Thumbs Up!

Have you ever been lucky to have had some driver or motorist on the road give you the finger? Yeah, the middle finger. Have YOU given someone on the road that finger??? Me? Never! But I should remember to give the peace sign next time.

Anyway, it was the first time someone gave me the thumbs up today while driving. In my one year of driving life, it has not happened before. Some uncle/guy in his car with his family/friends. He wanted to turn in and was waiting for me to pass. But I made a hand motion to let him know that he can turn in first. So, he turned and gave me the thumbs up!

Usually, around 6 - 7 pm, the after-work hours are the most stressful time to be driving on the road. You'll meet maniacal drivers speeding and honking at you, urging and forcing you to go faster. Mercedes cars, for example! No offence to those who own Mercedeses, but it's true. They don't pity smaller cars like the Kancils and Kelisas. I know the Mercedes has the speed but be patient, for goodness' sake!

And no, these speeders normally don't give people the thumbs up sign either.

At Least Start With A 'Hi'

I have a friend who thinks that starting your SMS message with a 'Hey!' is rude. For example,

Hey *somebody*! When is our next English class?

To him, that's not polite and courteous. It seems that the correct way is like this:

Hi *somebody*, how are you doing? May I know when will our next English class be?

It's much longer than the first one but it's acceptable to him. I got a scolding from him when I sent him the Hey message. So, from then onwards, I was always careful to be extremely polite in my SMS messages to him.

Well, a few days ago, I got an SMS from a girl who I've not spoken to for quite a while. She didn't even bother to say hi. Just went straight to the point. "Do you still have your old English notes?"

I was, like, huh? You expect me to give you my old notes just like that??? No hi, no please, no thank you. In short, I was flabbergasted. Even if I still had my notes, I don't think I'll give them to her. Yeah, call me selfish but that's not the way to ask favours from others.

So, please, remember to throw in some 'Hi's, Pleases and Thank yous in your SMSes, e-mails, letters, etc, especially when you need help or something from other people. Chances are they'll be more willing to lend you a hand. :D

A Very Cute Baby

I attended mass last night and then later, a couple with a baby girl in a stroller came and sat in front of me. At first, I couldn't see the small kid because she's hidden in her stroller. But then, she cried in the cute way that some babies cry, and her mom plucked her out and carried her.

Oh, finally I got to see her. She's cute with large, innocent eyes. Haha! And she looks blur too, like all babies do. But then later, her mom put her back in her pram and gave her some toys to play. She clumsily grabbed hold of a toy and flung it to the ground. Her mom had to get up from her seat to pick up the toy. Hmm, babies really do like to throw stuff, do they???

Well, the baby didn't stay put throughout the mass. Her mom carried her and walked around outside the church. It was quite warm inside and even though her dad brought a mechanical fan, it still wasn't enough to keep the baby happy.

And me? I had to pay attention to mass, of course! Even when mass was over, the mom and her baby still hadn't returned. They're probably enjoying their nightly stroll!

The Musical Meme

Instructions:
1. Open your music library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod, whatever)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing
5. New question — press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool


*Opening credits: Stay by Lisa Loeb

* Waking up: How by Lisa Loeb

* First day at school: She's The One by Robbie Williams

* Falling in love: Don't Tell Me by Avril Lavigne

* Breaking up: Sorry by Buckcherry

* Prom: Almost by Bowling For Soup

* Life’s okay: It's My Life by Bon Jovi

* Mental breakdown: Too Much by Spice Girls

* Driving: Potential Break Up Song by Aly & AJ

* Flashback: Wait A Minute by The Pussycat Dolls

* Getting back together: Hands by Jewel

* Wedding: You're A God by Vertical Horizon

* Birth of child: Everything by Lifehouse

* Final battle: Brave by Idina Menzel

* Death scene: That Don't Impress Me Much by Shania Twain

* End credits: That Thing You Do by The Wonders

I swear I didn't cheat! ;)

Booking Through Thursday: Vacation Spots

Do you buy books while on vacation/holiday?
Do you have favorite bookstores that you only get to visit while away on a trip?
What/Where are they?

It depends on where my vacation is and how much the books cost. My last vacation was in China and there weren't many English books there. I'd rather buy them here in Malaysia where there's a variety of books and affordable too.

I was also in Hong Kong's airport for a few hours and spent my time checking out the books there. There were some good books but too bad, they're too pricey. It is the airport, anyway. Books at airports are always expensive, aren't they? Well, it is expensive for us in our local airports.

Bottomline is, if I see a good book wherever I am, I'll just buy it regardless of whether I'm on vacation or not. So, no, I don't have favourite vacation bookstores. The only favourite bookstores of mine are right here in my hometown!

SF Book Meme

I was just looking around for a meme to do and I stumbled upon this from SF Signal! This should be interesting or weird since I don't really read a lot of science fiction but then, let's give it a try, shall we?

Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror?
I'll have to go with fantasy. Horror gives me the creeps.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Hardback looks grand but the mass market paperback's so much cheaper! Mass market paperback for me.

Heinlein or Asimov?
Erm, who're they? *grins sheepishly*

-Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American novelist and science fiction writer.

-Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced /ˈaɪzək ˈæzɪmʌv/,[2] originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов, was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.

~From Wikipedia~

Amazon or Brick and Mortar?
Brick and Mortar!

Barnes & Noble or Borders?
No Barnes & Noble here in Malaysia. But I've always loved Borders!

Hitchhiker or Discworld?
Haven't read either one yet.

Bookmark or Dogear?
Definitely bookmark. Dogear ruins the book.

Magazine: Asimov's Science Fiction or Fantasy & Science Fiction?
Neither.

Alphabetize by author, Alphabetize by title or random?
Random?

Keep, Throw Away or Sell?
I keep those that I want and sell those I don't want. Simple. And recently, I give away those that I don't want!

Year's Best Science Fiction series (edited by Gardner Dozois) or Years Best SF series (edited by David G. Hartwell)?
Can't answer that.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
Keep.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Sometimes with and sometimes I remove it.

Short story or novel?
I've always preferred novels.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
I've only read Harry Potter and watched the Lemony Snicket's Unfortunate Events movie.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
Chapter breaks. If I'm really tired, then I'll just stop.

"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"?
"Once upon a time"

Buy or Borrow?
Buy! Borrow the book if I'm out of cash. Haha!

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse?
All three!

Lewis or Tolkien?
Only read Lewis.

Hard SF or Space Opera?
Neither.

Collection (short stories by the same author) or Anthology (short stories by different authors)?
Anthology.

Hugo or Nebula?
Are you talking about Victor Hugo? Oh no, you're not!

Hugo Award: The Hugo Awards are given every year for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year.

Nebula Award: The Nebula Award is an award given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the two previous years.

~From Wikipedia~

Golden Age SF or New Wave SF?
I can't answer this either.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger?
Tidy ending.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading?
Anytime, actually. As long as I'm not tired.

Standalone or Series?
Depends. If it's a good story, then series.

Urban fantasy or high fantasy?
Urban fantasy.

New or used?
I like new books. I like the smell of new books.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
Tough one. I think all the books that I read are heard of.

Top X favorite genre books read last year? (Where X is 5 or less)
1. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
2. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
3. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

By genre books, do they mean 'genre fiction'?

That's a long meme. Actually, there are 3 more questions but I'm skipping them. Can't think much right now. Gonna take my lunch, anyway and drama class later!