Ok lah, that's it. I've had enough. I need to rant.
TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING BABIES WITHOUT WAITING FOR ME!
How can??? Darn it!!! There are now three people I know who are expecting. THREE! I blogged about one here, I found out about another one here when I wrote If I Had A Baby, and well, the other's still kinda under wraps (I think) so I'm just going to breeze by it for now, as should the rest of you.
*grunt*
So bloody unfair lah, I tell you. U-n-f-a-i-r. Out of the three people I mentioned, one's even already expecting her third child. HOW COME PEOPLE CAN HAVE THREE AND I CAN'T EVEN HAVE ONE??? Too much. I think it's time I spoke up for childless (not barren) women around the world. Hear me roar.
Firstly, why do we have to wait to get married and to have husbands in order to have kids? If it weren't morally or religiously incorrect-slash-frowned upon, I'd so get myself a kid – MINUS the man also nevermind – RIGHT THIS MINUTE. All I gotta do is find me the nearest male prostitute sperm bank and grab me some good swimmers. Gau dim. Problem solved. Baby in the making. So easy.
Secondly, why the stigma about single mothers? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe it was because they had wretched men for lovers in the first place? Sheesh. Can't blame them for falling in love with two-faced, commitment-phobic, irresponsible, smooth-talking jerks, can you? And if anything, at least they had the courage to stay and raise the child. Unlike the so-called dad who just upped and ran away like a dog with its tail between its legs.
And let me ask you this: why do so many of you assume that women – bright, intelligent, successful women even – are incapable of raising their own children single-handedly? Hello, if she can juggle numerous accounts, convince people in power to listen to her views, and manage 150 employees in an MNC,... do you really think that she'll be unable to handle a baby? Puh-leeze lah. Gimmie a break. She pushed a kid the size of a watermelon out of her vagina lah! You boys try and see!!! Talk so much. Hmmph.
And heck, if I don't have a man in my life when I'm preggers (CHOI!), I'll raise that kid up myself, too, if I have to! Not like I've never taken care of kids before anyways. Right? Right??? Pfft! Plus, I heard the whole Mummy thing comes naturally after childbirth (I hope I'm right) so it's not going to be a big deal. These things I can manage if I must. Sure, having a man around for moral support and a little bit of lovin' would be great, but IF I really, really, really had to, I could do it on my own. I just don't want to, and I shouldn't have to.
And as for money? Not a big problem these days. Most women work and have their own investments of sorts so it's not that big an issue already. I mean, it'd help heaps to have a sub-financier around but... when things get rough, we don't get picky. If our salary alone has gotta do it, then so be it. We'll live with that and survive on that. Plus, there's always Nuffnang. Right? Tee hee. (Please, please, please be kind and send more ads my way, thankyouverymuch.)
AND DARN IT, WHY AM I NOT ANY HAPPIER THAN I WAS BEFORE!?!
This rant is not helping. Sigh. This whole baby-making deal is just unfair lah.
Haha. And that 'this one blog post' that blogger referred to? Well, turns out, that's actually MY post! Haha. So rockings! Thing is, you won't believe which post it is. Tak mau bagi you tau dai-rek. Kasi suspen suspen sikit baru syok. Click here to find out. =p
Haha. Terror or not? I got a shock when I discovered it, too. No fancy words from me; no well thought out theories; no brilliant arguments that dissect life and its meanings – nothing! Only one kick-ass picture that says it all.
DISCLAIMER: Please note that the author will not be held liable for any loss of Firefox bookmarks and/or settings should anything go bust along the way. This tutorial only serves as a step-by-step guide to speedier surfing with Firefox 3. Should anything go wrong along the way, YOU screwed up. Not me. Follow at your own risk. (And trust me, it could get very risky.) You have been forewarned.
Tene nene. Tene nene.
---------------
Okay, this is going to be a tutorial teaching you the funkiest and most coolest-est method to either (1) rip your Firefox to shreds and kill it so badly that you'll have to reinstall it, or (2) make it load so fast you'll have to go back to using dial-up in order to surf comfortably.
First thing you do before messing with any settings is SAVE YOUR FIREFOX SETTINGS. If you're a Mac user, follow this path: Home > Library > Application Support > Firefox. (If you're a PC user, go get yourself a Mac. Heh.) Just save the entire folder to your Desktop or Documents. As a precautionary measure. Just to be safe lah. First time I tried this, my Firefox died on me and I had to reinstall it. Thank goodness I was SMART. And I had FORESIGHT. (And that was just an excuse for me to praise myself, thankyouverymuch. =p)
Once you've covered your backside (and taken a deep breath), type about:config into your location bar and press Enter.
This warning message will pop up.
The brave (and the curious) venture forward. Click to enter. You'll immediately be greeted by this mess of Preferences.
Don't freak out. Do not be afraid. For I am with you. (I also cannot tahan the way I so drama with everything.)
Type network.http.pipelining into the filter bar. (It's right above the mess of text.)
Ensure that the value field for that Preference (the first one that appears) is set to true. If it isn't, a simple double-click on the Value sets it.
