Cricks and Critters

but it isn't the end of the world!

and everytime there's extra time for a rugby game, go on msn. it makes watching hearing the team you're rooting for (australia) lose a lot less painful.

anyway! i didn't expect to get interesting comments about pantene pro-v! wonderful, wonderful. i'm supposed to be packing for india now, but i'm feeling lazy tired.

congratulations to the open boys team! winning is good for you!!!

that wasn't as cheesy as i'd have liked it to be, but oh well, it will have to do.

i just wondered if they have indian bubblegum. my mom is reminding me right now that she "still has work to do". she always says that!

oh, you all have to read this:

The Cafeteria Lady — You Can Learn a Lot From a Turkey
by Martha Bolton

Turkey Life 101 — taught by the star of the Thanksgiving holiday, the turkey.



Lesson 1: Looks Aren’t Everything
Let’s face it. The turkey isn’t the most beautiful creature on earth. He’s not as colorful as the peacock or as graceful as the flamingo. And it’s hard not to notice the baggy thing hanging from his nose. But does he let that stop him from having his face plastered all over the news, television cooking shows and magazines during the month of November? Absolutely not! He doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. He thrives in it. Baggy nose and all!

Lesson 2: When It Comes to Life, We All Speak the Same Language
On the surface, it appears the turkey is at a disadvantage. He can’t talk like the parrot. All he can say is, "Gobble, gobble." But does the turkey allow his lack of communication skills to stop him? No! He realizes that being able to say, "Gobble, gobble" is enough. "Gobble, gobble" can mean anything he wants it to mean. "Gobble, gobble" can mean: "Good morning. My name is Pierre. And you are?" or "Looks like rain, doesn’t it?" With the turkey, there is no language barrier.

Lesson 3: Be Thankful Even for Chicken Feed
Day in. Day out. Same ol’, same ol’. Chicken feed. B-o-r-i-n-g! No hamburger and french fries. No pizza. No tacos. No nachos. Nothing but chicken feed. No matter what your cafeteria food tastes like, I guarantee you it’s better than chicken feed. (My cafeteria food tastes a little like chicken feed, but it’s a lot spicier.)

Lesson 4: Don’t Let the Ridicule of Others Stop You From Being Who You Are
A lot of things have been called a "turkey." A bad movie, worthless stock, a failed business, a substandard product. There are even annual Turkey Awards given for less-than-impressive accomplishments. But do you see turkeys picketing the movie studios or the offices of CEOs? True, they couldn’t hold up the picket signs, but it’s more than that. Turkeys haven’t gotten their feathers ruffled or their baggy noses out of joint because they know who they are. They’ve chosen to go on with life and face the ridicule like a . . . well, turkey. They don’t need the approval of others to know their worth.


Lesson 5: If You’ve Got Wings, Fly!
To look at a turkey, you wouldn’t think he could fly. Even though he has wings, he’s got an awful big load to carry. But does he let that stop him? Nope. He still flies. He uses the wings he’s equipped with and takes off. He doesn’t compare himself to the eagle and say, "I’ll never fly as high as him, so I think I’ll just get my wings clipped and forget it." He flies as high as he can, whenever he can!

Lesson 6: Be Yourself
A turkey isn’t man’s best friend. You can’t play Frisbee with him or take him to the beach and let him ride the waves with you (he’d probably sink). A turkey is just a turkey. He’s not even man’s second best friend. Or third. Who knows where he falls on the list. But turkeys won’t change their behavior to win us over. They just go about their days being turkeys.

Lesson 7: Beware of Those Who Want to Fatten You Up
At times, the turkey can be too trusting. There are those in his life who only pretend to be his friend, bringing him bucket after bucket of chicken feed. But they’re up to no good. There’s a motive behind their kindness, and it has something to do with cranberry sauce.

Lesson 8: Stick Your Neck Out, But Only When It’s Safe
In life, you sometimes have to stick your neck out. Turkeys know that. But sometimes it’s better to stay in the background. This is a lesson that, unfortunately, many turkeys have had to learn the hard way.

