#1006: first millennium recap comes to an end

This is it, folks! The final countdown!

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Post #950: January Book Update! [January 19th, 2009]
One of my many book posts, this one looking at what I was currently-reading and what waiting to be read, hopefully before they were due to be returned to the library :D

Post #962: this is gonna raise Kosh's eyebrows... [February 18th, 2009]
... where I share my intention of looking for and partaking of MOK YEE, a type of fungus that is supposed to be excellent for reducing cholesterol, and acknowledge that my Western-minded hubby would be shaking his head at my Asian-remedy finding.

Post #973: ... my ghostly school? [March 18th, 2009]
If you're one for ghost stories, do revisit this post, where I share tales about my old school that sob! sob! doesn't exist anymore.

Post #984: What a sight! [April 10th, 2009]
Kosh and I took a walk downtown, and were awedumbstruck by some newly-installed pieces of "art" in Millennium Park.

Post #988: I won! [April 21st, 2009]
My first ever winning of tangible stuff through the internets! Of course, the card, and gift card, have since gone missing :(

Post #997: My niece and I [May 15th, 2009]
What better way to end this recap than with my adorable niece? Click on through to see the sweetie for yourself. She'll be turning all of one year old in just a few weeks!

= = =

With that, the ~10% recap of Life After Work's first millennium of posts now draws to a close.

'Regular' programming to follow.

Right after I...

• respond to a 4+ month old interview by Culture Shock


• actually ~write~ something for a planned post-exchange with Roz @ Life in Australia


• get a handle on my queue of, umm, stuff... let's leave it at that...

Umm, yeah... this might take a while!

(Old books... image by nkzs)

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#1005: 15 of 2008

Continuing the 10% selection of past Life After Work posts in conjunction achieving more than a millennium of posts, today please read on to explore fifteen random-ish posts from 2008. Enjoy!

[image from sxc]

= = =

Post #811: Mindblock [January 7th, 2008]
Where I share one of my favourite scenes from Family Guy.

Post #821: A ratty new year [February 7th, 2008]
Wishes for a happy & prosperous Chinese New Year.

Post #831: beaten at my own game??!! [March 21st, 2008]
The Boggle queen is dethroned?!

Post #841: 2 am [April 12th, 2008]
A late night (or early morning, depending how you look at it) meandering post about what books to read next.

Post #851: "creamy" [May 7th, 2008]
At last, a pottery post!! This was about my first experience throwing porcelain.

Post #861: a tongue tale [May 30th, 2008]
My experience with an extremely aromatic person (no, I don't think it was our Mr Stinky!)

Post #872: ori & spoof reviews [June 25th, 2008]
where I review two sets of original vs spoof movies, and find myself all CGI'd out.

Post #881: *more* piles of pot ... [July 27th, 2008]
Where I show off more of my pottery products...

Post #886: ... mashed potato pizza, or how I can now create a new blogroll ... [August 10th, 2008]
Where Kosh and I break out of our shells and (kinda) interact with other Chicago bloggers during our first-ever Davecago!

Post #892: ... of hurty fingers, magic and avatar choices ... [August 22nd, 2008]
Wow, hard to believe the avatar I adopted was created less than a year ago! I offer two to choose from, plus a bit of whining about how my birthday was marked.

Post #901: ... has marriage made me more of a geek? [September 8th, 2008]
Where I compare results of a quiz taken two years apart, and discuss the differences.

Post #911: catching up! [October 3rd, 2008]
Where I talk a bit about my allergies, and paperwork blues.

Post #920: Book Review: The Sword-Edged Blonde [October 26th, 2008]
One of my many book review posts. But this one book is special. Or, the author is, anyway. He dropped me a comment, and later also emailed me thanking me for reading and reviewing his book. I had quite the geek-out moment, twice! :)

Post #931: Foody Friday: mega-pumpkin bread!
[December 5th, 2008]
Where I share my great pumpkin bread experiment :) It was even more delicious than the photo implies!