Next, double-click network.http.pipelining.maxrequests and set its value to 8. Apparently, you're allowed to set it to other numbers, too. And kononnya, higher number better. The dude I learned this trick from tried 30. Haha. Kiasu sia!!! But I'm chicken shit so I set it to the recommended 8 and it works just fine. =p
Once you're done deciding the extent of your kiasu-ness, type network.http.proxy.pipelining into the filter bar.
When that opens, double-click the Value to set it to true.
After that, go back to the filter bar and type network.dns.disableIPv6.
The Value for this needs to be true, too.
Now, you're all done with the Value Preferences. Congratulations on making it this far. You are officially no longer a computer noob. =p
Time to mess with Integers. If you're a Mac user, control-click (it's a right-click for PC users) any space within the about:config window. A menu that looks like this will pop up.
Follow that path: New > Integer. A drop down menu will present itself and all you have to do is key innglayout.initialpaint.delay and click OK. That's your New Integer Value's preference name. I don't know if you can be creative with the names but... no need to buat pandai lah, okay?
Immediately after, you'll be prompted by another drop down menu, to fill in a delay time. Set it to 0 and click OK.
That's it! You're done. Easy, quick and painless. Welcome to a new era of a speedier Firefox 3.
NOTE: If your browser crashes and burns (mine crashed suddenly then refused to reopen after), uninstall, reinstall, replace the library settings with the Firefox folder you saved earlier (remember what I told you about foresight?), and you should be fine. Mine didn't present anymore problems and it's working like a breeze now. Somehow, the settings remain if you transfer your entire library so there's no need for you to go through all these steps again, okay? Wouldn't hurt to check, though. I did. That's how I knew. Cheers. =)
Was talking to Kelz online when I suddenly discovered why I blog so much more when I'm emo-ing (including this one, I've officially totaled 6 posts in the last 19 hours),... than when I'm not emo-ing. Thought I'd share the thought with you.
------------
A blog is like a best friend. A silent one. But one who's always there in spite of its inability to respond directly to its writer. (Comments are great but are also a different thing altogether, okay?) One who never fails to listen whenever you need to talk. Whenever you just need to rant. To let anything and everything out. Whatever the hour. (Except when Blogger's down. *rolls eyes* Maintenance nonsense.) AND it remembers everything you tell it!
Now, this is why I blog as much as I do when I'm out of sorts. When my emotions are going wonky and are all over the place. I blog because it Zen's me. It helps me clear my head. Through my writing, I'm able to process my thoughts, assess my situation and understand my feelings. And I never get judged for whatever it is I share cos... well, a blog doesn't talk back, does it?
Blogging also helps me remember what I've been through. It's an online log of all the battles I've undertaken. And a log of all my battlescars. Scars that remind me of how far I've come. And through that log, I see glimpses of what's to come. It's a reminder of how far I have yet to go.
I personally don't think that I'd ever be able to survive without blogging anymore. Seriously. I've grown too accustomed to thinking online that I start feeling crippled when I don't. It may seem weird to those of you who don't blog or who aren't as dependent on your blogs as I am,... but it's the truth. And I'm telling it as it is.
That's the way this blogging thing has grown to become for me. And to be honest, I think I kinda like it this way. Cos no matter where I go, as long as there's the Internet, I know that my best friend's always just a click away. =)
Was at a client's place last week for another one of our monthly WIPs. One of those regular talk-talk-smile-smile PR things we're all required to do lah. It was four meetings (or was it five?) with the different departments I write for, all in a row. And I tell you, the meetings just seemed to go on forever.
No surprise that by the time we were done talking, my bladder was already so full I thought it was going to burst and that I'd be peeing all over the floor. I barged into the nearest toilet I could find like a madwoman on a sugar high... and then stopped short when I saw
Was routinely clearing my mobile of some old SMS' when I caught sight of this week-old SMS a friend from Singapore sent me:
"hahaha... u r tougher than yr mac n company... both down for overhaul... n u still power on... hahaha"
Received it last weekend. When my comp was still dead and out of commission. And when my company was closed for the weekend due to renovation-slash-restoration works. (Holey cement problem. Very difficult to explain.) Funny how this SMS suddenly means the world to me. Funny how it ministered to me – spoke to me. And it wasn't even a Christian-y SMS to begin with!
Indeed, God works in mysterious ways.
---------------------
Quote of the Day ---------------------
"Life kicks you around sometimes. It scares you and it beats you up. But there’s one day when you realize you’re not just a survivor. You’re a FIGHTER. You're tougher than anything life throws your way. And you are."
We all have dreams. Some of us plan to earn enough to start our own companies by the time we turn 25. Others dream to be CEOs in multinationals by the time they hit 30. And there are those who even aspire to become self-made millionaires by then.
Whatever's your dream is, whatever your desire may be. Personalise it, internalise the feeling, and then answer me this:
If you've come to realise that staying in the current situation you're in pretty much guarantees failure of your plans in the specified timeframe, would you stay? Would you wait it out and see where it goes? Or would you take a gamble and see if another venture turns out to be more promising? There's no certainty in that either, though. That's why it's a gamble.