Lesson 9: Being the Big Kahuna Isn’t Always a Good Thing
It’s Thanksgiving. Families are gathering. We’re talking groups of eight or 12 or even 20 people. It takes a big turkey to fill all those hungry mouths. So who are they going to look for? That’s right — The Big Cheese, The Fat Cat, The Big Kahuna of the turkey ranch. Sometimes it pays to be the last in line.


Lesson 10: A Little Heat Can Make You Tender
None of us like to go through heated situations, but one thing they do for us is make us tender. There’s nothing worse than a tough old bird.

This Thanksgiving, remember to pause before carving into that delicious-looking fowl. Ask yourself, and maybe your whole family, "What additional life lessons can be learned from the turkey?" Turkey as a teacher?

"Gobble, gobble." Which in this case means, "You’d better believe it!"

i'm hungry and i'm gonna go for dinner now :-) bye bye!

i changed my nicenicenice loreal shampoo to pantene pro-v.

pro-v.

what's that supposed to mean, anyway?

pro-very?
pro-vitamin?

actually, i think it is the latter. oh well, whatever. i'm wearing abby's old navy jeans now! how weird is that? though they had to go for some.. uh... alterations because of the... difference in.. uh... height.

but anyway, enough about pants and height.

i have a very nasal voice now. thank you, all you fantastic dust mites, for giving me a red nose! i LOVE YOU!

it's always better to be grateful, isn't it? even if:

1. i leave for india on monday
2. all of you should know that by now due to my incessant talk about it
3. i can't afford to go to india sick
4. i sound like a muffled cucumber
5. that was random
6. ok, i don't sound like one
7. my kleenex box is getting lighter because my bin is getting fuller
8. i think i'll go and sneeze in my brother's face and infect him
9. for the rest of his life
10. and i have to go now.

bye bye faithful chicken followers!

you all will be truly missed by me.

yes yes.

ok, enough sadness already. bye bye! :-)

aaaah! MONDAY! MONDAY! MONDAY!

I CAN'T WAIT FOR MONDAY!!!!!!!!

anyway, here's the weather forecast even though i'm sure all of you don't really care:

New Delhi, India
CURRENT CONDITIONS

70°F
(21°C)

Hazy

Humidity: 32%
Wind: W at 8 mph (13 km/h)
Sunrise: 7:17 AM
Sunset: 5:56 PM

5 DAY FORECAST
Thursday
82°F (28°C) | 50°F (10°C)
Friday
84°F (29°C) | 50°F (10°C)
Saturday
83°F (28°C) | 51°F (11°C)
Sunday
83°F (28°C) | 52°F (11°C)
Monday
83°F (28°C) | 52°F (11°C)

monday! monday! MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok. enough of monday. i'm tired, and i'm going to bed now!

yes, even though the only depth of this post went as far as the weather in delhi.

no, not merry christmas. i just felt like typing that. here goes again:

hohoho

anyway! i only got home about less than an hour ago from the game at uwc! and i got my birthday present from meg!

THANK YOU MEGAMONTROUSMEG!!!

the guys game was veryveryveryveryveryveryveryveryvery good!

goosh goosh!

DUCK, DUCK, GOOSH!

i mean... uh... GOOSE!

or good?

oh, whatever, i'm so tired now my brain is severely malfunctioning.

nothing happened today; so i have nothing to type about.

oh, wait.

i do!

:-(

the precious bird that me and meg picked up died this morning right before i left for school!!!

poor, sweet, fat birdie... i'm missing it already :-(

ok, that's all for the exciting news uh... for today. yes yes. bye bye

- mournful ruth

oh, my! i was right about my brother going out for dinner with debbie AGAIN! hohohohohoho!!! he just got off the phone with her...

