High Lows of the Frou

I used to date this rather perceptive dude a while back.

I remember whenever we speak on the phone, he will play a “bonding” game with me called "High-Lows Of The Day”. Basically, each of us takes turns discussing 5 things we encountered that day that made us smile and the 5 things that made us frown.

I would highly recommend that you try this at home. It’s a great way to share your life and it also makes you truly think about your experiences of the day.

Oh ya, just because we were dating, it was obligatory to say "talking to you now" as one of the "highs". (Kids!)

I got around to thinking about the Hi-Lo game last night after reading this book about improving the quality of your life from the wisdom of ancient monks from the mountains of Himalaya. (Please don’t ask. The title of the book is too cheesy for me to reveal here.) So anyway, the monks recommend that we should find a quiet private space at the end of each day to contemplate our events of the day and review what we can learn from them.

Since I have not been posting for a while (because The Frou blogs during office hours no more!) I figure it will be good to contemplate snippets from the past week(s) and update this blog by playing the High-Low game here.

Let’s start with the LOWS:

1. Walking pass Coffee Bean and TRIPPING in front of everyone after accidentally reading a headline from the newspaper someone was holding up: "Nicholas Tze still friends with Edison Chen". Now that was embarrassing. (I mean for me, not Mr. Chen.)

Learning: Mind your own business while walking.

2. Quarrelling (in bad English and without any grace) with a Gay Hairdresser at Jean Yip Salon in JB over hair coloring prices.

Frou: How much is colour?
GH: RM128 plus free haircut
Frou: I don’t want haircut how?
GH: RM128
Frou: How can no haircut also same price?
GH: It’s like that wan. You want or not?
Frou: Give some discount lar..
GH: (without giving face) NO!
Frou: (indignant) Oh! Don’t want done!

Learning: Do not go down to the level of your antagonizer.

3. Driving 2 hours across borders to get to work every Monday. It is not nice. At all.

Learning: To put “Buy Helicopter” in the list of things to do when I become a multi-billionaire.

4. Making my father steal food for me at the Annual Dinner of our country club. We were waiting for the VIPs to arrive so dinner will be served (zzzz…) but it was way past 8pm and I haven’t had lunch. So I pulled a long face and threaten to drink beer on empty stomach. In the end, Dad had to go sneak a few Indian murukus for me from the buffet table. I feel bad only after consuming those murukus. Who DA princess??

Learning: Do not attend any boring lengthy functions without eating first. More importantly, do not embarrass your parents just because you are hungry.

5. Fishing ‘stufs’ out of a clogged toilet bowl. Enough said.

Learning: I will never be a plumber in this lifetime.

And now with the HIGHS:

1. Watching my little brother take his wedding vows. It really didn’t seem that long ago when I used to lock him in the toilet for fun just because he couldn’t reach the lock and now he is swearing to take care of another person in sickness and health till death do them apart. As I watch him, sisterly emotions I never knew existed flowed. I recall random things like how I used to drive 2 hours (in a really slow car) to go visit him at his boarding school to bring him pizzas, beers and cigarettes and how I always have to drive back with the beers and cigarettes in toll because he refuses to take them. I also thought of the weekends I had to spent in JB where he will try cheer me up by bringing me to watch silly Chinese movies and feeding me junk food. I also recall that I was the first person in the family he told about the wedding and how he said he wish for my support in his decision. Most of all, it made me think of what a good boy he has turned out to be, and how sometimes I wish that I can have the same degree of level-mindedness and conviction as him. I am very proud of this little one.

Learning: Even the little ones will grow up someday.

2. Waking up on 950 thread count satin bedsheets. It’s absolute BLISS! I know they costs $400 but I am so not going back to cotton after sleeping on heaven. I actually say hello to the bedsheets when I walk into the bedroom now….

Learning: Erm…..I’m a hi-so pig?

3. Spending the day with over 40 kids from a children home at Hort Park. It was my company’s community day event and as part of the organizing committee, my job is to organize a story telling session for these 2 to 4 year olds. Let’s just say that the kids didn’t quite get my story but they did enjoy the skit I put up, as well as the giant story book we made for them. My colleagues started calling me “J.K. Frou” at work now. Unfortunately unlike the real Rowling, I don’t get to sit my ass at home and count royalty money…

Learning: (Other people’s) children are a great source of happiness.

4. Surviving C.H.I.S.E.L Class. As the name implies, it is an advanced fitness class that aims to “chisel” you into great shape. I am talking about 90 minutes of intensive body weight workout that combines moves from pilates, yoga and what-have-you-nots. It was the most grueling classroom workout I’ve tried this year and boy, do I feel great afterwards!

Learning: The body is your temple and you need to keep it in good shape for the soul to reside in.

5. Watching DJ Phillip spin in a club for the first time. Even though we don’t live in the same country anymore, Phillip and I still managed to witness, in person, almost all of each other’s milestones in life – from birthdays, graduations, breakups, change of hairstyles, television appearances, making headline news, adoption of new habits, death of old habits, lifestyle changes and so on. I’ve always knew he is musically incline but he has never taken any active steps to work on it so watching him do his ‘music thang’ live in public is definitely a milestone. I’m glad I made it down there in time to share it with him.

Learning: Friends can grow separately without growing apart.

6. Blogging and connecting with my readers now.

*squirm in anticipation of nasty/lewd comments to that last sentence*