'Friends' from parallel universe and 25-random-things

Shills, kawan auntie dok tanya pasai 'kawan from the parallel universe' yg auntie mention in yesterday's entry. Kepada yg highly sceptical about twilight zone issues, probably nothing la. Auntie ni adalah 50% sceptic dan 50% opened to the possibility. Kalau ada yg still tak paham, camni...

At the moment, auntie and AH have not fully lived in out new nest. We would go to the apartment almost everyday, do this and that, and before sunset, would go back to our current abode. So, a bit like getaway nest la, so far. In fact, auntie has only spent one night there to date. With Sleepyhead and Uncle Joe. AH pulak belum pernah bermalam. Every time it's time to leave the apartment auntie and AH would make sure that all lights and electrical items are switched off. Ada kadang-kadang bila we came back in the morning, the hall light near the front door was on and auntie always thought that perhaps auntie memang lupa tutup despite out diligent reminders to ourselves. The last time before Thursday, however, both of us were very sure we switched off all lights because dah a few times we thought we terlupa. Tengok2, on Thursday morning, not only was the hall lights yg ON but also the wall light and the air vent fan in the master bathroom. So, possible answers to this puzzle:

• Auntie and AH memang hopeless punya pelupa (my skeptic side will accept this for now)

• We have human visitors who have access to our nest. We totally dismissed this because we just changed all three front entrances locks and no one has the keys accept auntie and AH. No sign of forced entries on the entrances. All other windows and doors throughout the apartment were also locked. Nothing is missing.
  

• We have non-human but earthly real visitors (like birds or cicak) that can switch on lights and electrical items. We also dismissed this because the only animals we have found so far are birds perched on the railings of the balcony.

• There is an automatic timer/ sensor placed somewhere (without our knowledge) where the lights would be on when we open the front door. This is scientific and believable if we could find the timer/ sensor.
  

• We have friends from the parallel universe. Now, get it?

So far auntie's non-sceptic 50% is mulling over this. The apartments on both sides of our nest were empty for some time. The one on one side is now lived in. The other is still empty. Our apartment used to be empty for some months. Some people would say these are fertile grounds for the 'friends' to come a-visiting or a-passing. Kalau betul, auntie berdoa jika betul telahan ini, bahawa 'kawan2' itu 'lalu' sahaja dan selepas tengok kawasan itu kepunyaan auntie, dia/ mereka akan beredar ke tempat lain dan tidak bertandang lagi.

Tetapi, auntie lebih berharap bahawa option yg pertama di atas ialah explanation yg sebenarnya.

OK, let's leave cerita 'friends' ni and talk about something more mundane. Shills juga telah tag auntie in Facebook with this '25 random things' thingy. Auntie thought it would be interesting to re-post auntie's response to the tag in this blog as well. So here goes:

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Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. (To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.) Here are mine:

1. I'm known in the family to be the most 'garang' person. My husband sometimes calls me 'samseng'. Can't really understand why.

2. Although my parents think I am a quiet person, my husband sometimes wish I would shut up.

3. I have intolerance (it's a physiological thing, not because I'm a bigot!) towards prawns and crabs and their families. For the prawns, I think it's God's punishment for taking my sister's share of 'udang goreng kunyit' when we were young. The crab issue is still a mystery to me.

4. When I was about nine, I once threatened to hit a 20plus yr-old man with a batang paip for calling me 'debab' (he always lalu depan my rumah masa I tunggu bas to go to school). I would have done the same thing all over again at 39. So, this may explain random thing no.1.

5. On a related topic, I have been catcalled with 'gemuk' in Madinah (by the Arabs!). Being in Tanah Suci, I managed to refrain from injuring anyone.

6. I sometimes regret being too serious with my students. But only sometimes :).

7. I once thought Hail Amir was handsome. And wished he would marry Uji Rashid (my idea of a grown up woman at that time). You must forgive a child who was brought up on A. Ramlee's lullabies.

8. I have NOT given up the fight to be svelte and sleek. I'm just taking a break to strategise best ways to fight the bulge.

9. My husband thinks I desire jewelry but I would be happy with just a KENWOOD chef (or its equivalent) mixer.

10. I am more polite when speaking and thinking in English (hahaha, ala2 Sharifah Amani, ni!)

11. I once was asked to translate the controversial book "Shit' into English (by the author's son, no less) and I completed it but the manuscript was never collected because the project just died down.

12. Saya pernah berlakon dalam rancangan radio "Manis-manis garam" anchored by Mustaza Maah (another media personality yg ala2 hensem in a young girl's eyes in the mid-1980s). RTM bagi check RM30 for the stint. Good money at the time.

13. I don't like pets but I have been known to nurse cats and birds in distress to good health (and earn brownie points with my animal-loving niece, Shasha).

14. I wish I am kinder and more tolerant towards people and things around me.

15. If we got separated in the supermarkets and my husband wants to find me, he will just listen for sounds of things being dropped (eg, in household or canned items sections). The culprit would likely be me.

16. My badak friends (to my non-badak friends, this is a group I belong too) find it funny that I like to speak (or sing at karaoke) with my arms constantly akimbo and my chest forward (I already told them why, them of small-almost-non-existent-

br--sts!).

17. People who has the pleasure of sharing a sleeping area with me would sometimes find themselves black and blue in the morning. I do a lot of fighting in my sleep (especially against ghosts).

18. Baking and sewing are my idea of therapy even though I will never (or even desire to) reach professional standards for either.

19. When I was studying and living in Sheffield, UK, I once witnessed an electric shop being broken into from my bedroom window (which was about 5 meters from the shop) at 3.00 in the morning. Nobody came to get statements from me, though.

20. I think all babies are beautiful.

21. I think all reptiles (including human-born pseudo-reptiles) are UGGGLYYYY!

22. I like both being single and being married. I think I'm a reasonable authority on being single because I live the life for a sufficient number of years. I am now 'building a databank' on being married.

23. I wish my nieces and nephews (including pseudo-ones) could stay babies forever so that they don't have to face adult hardships (especially in the seemingly more uncertain world now).

24. I fancy myself a musical person but many events and feedback have proven otherwise.

25. I got to become an academic (and journeyed into postgraduate studies) more or less by accident. I thought I would surely fail if I continued with my professional certification studies so was looking for an easier option. Foolishly, I thought pursuing PhD is that option. I thank God everyday for making my choice a correct one.

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Most kith and kin dlm blog roll auntie telah di-tag melalui FB. But they are welcomed to include their responses to the tags in their blogs. Auntie jugak mau tag kengkawan blogger yg setahu auntie takde FB iaitu Ms Hart dan Nyonya Segamat. And also Shasha (whenever mommy allows to blog. Nampaknya blog Shasha pun dah berkapang). Sudi-sudikanlah.