Post #941: humped and tongued on Christmas! [December 26th, 2008]
On Christmas, I got humped and (in a separate incident) accidentally bit my tongue, but all that was forgotten with the discovery of boymongoose's Indian-themed spoofs of The Twelve Days Of Christmas and Jingle Bells. Click on through to watch/listen, it's totally worth it, I assure you :)

= = =

The next post should wrap up this review of Life After Work's past posts.. stay tuned!

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#1004: Life After Work '06 - wedding pix and onwards!

The recap of Life After Work's past 1000 posts continues!! Up until yesterday, the posts were written by me as a single person.. today that changes: from here on out, I was married to Kosh, and the "Lynne Naranek" persona emerged fully. I wonder if it shows in the posts... read on and see for yourself, k? :)

= = =

Post #619: ... and the bride wore black! [September 19th, 2006]
Okay so I'm not going every tenth post right here, because hey I might as well highlight the first blog post announcing the wedding :)

Post #627: long overdue... [September 22nd, 2006]
... and this post features the wedding announcement we sent out, only a few weeks late, LoL!

Post #632: Saturday Sanity [September 30th, 2006]
I watch a lot of tv with Kosh, and here I blog about two separate movies / tv shows that had actors I recognised from elsewhere. I heart imdb!

Post #642: Warning! Major time waster ahead! [plus some pix] [October 14th, 2006]
... and that warning in the title is SO true ... upon reviewing the site pointed to, I ended up spending more time than I wanted just re-exploring a whole bunch of funny pix... back then I said there were over 800 images... now there are over 1800!

Post #652: Fillers: WWTD & a tiger jigsaw puzzle [October 27th, 2006]
... where I share two hilarious jokes... you're missing out if you don't click through and check them out!!

Post #662: November's Bits & Pieces [November 12th, 2006]
A post complaining about getting ZAPPPPPED by static electricity, and gushing about Bat out of Hell III :)

Post #668: no more grandparents for me! [November 29th, 2006]
I mark the passing of my Swiss grandmother, the last of my direct links to that level of the family tree...

Post #672: I'm a cunning linguist! and other stories [December 5th, 2006]
Another quiz result and other news.

Post #682: X-factor [December 23rd, 2006]
LoL! I totally forgot about Letters from Bad Santa!! Will have re-feature it in an upcoming December post :)

Post #692: "Hey, he/she looks familiar...." [January 22nd, 2007]
Another I heart imdb post, this time involving Galaxy Quest, Angel, Bones and Law&Order!

Post #702: another meme - book related [March 13th, 2007]
... a book meme, concentrating on sci-fi/fantasy. I didn't fare too well then, and I don't think I've read any others from that list since then!

Post #712: misc on monday [April 2nd, 2007]
A throwaway post on more internet quiz results.

Post #722: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Tech? (Part Two) [April 22nd, 2007]
Part Two of two (I never did get my thoughts together for the promised Part Three) about the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Post #732: grrrrrrr! [May 12th, 2007]
... where I am frustrated with mysterious effects arising from a template change. I've since changed templates at least twice, I think, LoL!

Post #742: seven hundred forty two [June 13th, 2007]
Thank goodness for this post! This helped confirm my suspicions that I was "off" in my counting of blog posts... by 201!! :D And why would I mark such an odd number in the first place? I don't know... perhaps a part of me knew that in the future, this particular post should be numbered so that when I do this recap, I can go back and fix some things with minimal heartache? :D :D

Post #751: I was never a huge fan, but ... [July 1st, 2007]
Upon hearing news of their reunion, I reminisce about the Spice Girls a little, and wonder who got boob jobs done!

Post #761: fan tail my a** [July 20th, 2007]
... this post continues to score search hits from other victims of the useless piece of hair accessory called the fan tail.

Post #771: cancelled?! [August 24th, 2007]
Just a short paragraph about Kosh's canceled flight to Zurich, due to horrendous weather. Thankfully he managed to get on another plane the next day. The already short trip was made even shorter, and he was a zombie for most of the time, the poor guy!

