The boy in striped pajamas

you know you have a good book when you've finished reading them in 3 hours, and that was exactly what i did with this one...  a book that captivates me long enuff to finish till the last page & still ponder on the subject being raise. 

Had it not been for the German Dachau Concentration Camp in Munich that i've visited, it wouldnt have triggered my interest in the same topic. Atlas, the book was amazing & very sad towards the end, but somehow i found it hard to feel sadness/pitiness for Bruno's family, perhaps knowing what his Dad was doing during Bruno's exploring.    

The war then was a subject too sensitive to be brought up even till today, what's left are memories that we investigate & feelings we thought we can conclude from the experience. I heard there's even a movie on this novel & now i;m not too sure i can hold my tear if i were to watch it. 

Although bbb and i didnt do Munich till our last part of the trip, it was one that left a pretty deep impression. Clarinda had planned for us to understand the country in a interesting way. I had requested to trouble her with the task of planning our itinerary and she didn't fail.

The visit to Dachau concentration camp was a worthy one, it was raining slightly when we arrived, but that did not dampen our spirit, having minimal knowledge of the War that had taken place was helpful, bbbb & i had to read on most of the exhibit in order to understand what needs to be understand.

~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~

We turn into strangers

Ok this is rather motivating, here i am blogging again, not long after the super long & wordy post..

here's a picture of bbbbb about the size we first met, i recall us as 2 balls

So moving on, after the numerous signs & hints & finally  a knock on my head from my cuzzie Vivien. I finally understood bbbb's real intentions! Still, there was no spark because the whole time i kept blaming myself for giving him the wrong sign, i really don't think i was ready to move on to another relationship, but this guy was sweet nonetheless..

Anyway, we went on more outings and as I carried on acting all calm about our "friendship", he make no further advances. Once, i fell sick with a dry cough & a bolt of sore throat, he arrived on a weekend to pick me up for some errands i had to run, and when i open the car door, what greeted me was a fine sight :)

(pic credits to image URL)

there was an array of medication to choose from (he probably figured i was sick from hearing my voices when i called), and since i am not the sort that has a clear directions what sort medication i would go for, he had to get them all.. haha (i took the herbal tea immediately, and pop some tablet later in the day). We also headed to chinatown for frog leg porridge.

So i guess girls are touched at things like this, no? Now that i knew of his intention, i began to evaluate him a teeny weeny bit, but before i could pour my heart crazy & placed my life bet on this relationship to work - he left. .

extracted from the notes he wrote that day"

Things got better only till last friday.... I finally realised how "this" work and it make me no choice but to decide on it.... Nothing went right at the beginning but I thought it was right.... Till friday, I thought I was doing good but I made a BIG mistake!!! I regretted badly... I will give up... I will tell you one day... But what I am going through think no one know how it feel like.... I only know it is bad to do it.... I am a bastard if I carry on...

I wish you all the best.........

"

The sentimental guy he always is, after seeing me move on from my past relationship, has found a new reason to look forward to life -.-"

WHAT IS THIS SORCERY!??!?!?!

Seriously, at that point i was thinking "this guy super play hard to get".. so ok lah, he leaves, we stop contacting for 2 months or more?! i cant remember. Was i intrigued by this whole sage - YOU BET I WAS!!!

This method surely works (guys, take note leh.. ) it's only when the guy decided to stop trying, that the girl starts noticing. So while i went about my usual routine day in and day out.. sometimes blogging about my day, otherwise just the plain jane, hopping in my chirpiness.... You must think i am coping well - i didn't - that fact that bbb left me hanging there caught me by surprise...   Is that what us earthling call "sparks?" this blur looking guy sure has a way of igniting the "spark"

 i was half furious, half concern for his lack of determination,
- was i not worth it?
- How dare he leaves like this?
- Such a coward for not trying harder.

and the list went on... till a point i started developing anger towards the now-no-longer-existence Rodman.. Reverse psychology... so i garner all my courage to drop him a text, i remember all that fear i had as i type him his old numner 9-1-8-8-4-2-3-3....... SENT...  *drops cold sweat* in it i scold him for being a coward (playing around with my words, not really hinting that i like him & all), and that he was a jerk for coming into my life then leaving like its no biggie, i also told him he has no guts and the least he could do was to put an closure to our "friendship"

Sure wish we had whatsapp that time, then i could be sure he has seen my msg

but no.. i didnt, that amount of cold sweat i pour while anticipating the phone to vibrate with a reply was eternity......

he didn't reply to that msg... 

