Feverish Feelings

CC's down with a 40-degree fever. And they've warded her for observation.

And when the Sister at the Nurse Station asked me just now who I was since I was stumbling into the hospital at 2330hrs after work, I blurted out Husband. I wonder if she would have let me into the ward if I said Good Friend. The youngish Florence Nightingale would probably have told me to come back in the morning.

Well I contemplated spending the night on the couch in the single-bedder room. But then again, in the morning, a whole deluge of relatives and friends will come a visiting. And then there will be this awkward silence, this aversion of eye-contact, this forced exchange of pleasantries.

So I am here, back home. When really I should be there making sure the ice-pack remains on her forehead. And that she doesn't mummify herself too much so the fever can dissipate.

I suppose later today, it will be another Guerilla visit after hours then. When everyone has gone home.

Sigh. The complexities of friendship after dXXXXXe.

I still can't bring myself to say the word.

Chasing Cars - Charlie Three Zero

Its 4 in the morning.

And I am thumbing through the brochure of the Volvo C30 when I really should be sleeping. Or at least reading my M'sian edition of HyperTune to see how Kikou can be made to breathe a little better or run a little faster =P



The Nordic blacksmiths have come a long way since the days they used to built cars as smash-proof and boxy as their Viking Boats. Ugly, but the 4-wheeled coffins were undeniably safe and solid. It has always been about Safety as far as Volvo are concerned. Hell, their posh, Scandinavian-chic inspired showroom down at Alexandra Road (which has fantastic Expressos btw) even has a vehicle cut-out with Curtain airbags in full deployment.

Back then, no chick with a nice Vulva would drive a Volvo =)) (Sorry abit horny =P) Now, with the C30, the company hopes to finally breach the bank accounts of the design-conscious, lifestyle-obsessed, Trend Brigade who believe that if you're not sporty, well at least look the part.

And oh how the C30 just slides into this niche nicely!

Muscular with Volvo's trademark broad shoulders, its 3/4 view gives it the look of a gym-going sedan. But swivel it around and you will realise its actually a hatch with a unique (some say fugly) behind. Love it or hate it, you have to choose your initial emotive response when you first catch sight of this Hatch-SUV crossover.



I say I want one with 18" Titanium rims, a sturdy Thule rack on the roof and someone special in the passenger seat who would go camping with me in Endau Rompin =))

Oh Momma!

The Caffeine 2

My current fascination.

Well if I am going to take the sport up seriously, I might as well do it in style with a US hand-crafted Cannondale right? Wrong! At 3500 bucks, I have to force myself to say I Don't Love You (to bits) =))



Spent 2 hours at the shop today. Drooling my pants off...=/

Even A Fool Can See

Its uncanny how, when you're feeling all melancholic and sentimental, a song comes along that perfectly describes how you feel.

And it usually comes over the radio, while you're driving all alone in the wee hours of the morning, on an empty stretch of highway, windows down, wind in your hair, cruising back to a home you know will be empty.

So immediately after stepping through the front door, I managed to dig up Peter Cetera's last album with Warner Bros Records, 1992's World Falling Down, from under a tonne of old CDs from way back then. I became more of a fan in 1986, 1 year after he left Chicago to launch a successful solo career.

And in the decade-and-a-half old compact disc, I got re-acquainted with this gem of a track. A gem of a track to a fool like me that is...

One big happy family
Together the rest of our lives
As far as our friends were concerned
Everything seemed right

But that's when she told me
She said it was time to move on
Just something that she kept inside
That told me the thrill was gone

And now I can't believe
I can't believe its over
Suddenly its plain to see
She's leaving me and...

Even a fool can see
There's nothing left between us
I knew all along something was wrong
But I did my best to deny it
And now I can't go home
She wants to be alone so
Tell anyone who misses me that I'm alright
Even a fool can see

There were times we had nothing
Yet somehow we laughed through it all
There are moments I'll never forget
And some I wouldn't care to recall

And still I can't believe
I can't believe its over
Suddenly its plain to see
She doesn't need me

Even a fool can see
There's nothing left between us
I knew all along that something was wrong
But I did my best to deny it
And now I can't go home
She wants to be alone so
Tell anyone who misses me that I'm alright
Even a fool can see

Nothing more to talk about
Its over when its over
In the end you both stop trying
In the end its oh so sad
And you're crying

And now I can't go home
She wants to be alone so
Tell anyone who misses me that I'm alright
Even a fool can see

Tell me that I'm alright
Even a fool like me

Woo ooo I'm alright
Even a fool can see
Whoa ooo ooo ooo

Unkers & Vino - Carta Vieja Reserva Carmenere

In the fashion of experimenting with new grape varietals instead of the usual run-of-the-mill Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlots and Pinot Noirs, I tried a nice Carmenere from the family-owned Carta Vieja vineyard located in the Maule Valley, Chile today.



The Carmenere grape is a rising star in the New World wine producing regions of Chile where the country has recently leapt into the 10th spot of top wine-producing countries in the world. 3 years ago when Chilean wines began making their appearance in Singapore, there were reports of a high incidence of bad bottles in every crate or two. So at the time I stuck with the other rising star, South Africa.