Post #781: Friggin Facebook! [September 20th, 2007]
Heehee my first post about how much of an insidious timesuck Facebook is! Oh, and excellent cat pix, so please click on through!

Post #791: postcard recap! [October 29th, 2007]
A recap of my first ever I'll send you a postcard! effort, which was later reborn as The Postcard/Link Exchange of 2009.

Post #800: kitchen eggventures! [December 6th, 2007]
... where I share some (mis-)adventures in the kitchen, and a humorous X-mas card :)

= = =

We're reaching the home stretch now! We have about 20-30 representative posts of the remaining 200 posts to go... stay tuned!!

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#1003: Life After Work: posts from the end of singledom!

Continuing the 10% sample of past Life after Work posts: featured this time around are the final posts written by me as a single woman! Read on...

= = =

Post #493: Slow Sunday [May 7th, 2006]
A quick recap of a relatively uneventful and -- slow -- Sunday.

Post #503: Particularly nasty weather... [May 12th, 2006]
... where I talk about a particularly nasty storm that ripped through KL.

Post #513: Thought for the Day [May 18th, 2006]
A thought-provoking Tim Robbins quote.

Post #523: oh boy did it rain yesterday! [May 26th, 2006]
.. where I describe a pretty productive day that ended with my getting soaked to the bone in an extremely heavy downpour.

Post #532: a tragedy strikes (for the FIFTH time??!!) [June 1st, 2006]
A rant about yet another landslide, and yet another politician talking bull about blame. What's even sadder is reading this post three years later and knowing that nothing has changed...

Post #542: i suppose i was an early bird... [June 17th, 2006]
... where I share the photo of the eleven of us who met up for what turned out to be the first of many reunions of fellow St Marians :)

Post #552: 2006 books (Part 1) [June 30th, 2006]
This was the first time I'd actually kept track of books I'd read: in the first 6 months of 2006, I'd already gone through just under 50 books!

Post #562: audience participation required, part deux [July 15th, 2007]
This was a pretty different type of meme requiring audience participation (hence the title..!). Maybe I should resurrect it? :)

Post #572: Long overdue! audience participation and aura [August 1st, 2006]
LoL! Ten posts later it's another installment of the audience participation meme, and I recap my visit to an aura reader.

Post #582: Movie Revue [August 12th, 2006]
... where I review a few movies, and jump through a few connections to Dexter!

Post #592: ... to quiet the mind ... [August 21st, 2006]
... where I meditate upon my meditation experiences...

Post #602: Rain rain go awayyyyyy! [August 29th, 2006]
... a date with a personal shopper, and trying to identify celebrities from their high school yearbook photos...

Post #612: Maybe Lorena Bobbit works for a mamak shop? and other rambling thoughts [September 7th, 2006]
An all-in-one post covering t-sheets, the pee-less cat, torpedo soup and exercise, or lack thereof.

= = =

so, did my writing style, focus and content change upon getting married? Find out for yourself tomorrow! :)

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#1002: Life after Work -- 13 posts from Feb - April 2006

We're just about halfway through our 10% recap of Life After Work in celebration of its first millennium of posts!

Today we look at the first two of what turned out to be six long months I was back in Malaysia, away from Kosh. Gotta love paperwork!! A lot of my posts during these six months were filled with mundane minutiae for Kosh to know what was going on with me without us having to try to catch each other via Yahoo Messenger with 13/14-hour difference to play with. Ah, fun times!

= = =

Post #352: Some images from my past... [February 26th, 2006]
Back in Malaysia, and having to move "my room" from my parents' old apartment to the new one... and so I documented some memories before discarding them...

Post #362: Yesterday & Today [March 4th, 2006]
A navel-gazing post on mundane minutiae (plenty of those!)

Post #372: Concatenating randomly-generated words [March 7th, 2006]
... I forgot I had taken a stab or two at "creative writing" on this blog: here I string together random words into a mildly amusing dialogue...

