18 August 2010

MARRIAGE

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again, I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy, but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally, she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me, her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper, but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning, she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that, in that one month, we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into our bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that everyday for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door every morning.. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife’s divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully..

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute, I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead.. Do you have a fever? I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening, I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run upstairs, only to find my wife in the bed – dead.

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

07 August 2010

ASO EVO Ankle Brace

It's an ASO EVO Ankle Brace. One of the best ones you can purchase for basketball. I will be wearing it on my dominant leg, as it is more prone to injuries. The package came in the mail yesterday and I've been overly excited to try it on and work with it in the paint. Surprisingly, it took only 2 DAYS to arrive. I bought it Wednesday morning and it arrived Friday noon. WOW! Super fast shipping! It was free USPS First Class shipping. I highly recommend you buy ASO branded ankle braces from the same site. Fast turnover. I'm going to have to give them some credit, http://www.achillesmed.com/. Check them out!

My previous ankle injuries derived from foot inversion/eversion. Inversion and eversion are special movements of the foot. In inversion, the sole of the foot turns medially. In eversion, the sole faces laterally. If you don't follow me, imagine a pencil directly in front of you. Assuming this is your left foot, if you roll the pencil to the left, this is called inversion. Likewise, if you roll the pencil to the right, it is eversion. I suffered from extreme inversion, which landed me a visit to the doctor. My ankle rolled out and I ended up wearing a cast for about two and a half months. Since I play the Power Forward/Center (4/5) position, I am more likely to step on someone's foot. To help stabilize my dominant leg's left ankle, I decided to purchase an ankle brace for the upcoming season of my basketball league. If you are prone to ankle injuries, need stabilization, resistance to inversion or eversion, or that extra insurance to keep you out in the court, I suggest you buy some ankle braces too. You can buy them for each of your ankles or your dominant leg. I highly recommend the site I mentioned earlier. The product came in brand new and fast. It was only $37.08. Why not?

I wore the ankle brace to school today to break them in (approximately 9 hours). My heel felt very nicely snugged in, and it was much more comfortable than I had intended. I had no issues from my transition of dorsiflexion to plantar flexion, the up-and-down movements of the foot at the ankle. I definitely felt the resistance to inversion/eversion. I cannot fathom how pleased I am about my purchase. Great investment for my love of basketball. It will keep me on the court, ready to murk and throw thunderbolts down on anyone that stands my way. I can't wait to try it on the court and put some excess pressure on it. My initial reactions are quite positive. It's tough, rugged, has heavy duty support and comfortable. Look for it on my left ankle when you see me on the court... BOOM! BOOM!

30 July 2010

Water Balloon

Pleasant morning to wake up to. Foggy outside, but bright. My kind of weather! Breezy, yet warm. I'm over at my parents home, bored, so I open up my Human Anatomy and Physiology textbook and begin reading. All was going well, until a burst of maniacal laughter rips through the air. It's my little brother and his gang of little buddies running around with their Nerf guns. It gets irritating so what am I to do? I calmly walk over to my secret drawer and pull out a case. Dust off the surface with my hands. The box has aged due to infrequent usage. I open it slowly, exactly where I left them, a few hundred balloons... ;)

I fill up about 20-30 water balloons. My arsenal was ready for a surprise attack. I wanted to take a nice picture of it for my blog. Hurriedly, I picked up the fattest water balloon I had and looked for a flat surface. The room is quite messy at the moment because I've been moving things around. I see my laptop, so I pull down the lid and set my fat water balloon on it. I reach for my Canon bag with my photography equipment then POP! Water splashes everywhere, all over my laptop, all over my desk, on my carpet, half of my shirt. OMG! Yeah... I was asking for that. WHO WOULD SET A HUGE WATER BALLOON ON THEIR LAPTOP!?? ARGHHH!! I definitely got pwned, haha. I admit it, I did deserve that for my stupidity. Only one way to unleash my rage thereafter...