So that was the end of how i broke my little heart.. 

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actually, no lah.. since i was a such gangho woman to express myself freely (*smirk face)...of course i got a reply - about 1 month later- ... and here's the opening text 

"Hope your leg is feeling ok"

Good ol' shy Rodman..... but a hello was better than not replying - RIGHT? and we starting texting again, at least for the next 3 days.. heehee... not long later he ask if i am keen to grab breakfast with him before i set off for work, sometime in early August 2008....  i said yes :)

**** fast forwarding here, cos the rest of the text really dont matter anymore *****

On 11august2008 morning, i set off for work a little earlier than usual, we are finally on talking terms again & am meeting for breakfast... it was set at Chomp Chomp serangoon and as gentlemen as i was trying to be... i volunteer to travel to Serangoon garden by myself 

After grabbing a plate of the yummiest (now one of my go-to place) Hokkien Prawn noodle for breakfast. bbbb ask if we can hop over to NTUC (now closed  & relocated to inside the mall) for he has to grab a bottle of shaving cream. We walk in & i went round searching for a bottle of shaving cream (seriously.. like i knew exactly where i can find them BETTER than a guy), aisles after aisles for this

We soon found the correct aisle, i turn my back, bend down to grab a bottle to excitedly show him, and while i stood up,  this happens :*))))))))))))))))))))))

and THAT (my friend!) is how RodKris started... after all the wordy, lengthy, twist of event... 

******Disclaimer: i am so so so so so sorry i took you all on a roller coaster ride, narrating all the events in details, boring you all out on the adventure so much so that you expect a better, more dramatic, climax for our story. 

Sobbing, this is a turmoil, each time i had to recall how i was won over by a bottle of Gillette shaving cream. Imagine the horror? Imagine how "sophisticated", "glamourous", "interesting" it would be to take our wedding picture along the aisles of NTUC Fairprice (Why  God? WHY!!!!!!!!) ... Imagine how i can re-enact this whole event in my wedding montage, just IMAGINE ME AND MY BOTTLE OF SHAVING CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!

Traumatizing, i still haven't accepted this fate of mine (Kristal & her Gillette shaving cream)... but that... really.. was ..how.. *sob*... *Sniff*...*sneeze out mucus on a piece of tissues*.... i ... ended... up ... falling... for.... a...... man.... like... HIM :)

So here, you can now throw your laptop screen a rotten egg, booooooooo at how this love story ended abruptly...  and if you are KEEN... on badly written script like this (

Do drop by my blog soon for i will fast forward another 5 years of time till the day i said "WHAT? REALLY? Are you Joking?!?.... YESS!!!!!!!!!!!!"


~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~

We started out as friends :)

a special shoutout to angel Clar who had been tuning in and has drop a reminder for me to update my blog... not like there is anyone else reading this apart from you.. My most since heartfelt thank you.

Hate to announce this.. but yeah, i am back from my long vacation. This is undeniably the best vacation & possibly the most unforgettable one... I finally found the solution to enjoy ANY country & love it (Well. at least for me that's how it works ) and that is to explore the place by aimlessly walking.. 

Europe has long ago been the favorite place i will like to revisit, and this time it was no exception. bbbbb made this trip a really special one by planning lotsa of surprises and i cannot be more thankful. 

I sure wish to go into details and send you into boredom but i shan't today, (maybe another day.. do watchout for the good ol' wordy Kristal)

Weeks ago we celebrated bbbbb's birthday and it dawn on me that we've knew each other for a good 12 years, having spend the last 5 years dating, if you dont mind me i will like to bring us all back to the time we first met. 

It was nothing like the love at first sight for Rodman & I. We were like 2 ugly ducklings who had tried our best to shun from attention. 

I was the overweight unattractive girl who had an oily scalp & a pretty obvious tummy. I wasn't all that girly to begin with, and had it not been for the mercy of my best friend Sharon, would no step out beyond the comfort of our classroom into the serangoon area

It was another afternoon after school,  Sharon had just started dating a boy in school, and as "unwelcoming" as i always was - i had readily included myself in their courtship, just shadowing their movement, following their footstep as they walked around the Serangoon area, holding hands & enjoying each other's company. 

I don't hang around outside the school area much, i had nothing to do & did not fancy staring at my best friend & her new catch  ( now ex, and a good friend of us all) "steady-ing". Was i jealous? i probably was, afterall, there were alot of things i did not had the privilege (i.e looks, figure, confidence) to have. After school i will change my school uniform for my favorite Navy blue tee with striking yellow font. It was my best top & the only one i would go to if i had to look my best

How my favorite tee looks like, i got it in Toa Payoh at about $7 and it lasted me for a good 4 years.. 