*nudgenudge*

yes, anyway, enough of my brother's sneaky exploits or whatever you'd like to call them. look at what happened in school today! i even recorded it down in my (ahem) "Study Camp 2003 Journal":

shekha: "hey, ban, can i borrow your calculator?"
ban: "but... oh. oh! i have another one!"

ok, laugh now, even though it doesn't sound as funny and geeky as it did right during our math period...

anywayanywayanyway, I LOVE MY MOM! SHE IS THE FABBEST FANTABULOUSTICALLYEST MOM IN THE WHOLE OF THE WORLD'S MOMCOMMUNITY! not like she'll see what i just typed out (which came right from the bottom of my heart), but i will proclaim to the world that when, if ever, your very own mother goes to jakarta strictly for a shopping trip, be really nice to her before she leaves so she'll buy you lots of things.

trust me on that one.

ok, ok, shallow ruth will perish now that she has admitted to her shallownessity.

- ashamedshallowruth

ps: my mom sure has paid back for missing my birthday! :-)

sorry, title-less. but, anyway, as meg said, (i'll make my font way bigger though), yesterday was so funny fun fun!!!!!!! i don't think i'll ever have a birthday like i did yesterday! no, i'm actually quite sure i won't. well, anyway.

my mom's coming back tonight!!! yay!!! and good job on you meg, you actually got my present one day after my birthday!!! i'm so proud of you!!!

awww...

anyway anyway anyway! five more days of stupid study crap camp! last week's one flew by like the bird that's in a cage right next to the fishtank on the sideboard in my house.

uh huh.

time for me to go clean my room now. eyb eyb!

my mom just called from jakarta! and my granny spoke to me over the phone too :-) oh happy day! and my dad just gave me this present from my other aunt! ohohohohoho! right, it's late.. i.. uh.. have to go sleep.. uh.. that is, if i even will! ahahahhahahahahahhhaha

15 MINUTES TILL I GET A LITTLE BIT OLDER!

AAAAAAAAAA
A
AAAA
AAAAAHHHHHH
HHHHH
HHHH!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!

that's all for today.

OH!!! ok, i guess not.

the guys' game at ofs was goodgoodgoodgoodgoodgood!!!! (yes tim, didn't get to see your 3 but still, without it, the score wouldn't have been 2 on ofs!) (speaking of fantasticalicious) (and thanks for the e-card, it's ok, that was a really complicated explanation but perfectly understanble - your loss on the thai! - just imagine, you being a duck... *coughcough* hahahaha. i'm kidding. i'm always... kidding.)

ok, my dad just asked me about how a "schizo" girl is doing in school. OH. right. welllllllll...

anyway, as i was saying, saying very longwindedly and pointlessly, the game was good! and after that ... i had dinner ... and ... stuff. yes, stuff.

Thoughtful Presents I Have Received So Far:
1. a packet of 10 chupa chups
2. sweatproof earphones (i know, they sound nasty and weird, but they're really cool!)
3. a purple rabbit balloon from ako that burst last sunday
4. my trip to india (next next monday! AAAAAH!!!)
5. an email from kayla

ah, the life. :) IT'S NEARLY TWELVE!!! AHA! AHAHHAHA!! i think i better get off the computer before i contribute to it's tentative demise. whatever that meant, i liked how it sounded so complicated. GOODNIGHT!!!

i'm eating leftover sheep from the ritz now!

yum yum.

(no, it's not gala night food - that was so long ago! - it's the food my mom and dad couldn't finish last night over there)

yesterday was... interesting. not interesting bad, it was interesting fun. ah, see the difference? anyway, (i can't get over how nice this lamb is), it was Anna Baker's birthday yesterday! and she invited a few of us (well, only me and meg made it, but oh well) to go eat dinner at palm beach with her, her mom and her grandparents. we had CHILLI CRAB. oooh, just thinking about it is making me swooooon... yes, anyway, the only bad bit was when i got the sauce all over my nice nice shirt. oh well. we took, in total, four cabs; and we were really loud in one - the mercedes one - and the nasty cabbie told us to keep quiet cos he was on the phone. HOW DARE HE??? the other three were pretty cool, the one we took from town let us sing out hearts out (he even turned the volume higher when anna said she liked some song) (i hope it wasn't to drown us out). cool, eh? i "watched" (didn't really want to look, but there were mirrors everywhere so i didn't have much of a choice) meg and anna get another hole in their ears (i know, we all have built-in ones, but you know what i mean), meg saw anna get her bellybutton pierced (i'm a chicken, i didn't dare go in), we had this massive chocolate mousse cake covered (i really do mean covered) in tiny chocolate chips, and it was So Good, and we took about 76 pictures (oh my goodness. wow. that's a lot!) before meg's dad was nice enough to send me home at 11 something. and my mom's in jakarta right now!!! oh, the pain of it all. i'm smelly and gross, i think i'm gonna go take a shower now. farewell!