Post #382: Star*ucks Sunday! [March 12th, 2006]
More navel-gazing, but from a Starbucks, and I whine about how much it doesn't compare to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Post #392: Dis and Dat [March 17th, 2006]
Some random observations, including using the wifi from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and being recognised by the staff from another branch, LoL!

Post #402: my brushes with fate [March 20th, 2006]
... where I discuss the various vehicle-related incidents I've been involved in... and one major one I thankfully didn't witness - a girl getting run over by a bus just outside my high school...

Post #412: it's amazing how a SMALL thing... [March 23rd, 2006]
A teeny tiny thingy broke off my phone, rendering it practically useless to me. The start of my P800 problems.

Post #422: do you need a marijuana prostitute immediately? [March 28th, 2006]
LMAO I remember taking a photo of this sign in Yow Chuan Plaza (Plaza Ampang), I wonder if it's worth submitting to that engrish site?

Post #433: a self-tag :D [April 3rd, 2006]
... where I participate in a meme which asks random questions like color of underwear currently being worn, do you have a mental disease, and did you dream last night. Powerful stuff!

Post #443: 100s of stuff :-) [April 7th, 2006]
In the "look what I found..." category: a small collection of random discoveries on the 'net.

Post #453: What, me? Normal? [April 11th, 2006]
... where I make some scathing observations about the HR dept of my former place of employment, then move on to some on-air boo-boos: would you think of salt or talcum powder then you're given a hint of something white that your husband might sprinkle on his eggs?

Post #463: I'm front! [April 15th, 2006]
Fresh after participating in the Lost Blogs thingy, I catch up with some "look what I found..." links on the 'net.

Post #473: Sunday’s deep thoughts [April 22nd, 2006]
... a tmi post about bowel movements and grey hair!

Post #483: You sure it's Ethanol and not Methanol in there? [April 29th, 2006]
... where I speculate on the quality of some mega cheap booze I saw on the shelves of a local supermarket.

= = =

I sure hope that veteran and new readers alike are taking the time to explore some of the links above... there are some gems hidden among the fluff, I assure you! :D

"Normal" programming will recommence once we're done with this recap... another two or three posts' worth, I think... hang in there!! :D

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#1001: Life after Work -- every 10th post from Oct 2005->Feb 2006!

Today we continue to celebrate the quantity, if not quality, of my posts at Life After Work.

For some reason I'm inspired to do some math: 1000 divided by 4.5 years oh wait let's go by months, so divide 1000 by 54, and that gives an average of 18 posts a month. Not too shabby!

... if you take into consideration the additional 320+ posts in my other blogs, my average posts per month skyrocket to about 24!

Anyways: let's continue reviewing every 10th post, starting from where we left off in Sept 2005 up until I had to head back to Malaysia in Feb 2006. Enjoy!

[image credit: calculator by blumik]

= = =

Post #162: It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's super-Cage?! [October 4th, 2005]
A short post about what Nicholas Cage decided to name his son.

Post #172: not Aaron, just a blog on Spelling :-) [October 13th, 2005]
Where I ramble on a bit about spelling, or the lack thereof, on many blogs.

Post #182: you reap what you sow! [October 18th, 2005]
A rant that ends with "I'd rather to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."

Post #192: Catching up : October 19 - 20 2005 [October 26th, 2005]
Painfully mundane minutiae about some of my days in Switzerland (this trip would be the last that I spent time with my Grandma - she passed away about a year later).

Post #202: happy deepavali [November 1st, 2005]
A navel-gazing entry of randomness

Post #212: take the weather with you [November 6th, 2005]
Contains a weather report and a book report.

Post #222: Poser Schmoser #1 [November 10th, 2005]
Where I take a situation from my past, and mull over it publicly.

Post #232: schmitibank the inflexibles rigidities [November 30th, 2005]
Ah yes... a rant about canceling my credit card from afar, and how unnecessarily drawn-out a process it turned out to be...

Post #242: 2hr 53m 20s and counting [December 10th, 2005]
A short post while I struggled to recover from a bad cold. What those numbers mean? Click and find out :D

Post #252: pie in the sky? [December 21st, 2005]
A throwaway post reporting a blogthings quiz.

