Coolcat's Jottings

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My boss is so enthralled with [url=http://www.skype.com]Skype[/url] (free internet telephony) that he got all of us to install it and get it running so that he can be in contact with us wherever he goes.

So here I am, stuck with a headset and mike, looking very much like a receptionist - except I've got some David Tao's music soothing my ears. Hehehe....

The other strange thing that happened when I got Skype running was getting this strange call from a guy all the way from China just now. It was pathetically funny. He couldn't speak a word of English and all I could say in Mandarin was, 'Sorry, I don't understand!'. He wouldn't hang up until I told him that I had to go to [i]'che fan'[/i] (eat rice or lunch). Haiyo... It was then that I realised having some quick one-liners to tell a guy off in Mandarin would come in handy for occassions like this.

After that encounter, I quickly beefed up my Privacy level. If I'm desperate enough for free Mandarin lessons, I know who to call. Heh heh.

I was having lunch with a friend today and somehow the topic got to the sweetest thing that someone of the opposite sex has ever done to us. So there I was rattling off about this nice guy who would drop by my office to pass me the homemade breakfast he prepared for me and about this other nice guy who used to open the car door for me.

"My then-boyfriend wasn't too happy seeing that and so, he started opening the car door for me after that incident. Too bad it only lasted a few weeks!" I said in mock despair.

When it got to my friend's turn to share, he couldn't think of anything sweet that a girl has done for him.

"That's just so sad!" I said, flabbergasted because he's a very nice and thoughtful guy.

"Not really," he said good-naturedly. "The friends I hang out with do gentlemanly things all the time. It's like our second nature to pamper girls and not expecting anything in return."

When we walked back to the car, my friend walked with me to the passenger's seat and before I realised what was happening, he opened the car door for me. I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hey, I'm sorry! When I shared all the sweet things guys have done for me, I wasn't implying that YOU should do them for me," I said in-between howls of laughter.

He merely smiled and brushed it aside, "Haiya, it's a second nature to me. Just ask anyone."

Just now, I opened the info package he gave which was work-related and found a CD he had burned for me. I have no idea what it contained and took a peek. I couldn't believe my eyes. The CD is chock-a-block full of articles related to writing. Definitely not work-related. Everything to do with my dreams.

That's just so... so sweet of him!

My brother has been slacking in keeping updated with my doings. I swear, you regular readers of my blog know more about what's happening in my life than he does sometimes! His mounting pressures and hours at work made it difficult for us to chat in real-time mode.

So yesterday, I was pleased when he announced (in real-time mode) that he had read my latest entry on the Five Find-Outers.

"Bettie sounds like a real vainpot!" was his comment.

I grinned cheerfully, "Yes, she is, isn't she?"

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Are you writing about yourself?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, all innocence.

"Well, are you anything like Bettie?"

I pondered for a while. While it's true that writers sometimes mould their protagonists to be their alter ego of sorts, not ALL writers do that. Still, my brother's sincere question deserves an honest answer.

"Only on my bad days, bro," I sagely said. "Only on my bad days."

I would like to thank [url=http://daphne.blogs.com]Daphne[/url] for featuring my reads in her [url=http://daphne.blogs.com]blog[/url]. Recently, she put up my list of [url=http://daphne.blogs.com/books/2004/08/more_comfort_.html]comfort reads[/url] as well as my all-time [url=http://daphne.blogs.com/books/2004/08/just_william.html]favourite poem[/url]. Traipse over to her blog and get happily lost in her candid book and author reviews.