3 days to growing older!!!

what a cheesy title. i couldn't think of anything else. i think i sounded pathetic on the phone when she called, so she smsed me this from her cellphone:

U sounded blue u ok? What s wrong?

so i replied, and then she smsed me from my dad's:

Hi! I'm faster on dad's mo. I love u!

cue: awww...

she's leaving for jakarta tomorrow till sunday! SHE'LL BE THERE DURING MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*sulk*

oh well, at least the stuff there isn't as expensive as they are here, and i'll pack her off with a neat and long list of things to get. (ahem) so, anyway, i was supposed to go with her before the holidays started, but no-o-o-o-o, Sucky Study Crap Camp just had to enslave me. bye bye mom, bye bye jakarta trip :-(

4.5 days to 15dom!

we are happy, living together in splendid harmony and love.

i hate fruitflies.

my house seems to be (i really mean this literally) swarming with them. oh well, guess it isn't my fault that my brother is this super fruitfly magnet.

except he isn't home.

anyway, i'm bored, i'm home alone, it's anna baker's birthday today and i have to go to her dinner thing tonight, i haven't had lunch, i just called my dad, whined a lot, and he just (i could just tell he was smiling cos he was with his friends and my mom) said, "Uh huh, yesss, ok, Ruth, have your own lunch, I'm out with Rigby and Sue now, yes, ok, ok, haha, yes, ok, see you, bye bye," when all i had constantly said about 8 times throughout the short-lived conversation was that i was miserably hungry.

what happened to the power of vocabulary?

or the existence of one in a person's life, for that matter.

off i go to the kitchen in a brave search of ... food.

OHOHOHOHOHO RANDOMOSITY IS ME!!! YES, YES, 'TIS ME!!! AND SO IS STUPIDITY!! AND HUNGRITY!!! AND... RUTHITY!!!!

I'm hungry.

Less than 5 and a half days to Biggernessity!!!

(as explained to me by pat)

"the yes yes show says:
   mr. swa veh

the yes yes show says:
   swave

the yes yes show says:
   you say it in two syllables

the yes yes show says:
   and like mr. swave is a ladies man

the yes yes show says:
   and he has this moustache

the yes yes show says:
   and he tells the girls to come near him

the yes yes show says:
   and he'll give them a tickle from his moustache

the yes yes show says:
   he calls it the smooth tickle

the yes yes show says:
   i actually bought their cd

the yes yes show says:
   and they look so ugly!"

anyway, 'twas a good weekend! so far so good, i mean. after that monstrouslyish long i last posted, this one is gonna be miniscule. the garage sale was tiring, even though i wasn't selling a thing. i guess it's because:

1. it kept raining on and off and i suppose that that, for some reason, made the day even more tiring

2. ok, this isn't relevant, but i can hear some operatic voice attempting to sing outside the window. creepy!

3. neither is this, but it's tiring hearing my brother and dad watch rugby

4. lauren sucked me dry of my last bits of money ("buy a balloon! buy cotton candy! buy more cotton candy! why? because you're nice!")

5. i had a purple helium balloon and purple rabbit that ako made tied to my bad which people who walked by had a penchant for thwacking

6. i had, in total, six chocolate-like cakes and brownies over friday and saturday

7. i had five hours of sleep the night before

8. everyone at the sale was wiped out, but mainly because of a) lack of sleep and b) the matrix marathon on friday night

9. boredom drove me, then later chelsea, to attempt this stupid cryptic puzzle thing that timothy bought and that made me really frustrated

10. i'm sure there's a tenth reason... i just can't seem to remember what

so there you go, the tiring reasons. but! i got quite a bit of stuff!!! (yay for me) (oh, look, another list!)