Post #262: urban legend chain e-mails: verify verify verify! [January 1st, 2006]
This rant was great to publish, then it turned into a handy reference to point people to, those who were guilty of passing on e-mails without even attempting to verify the veracity of the contents. A recommended read :)

Post #272: One time, back in Band Camp... [January 10th, 2006]
A short post bemoaning the rapidly deteriorating American Pie franchise.

Post #282: Effects of the Ferrari-less Monk [January 13th, 2006]
Where I review The Monk who sold his Ferrari - a book recommended to me by one of my ex-bosses. One word: disappointing!

Post #292: Kosh is President for the day! [January 20th, 2006]
Birthday wishes to Kosh.

Post #302: star stuff [January 28th, 2006]
It starts off with a quote of Delenn from Babylon 5, and goes on to explore what else but star- (and space-) related stuff.

Post #312: I'm a survivor! [February 3rd, 2006]
A throwaway post about yet another online quiz.

Post #322: Star Trek; New Voyages [February 12th, 2006]
I'll have to re-explore the link in this one: I remember finding this "continuation of ST:TOS" as web episodes, but I'd not taken the next step of downloading/watching any of them.

Post #332: VD#6: the end of VD [February 14th, 1006]
VD in this case referring to Valentine's Day, where I did a blog post marathon of sorts. This particular post wraps up how I spent the day.

Post #342: Nohari & Johari windows [February 19th, 2006]
My last post in the USA! The next day I left for Malaysia for what would end up being SIX MONTHS away from Kosh. Yikes! Anyways, so this post was a request for those who knew me to fill in Johari and Nohari windows for me. Only Kosh helped out. Oh well. I'd suspected as much, but had to try.

= = =

Once again, I do hope that veteran and new readers will take this opportunity to explore some of my past posts... there are some gems hidden among the fluff, I assure you! :D

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#1000: Life after Work -- 10% recap of Oct 2004-Sept 2005

This is my 1000th post on this blog 4.5-year-old blog.

1000th!!

Over the next few days, I'll be featuring every 10th post or so that I've churned out here at Life After Work, from #1 all the way to #991. For those who have been with me from the beginning, I hope you'll enjoy this little trip down memory lane with me; for those who have joined me more recently, here's your chance to dive into some my older posts without wading through page after page after page of archives - there are some gems awaiting you!

Comments are still open - hint hint! :D

Enjoy!

= = =

Post #1: ... the (threat of a) pen is mightier than ... ? [October 4th, 2004]
Back in October 2004, getting ready to up and leave everything in Malaysia to see if the connection between Kosh and myself was going anywhere, I ran into frustrations at the Income tax office.

Post #11: … the idiot box rules o.k. ! [November 5th, 2004]
A few weeks into my time with Kosh and I'm already zoning out to all the tv -- what else to do? Totally burned out wrt work, and since I was there on a tourist visa I couldn't work anyway. So I watched tv and tortured the cat. Here I list some of the shows I was watching at that time.

Post #21: in and out... of touch [January 10th, 2005]
Three months into my "retirement", my thoughts drift to those I left behind… schoolmates, colleagues, friends: or those I *thought* were friends…

Post #31: Noritta Samsudin: Case closed? WTF? [January 31st, 2005]
Here I try to wrap my head around an improbable statement by a police chief about a murder investigation, its failed prosecution, and subsequent closure of the case.

Post #41: yes, i'm alive... and I need your feedback please! [March 23rd, 2005]
Here my thoughts are slowly turning to what I can move on to: yes, some healing from the trauma of work has actually happened!

Post #51: Aduuuuuuh, my feet hurt!!!! [April 12th, 2005]
Here I describe my pretty productive day, including my first ever reflexology session.

Post #61: SHORTCHANGED: They tried to pull a fast one on me!! [April 30th, 2005]
Ah yes... the whole "lawyers are pigs" saga... my blood still boils even after four years... I'll know better next time...