Thing is, minus that time factor, staying kinda guarantees that you'll achieve your dreams... eventually. The only problem is that looking at the way things are, you're currently nowhere near reaching that dream in the ideal amount of time. Possibly in the far future but... not anytime soon. You'll only be able to grasp it after a whole lot of waiting. Possibly a 50% - 100% more years of waiting (based on my superb powers of estimation).
Whipped it up in 5. Just a little while before leaving the office, actually. Spur of the moment thing. No thought put into it. Only emotion and gut feeling. And only because I'm no longer feeling very pretty-pink-butterfly-ish about life no more. I'm no longer pink, twirly-text Pam, guys. No, siree. That girl has been fooling herself.
I've been fooling myself.
Letting myself believe in things that are of no certainty to me whatsoever. Believing that things would just work out the way I was told they would. The way I had slowly begun to think they would, myself! How naive of me to think that. And how silly of me to believe so. Gosh. And to think that I had moments when I was even happy in my silliness!
Sigh.
That, my friends, was sheer stupidity on my part.
Well, no more, no more. It's time to wake up. Time to get back to real life. Time to realise that that darn clock isn't going to stop ticking on my account so I better start thinking things through, working them out and ironing out the creases before it's too late. And to be honest, I already think that Too Late is already too uncomfortably close by. And while I'm battling Time, it's pretty much clear to me that I ain't getting any younger.
It's time to realise that TIME. IS. SHORT. No more silly little girl dreams.
Was doing some research for work earlier. Was. Right up till my heart melted (and I got totally side-tracked and distracted) when I saw this advert on YouTube:
Then all thoughts of work flew (pun intended) right out the window. Tee hee.
I suspect that I may have Adult ADD.
Apparently, this is a Speculative Ad (what's that?) that was authored by Stewart Hendler. It was filmed in a single day, with only seven crew members, with a RED ONE digital film-making camera. Terrorness.
I really like soundtrack that's playing. The lalalala parts have gotten themselves stuck in my head and I've been lalalala-ing to myself (and driving nearby colleagues crazy) all morning. (You can find it at Human WorldWide, I think.)
Plus, the mood the ad gives off is really nice. Think the sepia-ish colour of the film helped in creating the mood, too. I know that the whole bringing-birdy-to-life bit is somewhat ridiculous and nonsensical but... logic arguments aside, it does take 'No Music, No Life' to another level.
And it's true! No music really no life.
I've been having problems transfering my previous Library back into iTunes. It's not syncing right and that's totally irritating the hell out of me. Not to mention I'm somewhat freaked out wiht the thought of losing all my songs. This transfer business is risky. Makes my heart palpitate for all the wrong reasons.
Argh, put it this way: my new harddisk is being a total spoilt brat.
So because of that, I've pretty much been music-less for the past two days. *pouts* Pure torture, I tell you. To have the songs in an external harddisk, but to not be able to play it. Sigh. Beh tahan.
Anyhew, bottom line when it comes to the ad: I like it. Simple, touching, and it delivers the message: Music Is Life.
Seriously. I do. Whether it's a lie to get yourself out of trouble. A lie to pretend that you agree with someone on something in order to gain their approval. Or a lie that's employed as a PR tool to obtain something you wouldn't have deserved otherwise,... it doesn't matter. All three are equally as bad in my books. (There are others, of course. Waaay too many to speak of.)
If you ask me, I personally think that liars are the worst kind of people to befriend or to have any kind of relationship with. You never know if you can trust what they tell you. You never know if their intentions are true. And you never really know if you're already being punked, taken for a fool of and/or misled by these deceitful folk with no conscience whatsoever.
Now for some clarification: Let's not go into the context of 'righteous lying' for purpose of narrowing down the scope of this discussion, shall we? (*rolls eyes* As if there was such a thing in the first place. Pfft.) To me, 'righteous lying' is akin to a doctor telling his patient that his patient's not dying when in fact he is, just because the patient's daughter pleaded otherwise for fear that the loved one would not be able to handle the news. Or say when your friend asks you if she's grown fatter and you say, "Nah, not really lah, I think," when in fact you KNOW that she's ballooned like a bullfrog.
Other than such grey-tinged lies (...and again I say, "Pfft."), I think everything else is pretty black and white, right?
I don't enjoy being taken on emotional joy rides. I don't like being thrown into playing mind games. I don't appreciate being misled to believe something that isn't true. And I sure don't enjoy being as jaded as I am. But it's because of LIARS like you that I am the way I am – a skeptic with a chronic fear of having to trust in the words (and sometimes even actions) of others around me.
So if you've done unto others any of the things I've mentioned above, let me ask you this: When you lie, do you not feel any remorse for decieving the people you so blatantly lie to? Do you not feel guilty for misleading them. Do you not feel pangs of conscience? And if you're a Christian, I ask you this: Does the Holy Spirit not show you that your lying to others is WRONG???
If you're a liar, I HATE YOU. And you sure as hell don't deserve my respect.
