Ben comes Calling
Ben came calling this morning as I opened the door to leave for work.Meowing outside my door for a good fifteen minutes, I whipped out the crispy crunchies that he, Alex and Barbie love so much.However, Ben wasn't interested in eating. As he proceeded to twirl around my legs, I guessed that my neighbour had already fed him and this contented cat was in the mood to play."Sorry dude, I gotta rush. Will be back this evening." I said as he tried to sneak past my closing door."Meeooowww... Meeow... Meeooow!" Ben replied.It isn't everyday that my cats come calling at my front door. Safely snuggled in the three kennels outside my neighbor's house on the other side of the block, there's never been a need for either of them to stay over at my place.It has been three years since my neighbor and I adopted the lot. Alex had been the only one of the three to have wandered into my house on several occasions. Even then, his motives for stepping in are purely exploratory. Stopping long enough for me to pet him, he would move off to explore the rest of my house. Examining the all the rooms, looking into every nook and cranny, perhaps to see how this peculiar human being lived.Alex is always well behaved and I never have to watch him apart from making sure that I know where he is. After an extensive tour, he would either sit on my sofa or plonk himself down on my easy chair. Perhaps to contemplate the surroundings or laze around in the hope that I'd ply him with more food.But he's never the attention seeker. Alex is the most individualistic and independent of the three. Unlike Barbie or Ben, Alex would only come around when he wants attention. He will not hesitate to let you know when he wants to be left alone or when he's had enough. So unless he calls, I just let him be and go about my business. As the main door is open, Alex will slip out the gate, only to come back days or weeks later.Barbie has never visited my house. The furthest that she would venture would be the foot of the staircase leading to my gate. There were some mornings when she would wait for me to come down before giving her greeting, which is strange being the affection junkie that she is. She will run to greet me when I appear on the horizon on my way home. Wagging her tail and meowing, it's just the obvious invitation that she either wants more food or someone to shower her with affection. She would roll over and beg me to stay if I continue walking. When I reach down, she will hold still as I stroke her fur and look back up at me when I stop.So today, Ben comes calling. A milestone of sorts since this is his first visit in a long while. This guy comes to play and house-tour be damned. Ben would be more than happy playing around my living room if that is where he gets belly rubbed for hours on end. However today is bad timing as I needed to rush to work. Looking into his sad eyes as I walked away, I had never denied my cats the attention when they wanted it. In return, I'll treat them to extra fish tonight.
How Does It?
If Microsoft had produced the iPod instead, how would they market it?But that's a moot question, as many believe that the Redmond Washington-based company, wouldn't have the imagination for something as Apple's simple and elegant iPod.Courtesy of Otterman.
The Need for Speed
Well this should please Otterman.FirmTek just announced their new eSATA PC ExpressCard for Apple's Intel-powered MacBook Pro, which will be available later this year.Having bought a 15" MacBook Pro a month earlier, Otterman was asking what the offerings were for this new PC card standard adopted by Apple. Apart from the boring Firewire 400/800, USB 2.0, wireless bridge or flashcard-reader offerings, eSATA is an exciting option for ultra-fast data transfers between harddrives or computers.Built purely for fast data transfers and harddrive connectivity, this is the PC industry's defacto standard eclipsing even Firewire 800, which was built as a plug-n-play alternative for peripherals like camcorders. The specifications speak for themselves. eSATA can transfer data up to 3GB/Sec, compared to a pookie 400MB/Sec for Firewire 400. Barefeats demonstrated this in their review.With gigabytes worth of photos and data to archive, this is something to consider since Otterman beefed up his Dual G4 MDD with 1.2 terrabytes of storage! Now if only Apple offered eSATA ports in the next revision of their sexy iMacs.