1. anna's steve madden shoes that look ridiculous on me but are so nice and tall-like

2. anna's (yes, again) old navy shirt that i didn't even try on but decided i liked

3. two cds that were supposed to be $4 each but i made sure david let me get them for $5 together - supertones and the w's

4. some book for a dollar - it was david's girlfriend's and she said it was "reeeeeally good"

5. a brownie

6. this sushi thing that was So Good - made by ako

7. cotton candy

8. a purple helium balloon

so there you go, my weekend so far. so now i will retreat to my room --

wait! i have NEWSFLASH-like news!!! after cutting my hair (and dragging meg along), we took a bus home and saw two gigantic crows pecking at this poor blue-red-green-black bird with the hugest eyes ever and it was sooo cute and we yelled at the crows and ran home (yes, me running with my balloons on my bag is bad) and showed the poor birdie to my mom (the bird had a naked butt - the feathers were everywhere - and this open wound) and we used my skecher's ("somethin' else") shoebox to put it in and my mom put the bunnies' hay inside and the poor bird's been in there since last night and my mom's fallen in love with it and has since insisted that we get it a nice cage.

bye bye!

oh, right. 5 and a half days to getting a bit bigger and a Thai lunch!

meg is really running out of cds. just for the sake of having interesting background music, i have resorted to listening to her "modern rock 2" cd. modern, alright. oasis is weird.

anyway my eyes are all squinty, and i realized that i haven't been posting much. sorry sorry! well, not like that there's anyone to apologize to, but all the same... anwyay anyway anyway, let's start from wednesday!

my mom's birthday - i ended the crappy camp at 4:30, stood at the bus stop getting completely drenched (felt like a drowning rat that very moment) until 77 came 20 minutes later and everyone stared at me and i stared back. what, never seen a sopping kid before? anyway, i got home (walked so fast that my legs were numb when i finally climbed the painful steps up home) and got shooed into the shower with constant (with 30 second intervals) reminders to hurry up. my dad was "surprising" my mom, see, so we ordered a cab (hey, doesn't that sound weird? let's go to starbucks and order a cup of cab!) and my dad, my sneaky sneaky dad, discreetly told the cabbie to turn here and there and somehow we landed up at this condominium Villa Martia - what a stupid name but it was reallyreallyreally nice inside! anyway my dad went up to this old and fat security guard and asked him where "alvin's place is". but was. so the guard just stared at him and my dad went to the porch to make A Phonecall, while my mom was giving him the weirdest looks ever. so we walked behind the lifts and into this weird house and this weird guy peeked his head out and yelled "Welcome!". so my mom was looking more freaked out by the second, and my dad was looking very smug. interesting. so we walked in... and saw the mckellars, this weird-looking man and his mom. his house was completely decked out in all these peranakan things, which were actually really cool, and i know that sounds so weird coming from me, but really it was so so so so cool and so he took us on a "tour" (what a horrible cheesy word) around the apartment and my mom's face was in a constant pleasant state of shock and blah blah blah so we sat down and had dinner. i know i'm typing so much so i'll just cut my mom's birthday short and say that the food was Extremely Good! i went home with a tummy ache, though.

thursday (yesterday) - ah, yesterday was good too! i rushed home after school (at least we were let off at 12 pm) and was once again shooed into the shower and blah blah blah hurry up ruth blah blah blah ok i'll just cut the details: we went to parkway for a tiny lunch, where i finally got my unionbay pants altered! (yay, no more not-being-able-to-see-my-feetness!) and also i got my shoes fixed, and i got to go grocery shopping with my mom after so long! and i got yogurt and these japanese cracker things and chocolate. so we headed home and i went online but was too lazy to make any post of any sort and so after a while we went out again but this time to great world city where we watched Intolerable Cruelty and then had the absolute yummiest dinner at crystal jade and then we went home.