It's time to RE-update Mac OS X, RE-download plenty of software, RE-register the non-freeware ones, and RE-PamSong-fy the comp. Ugh, tonight's going to be a looong night. Sigh.
p/s: Yes, I finally got my comp up and running again. =) But no, I couldn't retrieve any of my files. =(
It's official. I've just found my most favourite-est picture of all time.
Tada!
That was me 'in costume' during the Nuffnang Wild "Live" Blogging party last Saturday night. (Before the party. While I was still cool and all hyped up. -_-) Pathetic, I know. Barely had time to prepare. Ended up whipping this up at the very last minute. Haha. If anything, I made the ears myself in 5 minutes (no joke) so just do my pride a favour and withhold all negative comments, okay? Thankyouverymuch.
Anyway, I love, love, love this pic. (Thanks, Nigel! You rock biggest time!) This pic caught me in my ultimate candidness. Haha. And I actually look happy. Haha. I love it lah. So much so that I was even willing to go through the trouble of uploading it to Facebook! Haha.
[Marc]
There you are, always strong when I need you
You let me give and now I live
Fearless and protected with the one I will love
After all is, all is said and done
All is said and done. And now that it is, I finally see the persons behind the veils. The real personalities that hid behind fake, smiling PR faces. Pretty words that masked the true characters that lay dormant till the day I chose to walk beyond the cover of our oneness. Till the day I chose a different path. One that didn't include them.
"I once believed that hearts were made to bleed"
I was naive once. I thought that this was what it was like. And that I had no choice in the matter. That I was made to bleed and to wear the stains of my blood with a smile. But today, I see that the pain I bore wasn't as worth it as I thought it was all along. And now, after having opened up and coming clean, I know that I can look myself in the mirror and see that what I did was right. And I know that after all this, I'll see the sun again. Because today, I see it all. And today, after all is done, the sky is clearer.
"Here I am looking in the mirror An open face, the pain erased Now the sky is clearer, I can see the sun Now that all is, all is said and done, oh"
To the people who believed (and still do believe) in me, you have my love and gratitude. To you who supported me in my decision... and also in my many months of indecisiveness. (You know who you are.) You mean the world to me. Thanks for always being there. For always keeping me in prayer. And for always being just a call or an sms away. I know it's been tough on you, too.
"There you are, always strong when I need you You let me give and now I live Fearless and protected with the one I will love After all is, all is said and done"
So what I have now is time to embrace whatever's left to gain in this experience. No more pain, no more heartache, no more sorrow. Just frustration that's here today and gone tomorrow. Cos tomorrow, there's hope. There's life. There's happiness.
"Here we are in the still of this moment Fear is gone, hope lives on"
No fears. No regrets. Just a future with a promise.
Here's to all things new. =)
And it was so addictive I couldn't help but let go, indulge and enjoy some more. =p
Artist: Katy Perry Song Title: I Kissed A Girl
This was never the way I planned, not my intention I got so brave, drink in hand, lost my discretion It's not what, I'm used to, just wanna try you on I'm curious for you, caught my attention
[CHORUS] I kissed a girl and I liked it The taste of her cherry chap stick I kissed a girl just to try it I hope my boyfriend don't mind it It felt so wrong, it felt so right Don't mean I'm in love tonight I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it
No, I don't even know your name, it doesn't matter You're my experimental game, just human nature It's not what, good girls do, not how they should behave My head gets so confused, hard to obey
[CHORUS] I kissed a girl and I liked it The taste of her cherry chap stick I kissed a girl just to try it I hope my boyfriend don't mind it It felt so wrong, it felt so right Don't mean I'm in love tonight I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it
[BRIDGE] Us, girls, we are so magical Soft skin, red lips, so kissable Hard to resist so touchable Too good to deny it Ain't no big deal, it's innocent
[CHORUS] I kissed a girl and I liked it The taste of her cherry chap stick I kissed a girl just to try it I hope my boyfriend don't mind it It felt so wrong, it felt so right Don't mean I'm in love tonight I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it
Yums.
p/s: I know this isn't the usual colour scheme for Tinki Talks (though I'm actually a huge – but closeted – fan of these colours). However, today, I'm going full-out bimbo with only the shocking-est of pinks and the retro-est of other colours. Why? Cos today, I celebrate! And nobody celebrates with boring colours, right? It'd be wrong to do so. Haha. So, it's bright, bright and blinding bright all the way! Hey!
No Comp = No Photoshop + No Noise Ninja + No Jenkins 2.0
That little Math equation just means more picture-less posts for you guys. Those are three photo-editing tools I need in order to prepare my pics before posting them here on Tinki Talks. (I'm incredibly anal that way.) I shan't post without them. (And I'm downright stubborn, too.) That's why there ain't no pics for you guys these days lor.
EQUATION 2:
No Comp = No Gmail + No GoogleTalk + No Skype + No Adium
And this just means no communication with the rest of the world for the time being, for me. Haih. So sat pai.
