Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is to draw the curtains in every room. I freak out at the sight of the sun's rays streaming through the windows of a room. Think UV light - the number one aging factor especially in a country like Malaysia where the UV rays are intense all year round. I do not go out in the sun unless I have slathered on sunscreen.
It's bad enough I have this permanent scowl on my face ( blame Hubby and the boys). I do not need another catalyst in my already ageing skin. The United States Environmental Protection Agency reports that premature aging (most of the wrinkles and brown spots we see on our faces ) -- up to 90% of them -- are not actually age related, but are caused directly by sun exposure. This obsession of mine drives the family crazy but wait .... before you think I'm weird, read on about these famous oddballs.

Cameron Diaz
Obsession : Doorknobs
She gets grossed out by door handles and refuses to touch them with her bare hands. Instead, she uses her elbows to turn the knobs. Sounds like a germaphobe to me.

Charlize Theron
Obsession: Neatness
Charlize says she frets about stuff left in cabinets and how messy it all must be! She actually loses sleep over this kooky obsession!

Leornadio DiCaprio
Obsession: Cracks on sidewalk
"I remember as a child, stepping on cracks on the way to school and having to walk back a block and step on that same crack or that gum stain," DiCaprio told About.com at the time the Hughes biopic "The Aviator" was released.

Jennifer Love Hewitt
Obsession: Closet doors
When asked once what she inherited from her mother, the stunning actress replied: 'Everything. I'm really strong like her, and very stubborn like her when it's something I really believe in,' she says. 'I also have a little OCD like her. Except we have it about different things. My Mom counts steps, while I cannot go to sleep if there are any cabinet doors or closets open in my house. It's very strange and weird.'

Alec Baldwin
Obsession : Cleaning
Alec says, "I'm very OCD, I find. I'm ashamed to say that. I come home and I'm like, 'Did somebody move that book?' I just notice everything. I'm very kind of observant. I'll have to catch a plane, like I'm in a hurry to go somewhere, and I'm in my kitchen rinsing out the glasses. I have a housekeeper that can do that and I'm sitting there cleaning the glass."

Squidward J. Tentacles and David Beckham
Obsession: Asymmetry of odd numbers
While Squidward doesn't eat or drink anything odd numbered (eg a glass of lemonade with three seeds in it ), Beckham hates the asymmetry of odd numbers, and will throw away one can of Diet Pepsi if he has three in the fridge

So what's your obsession? Come on 'fess up!

Bryan Berg

These amazing, intricate buildings of cards were built by Guinness World Record cardstacker Bryan Berg. Bryan broke the Guinness World Record for the World's Tallest House of Cards in 1992 at the age of seventeen.

School lunches around the world

Ever wondered what kids around the world eat for lunch? Most Malaysian kids I know prefer to buy their food from the school canteen. Recess in public schools starts at 10:15 a.m and ends at 10:35 a.m so what the kids really have is just a snack as they're usually home for lunch. School dismisses at 1:00 p.m.
My boys usually buy Nasi lemak Bungkus from their school canteen.

Nasi Lemak Bungkus - "Bungkus" means "pack" or "wrap" in Malay

'Nasi Lemak' is a simple pre-packed serving of 'nasi' (rice) cooked in coconut milk and topped with 'sambal' (dried anchovies cooked in a spicy paste), a sprinkling of fried peanuts and anchovies, a couple of cucumber slices and a wedge of hardboiled egg.

Here are some pics of school lunches of several countries. Visit http://whatsforschoollunch.blogspot.com for more pics of school lunches around the world.

Venezuela

USA

UK

Sweden

Poland

Malawi

Brazil

China

Czech Republic

France

Fulvio Bonavia - Food Meets Fashion

Raspberry, broccoli and cheese bags, a kiwifruit watch, artichoke and leek hats, lentil flip-flops etc - These are the brilliant creations of photographer Fulvio Bonavia. Bonavia has put together these scrumptious pics in his book entitled "A Matter of Taste".

Cashew and almonds for shoe straps?

Mark Wagner - Money Collage

Mark Wagner creates currency collages from $1 bills kinda like a money mosaic. Doesn't it make you cringe to think of money being cut up in the name of art? And if you think a measly dollar note won't get you very far in the wake of the current economic situation, it's RM3.48 to 1USD and that can buy me a hearty meal in Malaysia.

Josh

Josh at 12 years

My mom always says that Josh was a miracle baby and I believe he was. We thought we had lost him at the 6th week of my pregnancy.
I wasn't really ecstatic when I found out that I was pregnant with Josh. After going through 3 miscarriages, you learned not to invest your hopes and I had misgivings about this pregnancy right from the beginning.
We were having dinner on a Sunday afternoon when I felt a cramp and a sudden gush of warm fluid down my legs. The feeling and the sight of the bright red blood were all too familiar. Perfunctorily, I saved the tissue and any solid fragments in a jar so my doctor could make an analysis of what was wrong with me.
In truth, I almost felt relieved. The uncertainty was finally over and I was glad that this rollercoaster ride of emotions had come to an end. I was tired of obsessing over the need to constantly check if I were spotting and noting every twinge or cramp.
The next morning, after a night of heavy bleeding and cramps, my mom, hubby and I went to the hospital. Just before we left the house, I overheard my mom telling my dad on the phone that I had lost the baby.
At the hospital, the doctor took a look at the contents in the jar and I could tell from his expression that it didn't look good. A nurse prepared me for an ultrasound. Then I saw the image of my baby floating inside my uterus. With a look of disbelief, the doctor detected a weakly beating heart!
My mom cried tears of joy and hubby was euphoric. All this time, he buried his personal torment in his concern for me. Me? I was in a fog of ambiguity and completely overwhelmed. You know the rest of the story.
Briefly, it wasn't an easy pregnancy. The doctor gave me progesterone injections that made me nauseous the entire first two trimesters. It was a struggle to get through each day. I couldn't keep my food down. My gag reflex seemed to be working overtime.I survived only on sips of water and nibbles of biscuits and toasts. I couldn't even swallow the supplements and folic acid tablets the doctor prescribed and was really afraid that my baby would be born with defects. And if things weren't complicated enough, I had gestational diabetes.
I still vividly remember the recurring nightmares I had of my baby floating on the sea in a Moses Basket, drifting farther and farther away from me as I tried desperately to reach for it.

 Josh was born 2 week earlier than the expected date. Weighing only 2.5 kg, he was no bigger than our cat.

 Miracles do come true

With his favourite toy, a stuffed wombat

 

Graduating from Kindergarten

 

 Me and my precious Bubeleh (Josh's pet name) in Madam Tussauds.