Kissing Baby Sunday
Went to meet Christian, proud new baby to beaming parents, Kevin and Gace. As I sat on the train to Tampines station, some passengers couldn't help but look at me intently.Now I wasn't outrageously dressed in some hot-pink shirt, loud green pants or bright yellow Crocs. No, I wasn't wearing my Crocs today. More importantly, I wouldn't be caught dead with that combination of outfit, unless of course I was on a one-way trip to my shotgun wedding or meeting the in-laws from hell.So there I was watching them looking at me. And what a waste of time it was as I should have snoozed myself to oblivion throughout the entire journey. Eventually I got off and went out to catch a taxi. I was already late after making a detour to shout the happy parents gift vouchers and a bottle of wine. Kelvin's a lover of white wine. I brought him a fruity Long Flat White Shiraz to widen his pallet.The taxi driver, to my astonishment, didn't know Tampines well. He was a relief driver making his rounds for the first time. Asking if he was a local to the area, he replied saying that he was from the western part of the island. Very well. Here be two 'westerners' bumbling along this sunny afternoon.But no matter, since I already had the Street number, the areas marked in Avenues only formed a slight obstacle to me arriving at my destination. A flurry of calls to Ann and Grace confirmed that all I needed to do was find this Avenue, before coming to that Street. It only took my driver and I another fifteen minutes to find it.Ann, who was there two hours earlier, had left. Maybe she was bored. I didn't ask. Expecting a quiet gathering, I was greeted by a full flush from Kelvin's extended family. Another flurry of greetings, congratulation and smiles passed before I got to meet Grace and kiss the baby.Christian looked the cute little sleeper as all babies should but he had no trouble playing 'crying-baby' when he wanted food. Grace, now christened The Cow, was on duty and plied hungry Christian with milk twice that afternoon. Not to be outdone by the new born kid in town, I helped myself twice to the buffet spread. But that was only after much prodding from Grace to 'eat!' Not that I was talking much apart from the usual mingling but it was just that I had eaten before arriving, leaving Kelvin and Grace to play busy hosts until most of their guests had left.The rest of the afternoon then passed leisurely with the three of us catching up on the month since Christian popped out during the Emporio Armani preview I was attending. From me sharing election insights, Kelvin didn't hide his disappointment with this year's SIHH and Basel releases while Grace made it clear that she was just relieved to have Christian out. Holding big baby Christian in my arms, fifty centimeters when he was born, I did not doubt Grace at all. Labor before birth isn't a walk in the park. For two weary adults fussing over a newborn, our family of three are doing just fine.The train ride back was uneventful given what I had encountered on the way over. But not that I cared anyway as I slept through the entire journey. And I still have no idea why people were looking at me in the first place. Was it the bottle of pink-looking liquid I was lugging with me, I wondered?One thing Grace asked before I left was this: "So when are you going to start your own family? You seem like a natural father."I do?
Choice for Thought
Over lunch with Otterman, Dachsie and Mr. Budak earlier this dreary day, Dachsie gave us a highlight about the book she was currently reading.Collapse, by Jared Diamond, was the same title I had recommended to Professor Benito Tan weeks earlier. I ran into him at Borders and for want of a brain-shredding and insomnia-inducing title, I pulled this book from the shelf and placed it in his hands. Enthralled, Benito promptly bought it.So there we were, over sumptious Indian food, talking about the books we were currently reading. Diamond had used four salient points that contributed to the collapse of ancient civilizations. Factors such as external threats, social expectation, environment factors to cultural evolution. Though not purely dependent on any single one of these factors, all civilizations are affected by a combination of these with various degrees of influcence.Otterman had pointed out Diamond's earlier book, which led me to think of another by Victor Davis Hanson. Hanson wrote that the disparity in the prosecution of warfare by Western societies, effectively bulldozed lesser or native ones. Western society, he wrote, had a great knack for organized killing despite military technology being the force-leveler during conflicts.One other that I've read is written by David S. Landes. Written years ago, Landes presents the economic perspective as to why some societies succeed while others remain basket cases. And that, he argued, had to do with social attitudes, geographical location and infrastructure. Translated into the will to succeed, resources to mine and utilize, to the tools on hand for a society to not only thrive, but to attain immeasurable wealth.