I'm actually sitting this party out. Playing Miss Unsociable tonight. Why? Cos it's SO. FREAKING. HOT. And there's no ventilation whatsoever. It's so stuffy in here that I'm starting to feel sticky. (And I hardly ever sweat or feel sticky.) I think my make-up's melting off my face. The little bit that I put on before rushing out of the house, at least. I've got a headache. And it's not just cos of the heat. The music's waaay too loud. The MC's screaming into the mic and aside from killing my eardrums, his MC-ing is also irritating the hell out of me. Seriously. I'm one step away from clawing him to death with my faux Catwoman claws right now.
Pam Song 1: No. Dunno what and how to prepare also anyway.
Pam Song 2: Hmmm. Then just wing it.
Pam Song 1: Wing it?
Pam Song 2: Ya. Play by ear.
Pam Song 1: Play by ear?
Pam Song 2: Ya. Go with the flow.
Pam Song 1: Go with the flow?
Pam Song 2: Ya. Now stop repeating what I say.
Pam Song 1: Sorry. Confused.
Pam Song 2: -_- You sure you Copywriter ah?
Pam Song 1: Shuddup.
Pam Song 2: Thought you wanted my help.
Pam Song 1: Okay, fine. Speak. So what I do?
Pam Song 2: Just go with the flow and see where it takes you. Play tactic. Let other people talk first. You listen. You never talk nobody know you stupid. And bottom line is must show not sket. Buat kool all the way. BUAT KOOL.
ARRRGGGHHHH! It is now a couple of minutes to 3 in the morning. THREE! And why am I still up? Well, I'm not still up. I was in bed. Sleeping. Thing is, before I knew it, I found myself RUDELY awakened from my deep slumber (actually not that deep yet but the story seems a lot more dramatic when I put it this way). And that was about 20 minutes ago.
What happened? Heh. I'll tell you what happened.
Some LOSER – whom I'm willing to bet has BRAINS SMALLER THAN THE BRAINS OF SEWAGE RATS – is just letting his car alarm ring away like a spoilt baby on a boo-hoo-I-want-that-toy rampage. That stupid alarm system is going at it with all its got and I'm telling you, it's waking the entire neighbourhood while its at it! UGH!
To this, I have only one thing to say:
Folk who don't 'rescue' their cars when their car alarm systems ring deserve to have their cars stolen.
– pamsong, 20 June 2008
*grunt*
I manyak tak syok s'karang. Mau tidur awal pun akhirnya tak jadi nak tidur sampai pagi. Ish. Baik aku cari orang kereta ring-ring itu bunuh daripada golek-golek cuba nak tidur. Kalau dapat cari, tentu tak bagi muka. Mati dia! Langgar bagi kepala pecah, bontot senget.
Ya ya. My tangan got gatal a bit while doing research for work. Haha. In my defense, it's officially after office hours. (Not that I actually have office hours. -_-)
I don't know if I believe the figure it shows, actually. Who's to say what which site is worth based on just five criteria? I did my research and even they admitted that they undervalued Google by a whole lot of money. They said that it was worth a mere $2 billion when, in actual fact, it's worth an whopping estimated $25 BILLION!!! *rolls eyes* Talk about shooting off target, man. Pfft.
Anyways, based on this analysing table...
...they also claimed this about Tinki Talks:
Hmmm. Interesting.
I can't say that I'm too bothered by how much my blog is worth. Heck, it's not like I'm gonna sell Tinki Talks or anything. (Offer me something I can't resist and I may reconsider. =p) So, I'm actually more interested in the Important Note they left. It's kinda nice to know that I've got a lot of direct traffic. Haha. Direct traffic from Bookmarkers mean one thing: A LOYAL FAN READER BASE! And to me, that counts heaps.
Thanks guys, for reading. It's been a pleasure writing for you (and myself). =p
And then, I noticed a problem. Sigh. Firefox 3 doesn't work as well with Nuffnang as Firefox 2 does. darn it. This was what my Nuffnang Analytics page used to look like in Firefox 2.
Happened to capture this screenshot for this post.
This is what my Nuffnang Analytics page looks like in Firefox 3.
-_-
I lost my zebra.
Shit.
I don't know for sure if others in Nuffnang have noticed this problem. I'm a Mac user. So, maybe it's a Firefox 3 Mac Version problem and not a Firefox 3 problem in general. I don't know for sure. Hopefully you PC guys are safe. Sucks to lose a zebra a day after discovering it. =(
You heard about it. You read about. Possibly even blogged about it yourself. (If you haven't, which planet have you been on, yo? -_-)
Tene nene! Tene nene!
*cough cough*
Hello world, it's the dawn of a new era. (Che wah, damn drama. Haha.)
Yes, yes. It's heerrreeee! Finally. I could go on and on and on about how great it is and all that other yada yada yada,... but I think half the planet's doing that already. *snore* So what I'll do, is say nothing of the sort and proceed to brag about this instead:
Tee hee hee. Check that out, yo. My very own certificate from Firefox 3! Heh heh. I know. I'm that good.