Anyway, that afternoon while Besties & her bf were holding hands around that basketball haunt they found, i was sitting alone at the adjacent seats.. in front of me were a bunch of boys playing bball, about 6 of them... 

Among them stood bbbbb... i can vividly remember all their names, 

GuoQiang; Ah Ben; Wei Jie; Ah Gump; Andrew; Choong Ting (bbbbbb)

It certainly wasnt all love at first sight, in fact i do not remember their faces after the first meeting. We said "Hello" because i was a lone sitting at the bball court where they were playing bball (minus the lovebird i was keeping a distance from )

My first impression of them were general , a bunch of perspire-ry guys in all shapes & sizes// haha..  Amongst them were good looker (as agreed by Besties & I when we discuss the new friendship we've made) - bbbb didnt make it to the list, this was the boy i first met back in year 2001. Both him & i were the sort no one would notice.. but looking back.. if he had caught my attention.. we might not have lasted the length of time (considering all the drastic change i undergo during the next 14 years)... 

long story short... all the 6 guys & us girls lost contact after we graduated from Secondary school at 16 year old ( that 2004...) we did spent a good 2 years hanging out after school. They were the best bunch of people you hope to meet when you were young, those who didnt mind u calling them "korkor" or taking advantage of their proclaim-biceps, making then doing the tougher chore for you young girls because you admit to be weak.

There was an incident that left quite an impression, that one Saturday we hang out (all 6 guys & 2 girls) at Bishan Junction 8 on a random weekend. I never really get to hang out on weekend, what's more with guys & Besties.. So i came rather unprepared. We ate lunch (those days our pocket money was a mere $4/day and only limit to 5 days a week ah) at a fine diner and i confess that i hadn't got the $$ to pay..... Needless to say the guys had to fork out their pocket to help me out here and it was bbbb who had pass the $$ to anther of his mate to pay my lunch, he did not hand it to me personally because he was shy (like he still is.. haha) but i caught him doing so and was quite touched.. 

i mean... this is a 15 year old girl who sees "not-enough-cash" as equivalent to "some-one-call-the-police-on-her" serious, so deep down inside i was really happy at gaining their trust (to pay upfront for me) and acknowledgement (that this girl can be helped).. that incident still make me smile sometimes when i think back.. 

Fast Forward to about 6 years later, after we all graduated & stop contacting... on 31jan2008 my 21st birthday, we met again, a short Hi-Bye-here's-your-present meetup, no pictures, not much words exchange as he had rush off somewhere... That excahnge really wasnt worth much mentioning.... BUT i still clearly remember his gift

a plushie orange carebear, 

a princess pop-up card.

a Roxy tee shirt (the pic below was taken in 2009

Then again on 16May2008 Besties birthday, we invited them all & that was when we all met again.

To be honest, i had not seen bbbb the whole time during besties's birthday party, i was helping out here & there & by the time i had time to say Hello, he had left..  (pictures below with the rest of the usual clique without bbb)

Till that stage, you might find it pretty impossible how bbb & i eventually end up together.. Well, it wasnt till late 2008 when we bump into each other while i was working at Fabrick Far East Plaza, one of the many part time jobs i was handling.. 

(Taken at Fabrick Far East plaza in 2008)

He was helping RongHua to look for a pair of skinnies and we spoke a bit while his friends were trying on the jeans. I was chirpy that day (in fact i am chirpy about everyday.. ) so while they discuss on the jean, i minded my business, hopping around the shop & provide assistance like i would all the time.

It was probably after that day that bbbb laid his eyes on me.. hehe.. because we started texting after that meet up (years later i learn that fateful day, after they left the shop, he asked his friends if i were a good catch.?  can't believe this guy, really -.-".. )

Not long later, after dragging things on for a little too long, i finally had the courage to break things off with my ex-bf. (thankfully we remain as friend till today.. and he is getting married soon!)

For a while i was falling in and out of emotion, one second u see me chirpy like i always was, but when you text i'll put you off with all sorts of emo-shit.. 

bbbbb & i continue texting, i notice how he was always showing up in town, sometimes offering me a ride home if i knock off the same time he's leaving. I would come up with excuses and then board the last train home.. i guess back then i felt i didnt need anyone to pity me and since bbb was a really good & down-to-earth friend the whole time, i felt he was just being gentleman like he would to all the girls. 