Post #71: ... a temporary solution ... [May 8th, 2005]
A continuation of the "lawyers are pigs" saga ...

Post #81: ... a medieval future [June 29th, 2005]
Where I discuss the works of Robert Jordan, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Isobelle Carmody; Stephen King; specifically their work that involves tales of a ‘medieval future’ of sorts.

Post #91: ENT Part 2: of stones and blues [July 12th, 2005]
I took a trip down memory lane, sharing my not-so-pleasant experience getting a stone in my salivary duct taken out. Funny thing is, some readers thought it was happening to me then and there. Part One starts with "Back in the late 90’s, ..." *rolls eyes*

Post #101: From "flesh&blood" to "metaphysical meteors"? [August 1st, 2005]
Here you get a glimpse of my not-so-conventional thinking. I blog about how much I enjoyed an Ancient Astronaut author, and how surprised I was to find out that he had done an about turn, from flesh and blood aliens to metaphysical meteors. Yikes!

Post #111: A hazy shade of Malaysia! [August 10th, 2005]
From the haze-free environment of Urbana, I sympathise with Malaysians suffering through a particularly nasty round of haze.

Post #121: ... of doors and mates? [August 19th, 2005]
One of my many "fluff" posts, where I talk about a blog about doors, and discuss a movement to ban the use of "Mate" in Australia.

Post #132: Malaysian Miscellany [September 1st, 2005]
Where I ramble briefly about some things Malaysian, what with it being Merdeka and all...

Post #142: a quick catching up! (Part 2) [September 13th, 2005]
Where I give a detailed accounting of our trip to Cleveland, with a surprise announcement right at the end!

Post #152: somewhere at the end of the rainbow... [September 20th, 2005]
Ah yes, one of my favourite, most colorful, posts! And it was all a set-up for the photo at the end!! You ~have~ to check it out!!

= = =

Image credits:

• Hands Up Jumping by nookiez
• watching tv by romexico
• Foot Massage by aamag
• GoodReads
• my own photo

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if boobs were zits ...

Rites of passage - rituals that mark a change in a person's social or sexual status - are often ceremonies surrounding events such as childbirth, menarche or other milestones within puberty, coming of age, marriage, weddings, and death.

So today I successfully navigated a modern rite of passage of sorts.

... if boobs were zits, mine would have spewed their juices all over the mammogram machine.

Yup, had my first ever mammogram today.

No, no, not to worry, there's no mysterious lump that needs a look-see; rather, my (suspect) OB/GYN is of the opinion that a mammogram should be done at age 35, and I'm not arguing, I'm all for establishing a baseline.

But maaaaan, my puppies got quite the smooshing! :p

... celebrated the successful navigation of this rite of passage with cookie dough :D

I'm a cunning linguist! and other stories

See! I'm not making it up! I'm a cunning linguist!
[H/T Roberta]

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

= = = = =
Got some excellent news in the mail yesterday, over 6 months earlier than expected. Celebrated by having homemade tuna melt while watching Life of Brian. Whoohoo :P [i.e. we'll celebrate later when Kosh isn't braindead from work]

= = = = =
Had to share Samm's surprise gift with y'all: check it out here. Now, tell me HOW such an object, that looks like a ring, "fits perfectly to fill the gap between the tip of [a certain body part] and [a certain] spot"?? I just. can't. picture. it.

= = = = =

Still pending: perspectives on death, and update on the "something wicked & green".

... and the bride wore black!

... not *just* black lah...



.. got some green, maaaaah!



... and silver, loh!



.... and boots, oh my!


Yup, I managed to be myself despite being in a dress, LOL!



"... two become one ..."
Two Three sets of three threads, intertwined, form our rings.

Whether you think of them as representing the trinity of "me, myself and I", "id, ego and super-ego", or even "past, present and future", each set of these threads symbolise Kosh and I as the unique individuals that we are and always will be.

With our union, these entwined threads symbolise our lives now joined to form two parts of a greater whole: we draw and lend strength from/to each other, our joys and sorrows shared alike.