*beams*
Now what YOU need to do is download Firefox 3, yourself. Why? Cos then you'll get to join the lot of us in helping Mozilla set what I'd only refer to as the geekiest world record ever – a Guinness World Record for the total number of downloads of an application in one day. (See what I mean about the geekiest world record?)
Thing is, during the first 24 hours of Firefox 3's release, Mozilla was aiming for 1.6 million downloads. It's been half a day since that release. Take a look at the figure:
Screen capture captured at 12:00PM.
Looks like Mozilla did a hell of a job encouraging its community of over 175 million users to download Firefox 3, eh? Haha. They even called for people to sign up on the spreadfirefox.com marketing site to receive Firefox 3 on the day of its release, to host download parties, and to put Firefox badges on websites and blogs. Talk about semangat ke-geek-an, man. I didn't sign up but I did download it like I planned to. Haha. And that's what really counts.
So guys, you have less than half a day to download what the guys at Mozilla call "The Best Firefox Yet". They say, "With more than 15,000 improvements, Firefox 3 is faster, safer and smarter than ever before." If you're not even on Firefox 2, it's time to make the switch to the sweetest, smartest, bestest web browser around. (Yes, I'd swear by it. Even give up eating pork for it.)
So what are you waiting for? Click HERE to get Firefox 3.
...then blog about it and add your own Download Day button. =p
The MacBook Pro I'm using for the time being, while my MacBook's out of commission... AGAIN! (Yes, I'm very sore about it. Very, very sore.)
But I'm not lovin' it. Not one bit. I miss my baby. Sigh. All the applications I need are in there. I miss ViewIt. And Noise Ninja. And Skype. And Adium. And let's not forget my Firefox bookmarks. Oh, all my wonderful, well-organised bookmarks. Sigh. Gone. All gone. (Yes, I know that Firefox 3's 'Download Day' is like, TODAY. I was looking forward to it. It makes no difference to me now, though. I can't download it, nor can I do anything about it. Why? COS I DON'T HAVE MY OWN COMP TO DOWNLOAD IT TO! GRRR. *pouts*)
And what else do I miss? I miss the fact that my own comp's settings have already been tweaked to my liking. With all the hot corners working the way I want it to work, and with the dock popping up where I want it located. Sigh. See? What's there not to miss???
Plus, my own comp is soooo clean (shame on you for your fungi-infested MacBook, JC) compared to this one. Hello, mine's WHITE for crying out loud. Whatever's on it should be more obvious. But no... This one is matte silver and I can still SEE the layer of dirt, grime and dust on it. Yuck. And I've used mine for close to 2 years. This one has only been used for less than half a year! Imagine that! Totally yuck yuck. Bleh.
Oh, and it's freaking heavy, too! Back-breaking. (Actually arm-breaking cos it was too big to fit into my laptop backpack. -_-) And it's ridiculous how big the screen is lah. My eyes are finding it really hard to focus on what's on-screen. It's like it doesn't know where to stare. Seriously.
*frowns*
Am I ranting too much? It sounds like I may be ranting too much. Yeah, maybe I'm ranting too much. Should I stop ranting? Maybe I'll stop ranting. Okay, I'll stop ranting. But only if you'll like me better if I stop ranting.
Rant. Ends. Here.
Woo-sah.
You know what I just love, love, LUURRVVVEEE about the MacBook Pro I'm using? Well, I love it cos (for once), I get to see the whole, full, big-big, semua-ada picture!
My Nuffnang analytics homepage.
I never knew that the zebra-stripe background was in the shape of a zebra with legs and all!!! I always thought that it was just a pattern with no bigger form. Haha. Totally qualifies this as my discovery of the day. =p
That aside, I just love, love, LUURRVVVEEE the MacBook Pro I'm using because... because... uh, because...
Shit, I can only think of one reason to love this comp. -_-
I'll get back to you later.
Now, take a chill pill. Go entertain yourselves by downloading Firefox 3 and helping them make the geekiest world record. =p
Got a brand spanking new workspace also no use lah. Why? Here's why.
MY STUPID COMP DIED ON ME... AGAIN!!!
AAARRRRGGGHHHH!
I cannot take it lah. This has happened way too many times. WAAAAY too many times. First it's the harddisk dying just after a few months of me using it. Then it's the motherboard going on a suicide run for half a year before striking out altogether. And now it's back to the harddisk going kaput overnight without warning... AGAIN! And I haven't backed up my files!!! ROAR!
I have ticklish conversations I'd like to log. These happened during lunch hour(s) today. Enjoy.
-----------
While driving past a row of dingy low cost flats.
Ah Beng: Eh, how much do you think a room in such a place costs ah?
Pam Song: Uh, I don't think it'll cost a lot lah but... You really wanna live in this kind of place meh?! Look like not safe liddat lor.
Ah Beng: Haiya, nevermind. I'll go home just to sleep anyway.
Pam Song: Pfft. Boys like you sure kena hump in the lifts wan.
Ah Beng: *laughs* It's okay lah. I never watched The Eye.
Pam Song: *confused* Huh!? @_@ What has that got to do with anything???