Then one day i relented & ask if he needed a dinner kaki since i was knocking off soon. He replied not too soon after that he was in the vicinity so we can meet for dinner. No biggie you might think, but when i finally knock off, he still hasnt replied where we're meeting so off i headed home.. 

When i reach Yishun i receive his text that he was driving over to my workplace (strange.. he mention he was in the vicinity?!?). so i ask if we could meet in Yishun instead, and he replied within seconds that Yishun is better! We had dinner that night at Chong Pang Nasi Lemak and with this company i had a great night. 

So in case you cannot tell, actually each time he mention he was vicinity, he was all but trying his luck, so when i finally agreed to meet, he frantically search for all sorts of excuse to drag time so he could rush to Town where i work, when the whole time he was actually at home in Hougang. 

After that night we hang out sometimes, just dinner & home, after my work. Slowly he asked if i would be keen to make more friends & join him on his outing with his cliques, i agree. I was running a fever that week when we arrange to meet, but i decided it was not a good idea to cancel meetups especially since i will be meeting new friends. 

Anyhow, believe it or not, the WHOLE time i thought he was just trying to be a gentlemen and help me get over my past & move on. Even when i first met his friends for KTV one night, i hadnt think too much about it. Not till i read a blog entry by his friend Lao Sha (now also one of my closer girlfriend). 

i think i must be quite silly, we hang out so often, and he always offer to fetch me when we arrange to meet, even with our friends.. On one occasion, i was in his car and while he drives, his phone rang. Since he was driving i asked if he needed me to pick the call... he hesitated for a while and said yes.. when i took the phone i saw that his phone screensaver was a pic of myself. Then again, i put it off by convincing myself it was a mere coincidence. haha/

October's gone..

i'm cutting myself some slacks & backlogging quite a few trips, some dated a while back.

I tried my hands on making beef goulash yesterday, 
after getting hooked on the delicious aftertaste it leaves on my tongue having tasted it in Germany. 
Thankfully, it was a success with lotsa of praises especially from bbbb, 
otherwise i would have sigh at the loss of a fine bottle of red wine from 2009.  

In addition, there was the Cordan Bleu, 
that still receives much raving from bbbbb
All thanks to the secret receipe by Clar, 
i wouldnt have done it any simpler. 
I went down raw & made my own breadcrumb for this dish
and i must say, without the finely toasted bread, 
it wouldn't taste as good, so thumbs up to Clar!

Also, bbbb & i have been toying with the idea of another holiday,
ever so casually rest assuring each other the vacation will come soon
We even set off on a short weekend getaway in Batam
the massage & fine food with this family makes up for the 
deprivation of our back-from-UK woes. 

The weather has not been in our favor, 
there were news of flood everywhere!
i am trying to schedule a weekly run & get my momentum back on track 
but each time the determination set forth for a run after work
the storms charges in & changes everything, 
perhaps its a good chance to meddle with Gary's roller exerciser i saw lying around his room last night.
Gonna get those fats tuck away inside the body (or better, get rid of them)

Also, i am increasingly worried for the balding patches around my forehead and will resort to cutting the fringe off into a straight bangs, 
while reluctantly chopping off inches of my locks till it's no longer "heavy" for my head. 
i browse through some old pictures of myself & man, do i have hair!

My forehead full of head... now there are space in between & without teasing them ever so often, 
they look really bald.. 
i am depressed :( 

This makes for such a bad comparison, but this are one of those moments that i hadn't bother to tease the hair before taking that shot. 
Notice how a obvious portion of my crown shows signs of thinning. 
This is not good, NOT good.. 
i am investing a bit more on hair products, 
i've learn my lesson, gimme back some fringes please?

Also, if you can't tell from the pic above, 
we attended a halloween party at his cuz, 
not so much of a scare-factor night, but our costumes were real hardwork
The overall effect was a success, the night can be consider a Halloween night alright!

i played the role of a chinese bride here, while bbb's sister played the vietnam bride, 
and bbbb himself played the role of Mr Adam from Adam's Family, with a secret mission to kill with a mask (not shown here). 
The party was well -thought & even some of the food were made to look like creepy crawlies, 
overall, the prata station - once again- attracted the most crowd, 
credits & kudos to the planners - bbbb's wonderful cousins!


So all's left now is to await the upcoming Christmas & year end parties , but not before we work full force at work to get through the peak period. i can't wait for 2014 to come, it's gonna be so much fun!


~Sweet.Silly.Stinky.Sleepyhead~