We are still two, yet we are also one.


Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present...
Dr Kosh & Mrs Lynne Naranek!
[NOTE: boring details on some of last week's goings-on will follow]

Good News: 10 years later the Marvel is confirmed!

Date: May 1995
Event: Chemistry Department graduation ceremony

To my utter and complete surprise, it was announced I was among the five(?) people receiving a departmental award issued to the top 10% (?) of Undergraduate Theses submitted for that year.

I was given a copy of a letter informing a past recepient of the award, and was told this was just a sample, I'd get a proper one addressed to me later. The letter also said the award came with a gift of USD 200 (?).

Notice the all the (?)'s? Can you guess what's coming?

I never did get anything to confirm that what I remembered from the graduation ceremony was not just a dream.

Do you know, I never dared even put the award on my resume because I had no proof of being a recipient of that award. At least I *could* put that I graduated "with distinction", which you get by default if you did that Thesis thing. Which was what I was targetting for anyway. The extra award was just that, extra, but still, if I got it, I should be SURE I got it, right?

Okay, sure, I was an International Student, and maybe things slip through the cracks... but still... not with a university like UIUC??!! After all, I was in the U.S. for about a month after graduation, and had forwarded any correspondance to my then-bf's place. He would then forward to me in Malaysia, if needed. Nothing ever came.

Fast forward a few years later.

I know I wrote the Chemistry Department, it may have been around 1997. Snail mail (E-mail was still in its infancy then). No word back. I wonder if it reached the Chem Dept. I wonder if anyone cared. I wonder if I will ever get confirmation of this award.

Fast forward: March 2004
In the early days of me & Kosh, I took time off from work and visit for about 2 weeks. While I was on campus, I dropped by the Chem Office to see if there was any way to get some closure about this award. What I got was essentially a brush-off, and was told to contact someone in the Records Deprtment. I left the office feeling weird, like all disappointed and unhappy with the lack of helpfulness; as a result I just didn't feel like following-up, so I let it be. {To Kosh's puzzlement. He learnt not to ask / push or bring up the topic. Poor him. It's funny how people (in this case the person at the Chem Office) can act in such a way as to color MY outlook for a while.}

Fast forward: Last week (early Nov 2005)
I pass the Office of Records & Admissions is on my to the gym.
One day, my feet bring me to its entrance.

I am surprised at how helpful the person I meet is. While she is surprised at my tale of how I was referred to this office by the Chem Dept because that's where I needed to be (maybe things changed in a year?), she still made a few calls, got some basic information down for me, so I could go back to the Chem Dept "armed" with my new student ID#, stuff like that.

So the next day I drop by the Chem Office, again go through my spiel of how I'd like to get confirmation of this award thingy. At least there was no effort to tai-chi me anywhere else. I was told they'd look into it, and would e-mail me back.

The next day, I get an email:

We did some checking and where [sic] able to confirm that you had received the Marvel Award. Please stop by the office, as I have a certificate for you to pick up.

Whoohooo! After over ten years, it's finally confirmed!

It's really not worth more than a line on a resume, which if I ever get around to updating, will show that I've strayed oh so far away from Chem research, but still...

... and that, my friend, is what you call CLOSURE.

Kinda.

There's still Phase Two, or SHOW ME THE MONEY!

That's gonna be another post., once I get another round of closure. Hopefully.

Stay tuned!

a quick catching up! (Part 2)

(Cleveland, continued: 8th September 2005, 5:30pm)

We were a little late getting out for dinner: walked to the Hard Rock Cafe - proceeded to over-order, cos we didn't know just how BIG a portion the Jumbo Combo was! Good thing we were splitting that and an entree, as opposed to that and TWO entrees! Plus drinks ;)

Saw many people whom we knew were also going to see Meat... most of them looking like hog-people (the Harley Davidson crowd), and wearing different Meat t-shirts. I want one of those!! (t-shirts, not hogs :p)

After the meal, was thinking of getting HRC t-shirts, but the guy at the merchandise counter just didn't seem approachable... combine that with the fact that the concert officially started 5 mins ago... so I grabbed my minimum purchase at any HRC - a pin. Chose a colorful rainbow-guitar... found out later it was a gay pride pin, teehee!