Ah Beng: There's that lift scene everybody's so afraid of, remember? Anyway, why would they haunt me? I never did anything to them!
Pam Song: -_- I said that they'll HUMP you in the lifts. Not haunt. HUMP.
Ah Beng: ...Oh.
While ordering trying to order lunch.
JC: I'd like the chicken. And can I have the thigh, please?
Waitress: What chicken you say?
JC: Thigh.
Waitress: *without skipping a beat* No Thai.
JC: Huh? Oh. *frowns* Hmmm. Can you check?
Waitress: You want Thai? We no have Thai.
JC: *looks at Pam Song and says in a loud whisper* What kinda chicken no thigh wan???
Pam Song: *decides to step in to help* *clears throat* Hey, miss. Can you do us a favour and just check with the kitchen if they have any thighs for us?
Waitress: *getting frustrated* We no have Thai! No Thai!
Pam Song: *pause* *frowns* *realisation hits* OH! No no! We wanted the thigh part of the chicken. The part above the drumstick! *proceeds to show part of chicken by gesturing to own thigh*
Waitress: *blink blink*Oh. I go check.
JC: *lost and frustrated* What is she talking about? What you all talking about? What's happening?
Pam Song: Haiyo... She thought we ask her for Thai flavoured chicken lah.
JC: -_-
Haha. English is such a funny (and confusing) language, isn't it? =p Oh, and I love the way workday lunches are rarely ever boring. Yay for me! It's about the only thing that gets me through the day.
New laptop stand and keyboard, courtesy of The Boyfriend.
Will elaborate on the reasons for the sudden change later. So can't go into all that in as much detail as I want to tonight. (Yes, there are very valid, very practical and very logical reasons to why this change was made to my workstation. Reasons that you will know in times to come.) Am totally beat from my weekend of traveling up and down the North-South Highway. Bleh. I hate the petrol price hike lah. I really miss having the option of driving home. =(
I feel that my last post and its topic of discussion (the death of a child), though morbid and depressing as it was, turned out to have a great impact on me. It reminded me about how mortal we all are. About how temporary life is. About how precious time is. And that if we don't tell the people we love that we love them today, we may very well lose that chance sooner than we'd like to think we will. So here it is: -
Dee, I love you. Happy Father's Day. You're my hero. Forever and for always.
XOXO,Babee
p/s: Stop hogging the bandwidth. It took me a whole hour to publish this post. -_- Don't blame me if we're late for church tomorrow.
I've been meaning to write about this for awhile now. Since the 21st of May, to be exact. Problem was, I just didn't really know where to start. How does one start talking about these things? Do I jump straight into the bad stuff? Do I take a third party stand and make it sound like any normal announcement? Should I start with a song? His song perhaps? What? What do I write? What can I say that can possibly make this horrific news seem any less... well, horrific?
But think long and hard as I may, I came up with nothing. I didn't know what to say. I still don't. But I'm going to try. So bear with me as I do. Thanks.
---------------
We'll never understand what it's like to lose a child until we've experienced it. (Not that we want to, of course.) You see, it's nothing like losing a parent. Or a grandparent. Or even a spouse for that matter. Why?
Because of this simple reason: The order of generations.
You see, someone once told me that the death of a child is more painful than any other death a person can be made to experience in their lifetime. Why? Because of the generational order of death. You see, when a grandparent or a parent dies, you kinda know they'll 'go' before you will. So even if they didn't die of natural causes, it'd still be in the natural order of things. It's painful, yes. But it's really not that odd to have to bury somebody older than you are. If not today, maybe tomorrow. Maybe in 10 years. Or 50. But you know it'll happen eventually because that's the way it's meant to be.
And if a spouse dies before you do, it'd be real tough to bounce back from, sure – no thanks to all that flesh-of-my-flesh-bone-of-my-bones talk. But then again, let's not deny that both of you always knew it's be one of you going first. You just didn't know who till the time came. And once it happened, it's just too bad you were the one left behind to pick up the pieces. Perhaps you'd be lost for awhile. Even depressed. But life has to go on. And, depending on your age and/or preference, you'll soon either find yourself (1) in the dating game again, (2) enjoying life as a solo grandparent, or (3) on the deathbed and steadily on your way to joining your other half.
But if you're unfortunate enough to have your own son or daughter die before you do, the generational order of things is reversed. It's messed up. It's wrong. And this 'wrong-ness' is what brings more pain than any other death.
That being said, today, I write to convey my deepest condolences to the Chapman family who lost their 5-year-old baby girl Maria Sue Chunxi Chapman slightly over 3 weeks ago – on the 21st of May 2008. (Belated but never too late.) They lost her to a terrible accident. Her brother Will Franklin Chapman backed their family SUV into her, right in the driveway of their home in Nashville, Tennessee. Little Maria was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where she later passed on.
Maria was born on May 13th 2003, to be exact.
Just hours before the freak accident, the family gathered together to celebrate the engagement of their oldest daughter, Emily Elizabeth Chapman to Tanner (I can't remember his last name). They then headed home and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Stevenson Chapman's graduation from high school. Instead of doing so, they ended up preparing to bury Maria Sue Chapman who, less than 10 days ago, celebrated her 5th birthday.
