Growing Pains
Couple of months ago, there is a bone-chilling squeaking noise coming out from my car. After inspection, it was determined that the two front rotor discs were doomed, and they have to be replaced, pads and all. That was a whooping $400-ish dollars.

Two weeks ago, I brought my car in to the Lou Fusz Nissan for a long overdue 45,000 miles maintenance, and have the rear drums changed, because it was wearing out. That and all other maintenance work totaled up to another $250++ dollars.

Now this morning, my poor car had a scheduled appointment, because something was rattling the hell out of the car. So I woke up, warm up the car, drove it into the dealership, and told the guy at the counter what the problem is. So Mr. Jim here started the car engine and floored the accelerator, and looked up and said, "Mam, the rattling noise is coming from the heat shield... " I'm like whew, that's it (I've had another heat shield removed in the past, and it's not too expensive). Then he added, "But you have a bigger problem here, sounds like you have a hole in your muffler or the tail pipe." I was stoned. F#*%! Replacing the entire thing is gonna cost a lot more than just having the heat shield removed, and 2 minutes later, after punching numbers into the computer, Mr. Jim told me that, "Well mam, you're looking at $294 plus change."

Great. This is just what I needed on a beautiful saturday morning.

But I really have no choice but to replace it, (if and when they call me and verify that that is the problem). Because the car's MO State Emission Test¹ is due in a month, and with a hole in the exhaust system, my poor car would never pass the test.

On the bright side is, I never did make it to Ann Taylor on Thursday because my partner-in-crime Susan had to be somewhere else during lunch hour and so we canceled our trip to the Galleria Mall. Now in hindsight, I probably lucked out because I would've spent a lot of money on clothes and shoes then, not knowing that I probably need the money for my car this weekend. I know this sounds like a very feeble attempt to cheer myself up, but I'd rather that than sit at the corner and sulk all day. :)

¹ For those of you that have no clue what MO State Emission Test is: All vehicles on the road in the State of Missouri has to pass the Emission Test. Basically they stick a hose up the exhaust, and that's hooked to a computer that will test the amount of carbon monoxide and other harmful subtances the vehicle emits. If a vehicle fails the test, then no car plates renewal will be issued. And if you drive around with an expired car plate and got pulled over, it is a $100 fine.

** After typing the above out, I just discovered that... **

Mine expires in June 30, 2002!! Dang it! That means I have to get my car fixes done, and then have the emission test done, and then go renew my car plates. What a hassle. No wonder I feel like I'm in the quarter-life crisis! I want to be an adult, and thought I can handle the responsibility of being an adult, but yet in a way, get so annoyed with myself for not taking care of little things like making sure the paperworks and tests for my car are taken care of.

Zip it
I know that the World Cup elimination round has started, and games are becoming more and more intense. So aunties, please, do NOT blog about the results of each games on the day itself. Being on the other side of the world, I don't get to watch the games during regular hours, and so I have the VCR recording them. I want to watch the game WITHOUT knowing the scores.

I know it's a big favor to ask. But por favor.

Ann Taylor
A co-worker of mine had a piece of great news this morning. His wife, who works at Ann Taylor, told him that the Ann Taylor at the Galleria (in St. Louis) are having a Friends and Family extra 25% off, even for items on sale!!! All we need to do is to mention her name at checkout. First I gotta check my bank accounts, then make plans with Susan to go hit the Ann Taylor store tomorrow... probably over a really long lunch break.

Now that has put a permanent smile on my face!!! *Wheeee*

Quarter-Life Crisis
A good old friend Keen Soon wrote an article on the subject of 20's mid-life crisis in conjunction with his 25th birthday. It couldn't ring truer than those feelings that I've been experiencing, so in a way I'm glad I'm not alone. I happened to be reading this book right now, titled "Quarterlife Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in Your Twenties" by Alexandra Robbins and Abby Wilner. I don't have rave review for the book, but nonetheless, the book presents the views of many twentysomethings who are smack in the middle of their quarter-life, the issues they have, and how they deal or not deal with it.