Anyway I was not dissapointed with this foray into South American territory, with the deep berry-flavored, chocolate-tasting, high-alcoholic Carmenere ferment providing good accompaniment to a basket of BBQ chips. Previously confused with Merlot, the Carmenere variety is now DNA-proved to come from cuttings of Grand Vidure vines in Bordeaux, France.

Straight from the bottle, the fresh tannins stung my tastebuds. But after letting the bugger breathe for a good 15 minutes, I was rewarded with a smooth, slightly fruity gargle followed by a warm, oaked finish that did not leave an overly sourish after-taste on the palette.

Not a light wine though, I would say medium to heavy bodied. Much better with a generous chunk of grilled Wagyu than the cheapo deep-fried potatoes we were having for sure.

Vanity Pot Closet

An online friend has just set up his online shop called Vanity Pot Closet.

So if you're a budding fashionista looking for something chic to tog yourself up in or, if like us, you're just into women's clothing, have a peek ya...=))

We are told Men's Apparel will be in soon...Perhaps Abercrombie & Fitch, Commes des Garcons, Rock & Republic or True Religion Jeans...since GAP and Ed Hardy are already passe on our sunny little island.

An online community-service advertisement brought to you by Unkster.

ODAC 2 - The 'Great' Ubin Pedal

Well, not that it was not fun. We just didn't put in too many kilometres on the way to and from the new Chek Jawa Boardwalk at the eastern tip of the island. There was just so much more dirt track and road left to pedal.





However the undulating terrain made sure that the half-day sojourn for a couple of 1st-timers to the rustic back-water island-commune was more than a nice little work-out. If the butts didn't get a good beating, the thighs and calves surely did.





Fiddler Crabs & cold coconuts, fantastic inter-tidal/mangrove mudflat scenery, plus a fantastic seafood dinner thereafter.





More than a great way to pass a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Guest Post: On A Turn Of A Friendly Card.

We invited a guest blogger to contribute a post. I don't know if its the friday the 13th jinx or what, but we ended up with two sad posts in a row. I was contemplating not posting but i think these events are part and parcel of a man's life. To my brothers - be strong, live life, move on.

We call him CB and he is a born writer. I never knew this about you. Keep on writing - unkster.

==================================================

End of July will be a significant period of my life.
It will determine the direction that it will take.
Then again, why should I let this event determine my life?
When we were so close to making that leap of faith.
For happiness or sadness..in sickness or in health.
I savor that moment you promised me. I have had you then.
Now its lost. Now I am lost. Now I am empty.
So aimless, so helpless.

It has been a long winding road, sometimes, with a light at the end or a thick fog smothering.
Yet I see no end to this, increasingly joyless and loveless path.
Joy derived from physical experiences, happiness found from elsewhere.
Not from our togetherness, not from our moment shared.
I am numb inside, nothing can permeate this gathering darkness.
Nothingness takes over..
Maybe you can turn and face me again, and say something to make it good again.
Your silence rings a thousand bells, your inaction turns a hundred cards.

My Queen of Hearts, all torn and tattered. Stone quiet and closed.
Missing in the suite of my royal flush.

Case No. : D2292/2007

I think as we sat there chatting with Counsel before our turn in Ct 6, it didn't hit him that these were 2 people going to take 'the plunge', like all the other glum couples trying not to maintain eye contact. I was smiling but I still felt like planting a fist into his face for no apparent reason.

I think as we were herded into the plush Justice's Lair and sat there gazing upon the other Statistics taking their oaths of truth and affirming their desire to say adios , it suddenly dawned upon us that this was our own sayonara of sorts. And when I whispered how da hell did we ever end up here, I meant every word.

I think at the end of my kopi-peng and your milo-peng, outside in the sweltering Friday the 13th humidity, the lumps in our throats didn't come from accidentally swallowing some ice. Well I could have swallowed my ciggarette and it wouldn't have mattered.

I think I am going to miss you.

And I think its too late.

Deceptively Beng

But so much fun! =))

My new silver Cut-out stickers on Kikou....Juvenile-ly Yours....=P





I give myself 3 days before I will probably peel them off...=))

Big Boys Don't Cry

Yup, we all know that.

Sometimes it doesn't take sadness for you to shed a tear or two. Anger, fustration and a sense of helplessness often do the trick.

But big boys don't cry. At least they don't do it for all the world to see.

And its these silent tears that are the hardest to dry off, leaving tracks of wet scars running down the cheeks that were, only awhile ago, flushed with the bitter contempt of boiling blood.

Fit For Tatt

Should I? Hmmm....

An ankle bracelet of tribal Maori Warrior design. Or perhaps around the calf. But that only means I have to increase the leg presses to get the requisite rock hard Gastrocnemius to adequately pull it off.



A couple of designs on this album at a Tattoo Shop along the Ao Nang strip, Krabi, sort of shows what I'm thinking of...=))