And you realize nothing makes you feel old than finding out a movie you watched... which had seemed like just a while ago... is now 20-years-old... which also makes you 20 years older...
Gasp... š¬
I kid... I'm actually fine being older... Grey hair... Wrinkles...
Looking old ... People saying my mom is my sister.... Calling me aunty...
It's all FINE!
Ok maybe not the calling me aunty part...
I get the "look older than my age" a lot too... but hey, I'm fine!
So anyway other than my total aversion
to people calling me “aunty” (I've boycotted shops and
refused to go back when they do that)... I actually have no issues with getting older and all the trappings that come with it... I don't do botox or
lifts... Or wear cream...
I dye my hair cause my sister and sister-in-law ask
me to.... And I say yes because I'm scared of I love them...
So anyway, was feeling nostalgic... so I watched the movie...
I also craved pie watching the movie...
You
know how when you're in school... and your much older cousins, who
were like in their 20s, tell you,
“You say you hate school now... but
just you wait... once you finish school and start working like us...
you're gonna miss your school days”....
Hmmmm I'm sorry to
disappoint them... but NOPE... I don't miss school at all...
I love working... I don't ever want to go
back to school...
Which is why I would never tell a kid that they will miss their school days... I'm all like, "You hate school? I feel you... Hang in there, my school-ies"...
I see young kids, going to
school with such a miserable, forlorn look on their face... and I get it...
Like seriously...
Sitting in the hot, stuffy classroom... listening to teachers
droning on about medulla oblongata... while you think of oblong
burgers....
Yeah...
School... Sorry... No hard feelings... But honestly.. I don't miss
you at all...
Ok... I kid... My life isn't that awful... I just like to act like
I'm some brooding gal... Probably due to recently discovering my old collection of Simple Plan songs... so I'm on full angsty why-does-everything-happen-to-me mode...
Anyway, I came to the realization that I'm Josie Geller, but not in a cute, "I can have the gorgeous Michael Vartan falling in love with me" kind of way, but more in a 'scare-the-children' kind of way.
I'm dead serious. I scare kids... They literally stare at me likethey've just seen a sexy (I wish)... scary troll... Their eyes following my every move as they stare at me in complete, and utter fear.
Some take the 'Harry Potter and Troll' route and run away screaming as if I had just said "me hungry, we wanna eat you".
Sigh... Why, kids, why?? No. Don't run away.
Aunty good. Aunty looks like Shrek but Aunty won't eat you.
Unless you are a potato, which Aunty likes... very much.
Yeah kid... I know I know... I'm a little weird... I even scare myself sometimes.