today (uh... friday, but i'm pretty sure all of you know that) - stupid mr michael whatever and his awful laugh ("hyuk! hyuk!") and his nasal whiney voice... i think i'll lay off any desire to study psychology next time if that's what will happen to me. (this is a warning to you all!) (ok, i'm kidding) (i don't even want to do that anyway) and lakh! that lady, she is good and all, but she:
1. talks too much
2. fiddles with her hair too much
3. goes all new-agey way too much
i guess number 3 was the worst of the lot. anyway her lesson was the last one, and she was supposed to end at 4:30, but no-o-o-o, she just had to drag on till it was 4:40, and then this other teacher came in and took ages to explain to us why she was giving us a chocolate bar each. blah blah blah, we were finally let off, and i walked super duper fast to the bus stop just so i wouldn't be late or whatever for meg's "exciting" carnival that turned out completely crappy. i'm so alliteraryish today. must be the AMOUNT OF CHOCOLATE CAKE AND BROWNIES I HAD TODAY. well, that's the only valid excuse i can think of. anyway, i got there, and stood there with all these people buzzing around, while waiting very patiently for meg and sarah to appear. then she came and i changed out of our uniform (me) and she into her yukata-thing (while complaining of an impending wedgie the whole time). so we hung around and walked around and around and around.. and uh... what else happened? oh yes! the FOOD. oh, the food! was! So Good!!! yah, pity i didn't have the capacity (look, another c word!) to take everything that was on the table... but i did have space for chocolate cake and a brownie... hahahaha ok then the programme thing started and the kindergarteners started off with singing and they were so cute! then other people came on (goodness i can't even remember right now) and there was a square dance to virginia reel and a chinese song by the tenth graders (pffft, couldn't hear them!) and this dramatic taekwondo thing and OHHH that was very historical, seeing Ed, of all people, sway to a kid's song on stage. impressive. i think, by far, this is the longest post i've ever made.

shock!

horror!

the utter surprise!

i'm sleepy and it's 7.5 days to my birthday! boogie baby! (another alliterawhatever thing from me, random ruth. oh, look!)

of having to attend study camp, and yet still be able to find time to do the funky chicken in the rain, just to attract any cabbie's attention so we can get a ride to the japanese secondary school, to yell at random people in the bus, thwack people's heads to make them shrink, and eat dinner at plaza sing. such great fun, i tell you all. you really should try it some day.

think of all the countless people you will frighten.

the stares!

the looks!

the pointings!

ooooh, such delight!

you know, i'll never really make it as an advertiser if i decide to go into that line next time...

oreos, i mean. i think i'm going to be sick if i see another one in this lifetime. well, let's just say that i'll pretend this supposed "lifetime" is just a few more days. it's sunday!!! actually, i'm sure all of you know that. trust me to state the obvious, like how i'm short. but anyway, 'tis good to be home, aye, aye! that didn't make sense even though i just tried to make it, you know, make sense.

yes yes.

i'm supposed to be on holiday now, but due to this huge glitch: my unsatisfactory results of my exams, of how i "did not meet the necessary requirements to be promoted to secondary 4", i am not. well, boo hoo hoo.

i will have to spend the next three weeks of my precious "holidays" in school, slaving away under the noses of my "caring" teachers from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on mondays, wednesdays and fridays, and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on tuesdays and wednesdays. i am very looking forward to it, yes yes, i am.

but i'm also very, very, very, sure you all know i'm not telling the truth.

i got a get fuzzy calendar from borders just now! i liiiiiiike it :-)

(i'm just trying to think of something relatively interesting to say, other than how i nearlynearlynearly got to buy my beloved mango sweater - well, not mine, but you know what i mean - but was stopped because of how my dad invented about 89 reasons why i shouldn't buy a $89 sweater just "for the sake of it", i mean, i don't have my own sweater, i've always been sharing with my mom, and what with the india trip coming up, it being during winter, i'd obviously want my own sweater. and also of how my mom said she'd pay for it if i gave her my $50 birthday money from my grandaunt if she paid for it first - of course i said i would, it's not like she usually lets me use the money anyway.)

that was pretty long. anyway, i better go and get ready for a wedding dinner i am being forced to attend. i don't even know who it is that's going to be married. fare thee well, all of you!