Anyway... so off we go then to find the Tower City Amphitheatre... from the map we know it's across the road from the HRC but down by the river. We try to walk towards where all the traffic seems to be accumulating... some were going down a ramp for parking, but the traffic police said we couldn't go that way... Turns out we shoulda taken the lift down to the parking lot of the building where the HRC was, and follow signs from there to the amphitheatre... geeeez, woulda been nice to have even ONE sign indicating that on the ground floor as we exited the HRC!!

aaaaaanyway.... yeah, so we finally make our way there... fashionably late, but well in time for the concert itself... whoever was the opening act, I pity them... noone was paying them any attention :D

Immediately checked out the merchandise booth - overpriced t-shirts, and not the best of selections, but heck, gotta have one. So I got a baby-tee with a bat on the front, and the words "I'd do anything for love" on the back. Kosh got the concert tour t-shirt, with the image from Bat 1 in front and Bat 2 at the back. They were also selling SIGNED copies of his autobiography To Hell and Back, which I do wanna get, but it was selling for USD40?! A plain one costs up to USD25 only at amazon.com... hmmm, maybe next time...

Got ourselves something to drink... emptied bladder... made our way to our seats... and just as we sat down, the *real* concert started! Whoohoooo, talk about perfect timing!!!

(A slightly incoherent account of the concert HERE)

The concert was around 1hr 40mins ... it's a pretty decent length... but I felt kinda gypped cos the encore was only one friggin' song! :-( And there were *so* many songs that should hv been sung!!!!

Around 10:45pm we made our way back to the hotel... and loaded up on the Meat songs we *didn't* get to hear by using the CD player in the room. Including CHSIB (aka *our* song). The song that Meat didn't sing at the concert. The song during which Kosh was planning to propose. So that night in the hotel room, with CHSIB playing, he whipped a ring from outta nowhere and asked me to be his wife. My immediate reaction? I chuckled, and looked around, trying to figure out "where were you hiding that? where did that come from?" LOL ! A little while later, I said yes :-D

The sneaky guy had had it all planned out... and I had actually been oblivious to it all!! Good for him! Don't ask about the actual tying of the knot, though... I cringe at the thought of all the paperwork that's gonna have to be done, including figuring out how to reconcile two different countries' different requirements :p yeeeeehaww!!

In the meantime, I'm not yet done with the running around the mid-west states story... next post: walking in memphis cleveland 9th Sept 2005... laters!!

An Arachnid Alone?

The cards scuttle across the screen
As a spider might scuttle across the room
Yet which eight-legged creature would ask this of you:
Easy medium or difficult?
One two or four suits?

Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly
I am no fly yet visit the parlour daily, do I;
Clicking away on the mouse, glued to the seat
Completing so many games until I am beat.

My wrist aches, my hand goes numb
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, here I come

While a spider spins its web to catch its food
I too have been ensnared, and in a way consumed
Not by the spider, but my own addiction
To play and play and play again

The sound of the cards being dealt and laid out onscreen
The owl-like hoot signifying no other moves available
The “ta-daah” sound when showing available moves
The satisfying shuffle of a complete set being moved to the bottom left of the screen

How easy it is to get caught in your tangled web
One suit was too easy, and quickly mastered
Two suits is where I usually stay, for
Four suits usually has me stumped no matter how long I play

Sometimes I solve it in one shot;
Sometimes it takes numerous tries
Rarely, so rarely, I move on because
Solve it I could not

Yet today...
Something moved me to up the difficulty

“Stick with it, today is your day,” said the tiny voice

It took a few tries on a few different games

Then: my first four-suit win! Time to rejoice!


When it was clear I was getting there; and again at the end

Captured the moments, took pix of the screen

Congratulations by all means my way do send, for

Whether this feat is repeatable remains to be seen!