No Deal
No, it ain't gonna happen.A was relieved when she read that. She's convinced I'll be saving myself from heartache and trouble.K, always the optimist and the pragmatist added: "She's not the only one. There are plenty of other women out there."And J, when I finally told her about it, exclaimed: "My God, have you lost your mind?"Yes, my dear ladies. I realize the folly at hand. And as punishment for my temporary insanity, I shall treat myself to a good lunch with friends this weekend.What caused the change of heart, you ask? Do I need a reason, say I?Who is she? I'll never tell.I saw our mystery girl again during lunch today. In between mouthfuls of food and conversation with K, who kept turning back to see if she could be spotted, I realized that it wasn't our mystery girl's persona that caused the tail spin. But rather something more fundamental that I've carried with me all this time.
Dealing the Hand
And talking about curved balls, I awoke two mornings ago with that all-familiar feeling in my gut. Seems that I've taken a fancy to someone I'd just met.Spending two whole days with her seemed ordinarily normal. Among other things like small talk, eating this, drinking that, walking here and looking there, there wasn't any inspirational epic in the making other than me wanting to get to know her.So what happened? Was I struck by something cosmic? Ironically though, I remembered my comment about her once. Something about that stride in her walk. Something about the way she arched her sholders. Was she self conscious or is she a natural?When A found out, in my last pathetic blurt-it-out confessions, I could feel the rod of rationality move down the miles of fibre-optic cable between us. A barrage of hard reality popped up on every line as I shuffled all the emotive excuses I could muster. "But.. But..!" I cried.The differences in lifestyle and circumstance between me and this girl are startling. Totally different backgrounds and up-bringing. Not that I didn't know or see the situation for what it is. I needed, I guess I do every now and then, someone to shake me up and say "Now look here, boy!".So here we are. Ain't attraction a funny thing? "What is it," I wondered? And I've been asking myself that a lot since those two days. Is it her unformed ways, her life of a blank-page-waiting-to-be-written with all the discovery and adventure? Or was the innocence of discovery that I had forgotten?My approach to relationships has always been rational, long tempered by a life of practicality. What she reminded me of, was a time when I was just as unformed, just as fresh as a blank page waiting, just waiting for someone to come along and to show me all the joys of life.
Before my Eyes
"I just met your twin sister over the weekend." said I to J.Coming out of two whole days of ball-tossing by fourteen tough-guys at the Singapore Sevens, this is a curved-ball of a surprise.
The likeness was uncanny. Almost an exact match given the coincidence of bumping into someone from your past. After introducing myself, M flashed a quick smile as she tried digesting the news. Alcohol slows down much of the thought process but I was patient. M had thought the reason for me staring at her was because of her loud-mouthed cheering for the team in play.
M was born in Tasmania before moving to Sydney. J was born in Sydney before moving down to Melbourne. Even without the background history-check and get-to-know-yous, this was not one of those twins-separated-at-birth discoveries.
Over the phone, J began painting a teasing scenerio of the places we'd go and the things we'd do once we got there. J always had a imaginative and naughty mind.
It was all very familiar and for a moment it sounded as if J and I are dating all over again. A second chance to choose differenently or a reminiscence of sorts, I wasn't really sure. Does it matter?
And speaking of M, that was provided that she was planning on staying a while and not flying out that Sunday evening. I couldn't help but slip in a word about what I thought about M. Then again, I've never been one to mince words with a woman I fancied.
More smiles, more what-was-J-like, more laughter, more spilled beer, more everything. In the end after a hug and a kiss, I packed her off to her companions before rejoining mine at the end of the day.
As the laughter died down, J asked if we could have chosen differently. For J, moving to London was one of the best things she had ever done. So there was no need for us to second guess.
"Am I still your favorite," asked I. "Still am," said she.
That was enough.