It astounds me how happiness and sadness manage to come together so seamlessly on that tragic day. Yet between those very seams, the Chapman's worlds collide, crash and crumble from the pain of losing the youngest (and from the looks of it, the most animated) member of their family. After all, the loss of a child is a parent's worst nightmare.
Do keep the Chapmans in prayer. The family consists of: -
FATHER: Steven Curtis Chapman, who is a contemporary Christian musician with more than 20 albums to date (16 studio albums, 2 Christmas albums, several collections of greatest hits, and a live album). As of last year, he had already sold more than 10 million albums and has bagged 9 gold and platinum albums. He also has 5 Grammy awards under his belt along with 51 Gospel Music Association Awards – more than any other artist in history. This impressive record also includes 45 #1 Christian radio hits. (Oh, and this superb singer and I also share the same birthdate, by the way. *smiles*) Oh, and click here to read Steven's video blog. He's a really funny man who's also an awesome daddy.
MOTHER: Mary Beth Chapman. (She shared the same last name as her husband prior to their marriage. How fortunate.)
BIOLOGICAL CHILDREN: Emily Elizabeth Chapman (engaged to Tanner), Caleb Stevenson Chapman and Will Franklin Chapman.
ADOPTED CHILDREN: Shaohannah Hope Yan Chapman, Stevey Joy Ru Chapman and Maria Sue Chunxi Chapman (deceased) – three totally adorable young girls from China.
Do pray for them if you can. Whenever you see a child. Or an SUV. Or when you hear a Steven Curtis Chapman song on the radio. Or see his name on your playlist. Or on Wednesdays. Or on the 21st of every month. Just... whenever. And especially remember keep their son Will Franklin Chapman in prayer. I can't begin to imagine the guilt and pain he's feeling right now.
Also, today will be Steven Curtis Chapman's first Father's Day without Maria, since her adoption. It's going to be really hard on him so do kick in the extra gear and pray extra hard for him, too. Thanks, guys.
Now, I leave you with this song Steven Curtis Chapman himself wrote for a family who went through the same thing he's going through now... 10 whole years ago. This same song was sung at Maria's funeral by his good friend and fellow Christian contemporary artist, Geoff Moore. I hope it touches you as much as it did me.
Artist: Steven Curtis Chapman Song Title: With Hope
This is not at all how we thought it was supposed to be We had so many plans for you, we had so many dreams And now you've gone away And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say, and nothing we can do Can take away the pain The pain of losing you, but
[CHORUS] We can cry with hope We can say 'goodbye' with hope 'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no And we can grieve with hope 'Cause we believe with hope There's a place where we'll see your face again We'll see your face again
And never have I known anything so hard to understand And never have I questioned more the wisdom of God's plan But through the cloud of tears I see the Father's smile and say 'well done'
And I imagine you where you wanted most to be Seeing all your dreams come true 'Cause now you're home and now you're free, and
[CHORUS] We can cry with hope We can say 'goodbye' with hope 'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no And we can grieve with hope 'Cause we believe with hope There's a place where we'll see your face again We'll see your face again We'll see your face again
[BRIDGE] We have this hope as an anchor 'Cause we believe that everything God promised us is true, so
[CHORUS] We can cry with hope We can say 'goodbye' with hope 'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no And we can grieve with hope 'Cause we believe with hope There's a place by God's grace There's a place where we'll see your face again We'll see your face again
So we can cry with hope And say 'goodbye' with hope We wait with hope And we ache with hope We hold on with hope We let go with hope
This post is dedicated to the little girl who showed me spunk. Even if it's just me watching her... through a YouTube video.
Maria and Steven in Dishwashin' Daddy. (Source: Steven Curtis Chapman's video blog.)
Steven, Mary Beth and their three adopted girls from China. Maria's the tiny one who's squeezed right in the middle.
The Chapmans, biological children and adopted ones altogether. If you can't tell by now, Maria's the one sitting on daddy's lap.
The one and only Maria Sue Chunxi Chapman.
If you've been touched by what you've read, do make a donation to Shaohannah's Hope.
---------------
Pages you may wish to visit if this post struck a chord in you: -
In Memory of Maria: A special blog set up for people to share their condolences.
House Mix a.k.a Jim's Blog: The person responsible for Steven's day-to-day management. The one who's talking and updating the world with the Chapman's progress while Steven's video blog remains silent.
Maria's Memorial Service: A post in Jim's blog with a detailed firsthand account of what took place during Maria's 2-hour funeral service.
Steven Curtis Chapman's Video Blog: A good place to see the real man behind the many awards and albums. You'll also find a good number of Maria being videoed in her element here.
Shaohannah's Hope: An organization established to care for orphans by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barriers to adoption, that was founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and Mary Beth Chapman.
Remembering Maria: A page where you'll find all you need to know about Maria. Includes pictures and a slideshow of the memorial service, among other things.
* All pictures were sourced from Shaohannah's Hope site and from Remembering Maria's photo section.