I jump out the window and in a ninja-like motion, maneuver myself onto the roof. I wait patiently for any victims to run by. I see a little white boy! AIM. TARGET LOCKED. WHAMMMMM!!! Right on his head, LOL!!! He looks confused and disoriented. I swiftly move down from the roof to the other side where he is running towards. There, I see my brother, a young girl, and his boater Chinese friend. I unload 4 balloons at the same time. 2 hits the boater and 1 hits the girl's backpack. My brother somehow dodged the attack when he saw his boater friend get pwned. I lay flat. I don't think they saw me. I hear them screaming and running around. They're confused! It's like I flash banged them. They don't know what is going on! Who is attacking them? MUHAHAH! I hastily rappel myself back into the window. I load up 2 water balloons in each of my pockets and hold 3 in my hands. I swiftly move down the stairs like a ninja, undetected, and find their location. I run to the other side of the tree and lay flat on my tummy. I see them running around screaming for the attacker. I unload all 3 water balloons on them, but none strikes. Failed mission! I quickly pull out 2 more water balloons and finally get my brother right across his back. He is drenched and angry. I see his nose flaring. The fun has just begun...

I slowly crawl to another location but he sees me! I pull out my last 2 water balloon and WHAMM!! Both hit his face at full velocity. LOL! I make a run for the garage, ninja-rolling past the boater, and up the stairs I go. I'm back in the room and I see all my water balloons lined up against the window. They are outside, I hear them. It's do or die... I surprise attack them from the window, throwing every water balloon I have. The precision and accuracy of my ninja throw is knocking them down one by one. Almost every balloon makes full contact and they are all drenched and screaming. Victory is mine...

I shut the window. Smile. I walk casually back to my desk. Open my textbook to where I left off, Rheumatoid Arthritis: Treatment. I slowly drift back into study mode. Their screams and shrieks of terror gradually become distant. The rate of my heart mellows out to the norm. Serenity.

29 July 2010



This is a mint condition black iPhone 3GS 16GB. It's brand new from March 2010. There are NO scratches ANYWHERE. The box is still in perfect condition with no rips. The iPhone was very well taken care of. I like my equipment FRESH! Screen protection from the first hour of purchase. I have a purple rear case that was snapped on since the first hour. This is literally a mint condition iPhone 3GS 16GB.

I'll let it go for $300 OBO. That's already a deal for such an amazing phone in mint condition with NO SCRATCHES. I've never even touched the screen yet! Someone offered $250 for it and told me he will pay straight up cash this Friday, July 30th. We'll see if he comes through. I'm willing to let it go for his offer.

WHY? I've been playing with iPhones for awhile now. I had a BlackBerry Bold 9000 prior to the iPhone era. I actually do miss my BlackBerry. I'm most likely switching back to BBs (BlackBerrys) because I don't play much games on my phone anymore. It's definitely a fun phone for the thousands of apps it has. It's endless what it can do. I'm just done with it all. I just want a simple yet powerful phone that does the basic operations. I need calling, text, email, and casual social networking (ie. Facebook and Twitter). That's it. That just screams BlackBerry to me. On top of that, that new trackpad is very attractive! ;)

The few things I disliked about the BlackBerry is that it used a trackball (gets dirty and sticky over time), picture quality was horrible, video quality was extremely shaky. I'm a photographer, so the picture and video quality didn't bother me too much. I have 2 D-SLRs that I shoot with, including expensive luxury glass. That trackball definitely had to go though. Now that it is gone and upgraded into a trackpad... I'm coming home, BlackBerry. I love you.

28 July 2010

Panda Express


So... I ate Panda Express today. It was really yummy! My diet is usually pretty stable with healthy food. I try to stay from the grease, but I was really craving it today. It was nice to indulge in something so tender and juicy. I ordered an entree with two sides. Chow Mein with Honey Walnut Shrimp and Beijing Beef. Oh la la! HAHA! I don't usually take pictures of my food, but I have been neglecting my camera. It's time to lug it around more often! The food was good and I didn't feel too guilty. I don't often eat out, so a treat once in a while is okay.

I've definitely gained a bit of chub in the last month or so. I think it's time for me to get back on the workout routine. I have definitely been slacking, no excuses. I went to a water park recently, and I wasn't as comfortable as I usually am. My body was not up to par and I let myself go a bit... :x

You know what that means!??? It is time to get on the griiiiiind again! RAWRRR!