I might write more about this when I get done reading the book...with whatever little spare time I have. Gotta work now.

Facts that sound like fictions
A co-worker told me yesterday that he heard this on the radio:
"Research shows that the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat are the preferred vehicles among young females and gay men."

Chris read this in Time magazine yesterday:
"To seperate the hooligans/football fans from different countries after the game, the official posts exit signs that points to different direction in different languages."

Today has just been a blah day. I think my head is so doped up with the cough and nose medicine that I can't even think straight.

Chatted on the phone with Pearly last night. Apparently she tried to call me using the hands-free kit with her cellphone... while she was cooking!!! She had her phone in her apron's pocket, and then hooked up the earpiece, and called me. Too bad I was watching football, and didn't notice the phone ring. She's so domesticated now, not like the Pearly that I once knew. Her daily routine includes preparing breakfast/lunch, going to work, preparing dinner, cleaning up. My oh my. I do salute her will power to do all these, I would have jump out of the window. Hehe.

My thoughts are not very cohesive this morning. I think I'll stop blabbering.

Growing Pains
You're all right -- life has somehow become very ... boring. Not just boring, but full of responsibilities at the same time so that even if you wanted to go all out and have fun to get yourself out of the funk, you just couldn't! And it's because of all the responsibilities: can't spend too much money, gotta save up for sister's education/house/etc., gotta pay the bills, bought too much clothes this month, etc. And to make things worse, all your best friends whom you can relate and talk to are all living far away. Not only do you get to see less of them (that's bad enough), but usually these friends are the ones that make life more interesting in a very cheap way. Think about it: Spend Sunday morning waking up after a long night of chatting (sleep-overs), waste plenty of time washing up and putting on makeup before going off to a Vietnamese restaurant for some cheap lunch, deciding to go window shopping and helping each other suppress shopaholic urges, therefore ending up in Starbucks sipping tea or coffee, complaining about how our shoes are killing us but how we're loving it at the same time. I mean, how expensive can this hobby get? But of course the catch is always there -- you have to live in the same city!!

Angeline, to contribute my opinion to your struggle, I think that since your best friend has moved out that it will be healthier to get a roommate. I understand your need to have lots of personal space, but so get a bigger apartment with a bigger room for yourself with an attached bathroom so you can still walk to the bathroom top-and-bottomless, Diana-style ;) *duck* (Just kidding) But I think deep down we all need someone or something to feel rooted to, even if it's just temporary. For me, it really helps that Michael is around for me all the time. Holly has her circle of friends, however weird they may be sometimes. You used to have Chris, but now you may be in the same boat as Diana. And Diana, correct me if I'm wrong, but I couldn't come up with anybody that you could be rooted to besides Danna (who turned out to be you-know-what). Maybe that's why Diana feels there's a piece missing in her life, because as hard as you try to do different things to control your lifestyle (i.e. doing new things, trying new hobbies, getting away from routine, etc.) if there's not somebody or a group of people you can feel grounded to, you'll ultimately feel like you're floating. And even though I have Mike, I still feel like I'm floating on some level. I have a hard time agreeing to go back to Malaysia because aside from my family, I don't really have any close friends whom I can relate to over there. So to me, the fact that you guys are here serves more as a root to motivate me to stay grounded on this side of the Earth. Does this make any sense? And for Diana, I sense that your family is where your roots are, and that's why you have decided to go home. We all need something to hold on to.

In Diana's words, life sucks. I can't help but agree, as much as I hate to. And it's not like I'm not being proactive and positive about it, but really life at this age, without any roots/grounds, with overwhelming responsibilities, and without any friends to lean on (within 20 miles, that is) .... it isn't easy at all. I'm probably not making any of us feel any better by saying all of this, but I think eventually we'll all manage to get through just fine. It'll take us a while to adapt to this new phase of life we're experiencing, and while we're all in transition, it really helps to know that we can rely on one another and that we're not alone having all these feelings.

In the meantime, take Holly's advice -- let's all eat, talk, and sleep stillettos, football, rojak and SATC. :)