PMS? Or Pee Am A**?

How to Know If you have PMS:

The 10 Definitive Signs of PMS are:

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.
3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
4. Everyone is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
5. You're using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says, 'How's my driving? Call 1 800 ****"**.'
6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
7. You're convinced there's a God and he's male.
8. You're counting down the days until menopause.
9. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.

What PMS REALLY stands for:

TOP 10 THINGS PMS (Really) STANDS FOR

1. Psychotic Mood Shift
2. Permanent Menstrual Syndrome
3. Perpetual Munching Spree
4. People Make Me Sick
5. Provide Me with Sweets
6. Pardon My Sobbing
7. Pimples May Surface
8. Pissy Mood Syndrome
9. Plainly Men Suck
10. Who Cares? I'm not in the mood to play this anymore!

Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you very much to my buddies here at campus for making my birthday week so special.

What made is most special were the very special gifts I received from my friends...

This one came from my good friend Mira. Poor her... said she doesn't know how to cook so she gave me the cutest Sicilian lemon and ricotta cheesecake. They look tasty I have to admit. I'm yet to eat them as I'm being vegetarian for a week or so. But having something as tempting as this in the fridge surely can menggoda iman  even though I'm so pious. Oops! Joke, people! Joke! Don't go all moral police on me...

Along with the cake came a really special note, that forced me to grin right up to my ears. Naughty naughty Cik Mira...

At first look, it may seem like a sweet, cute note. But there is a subtle message of sarcasm there. Hehe... You see, back in our foundation year in Sabah, I held the record of being one of the few who frequently flew home to Peninsular Malaysia whenever there was a one week break. Thus, the sentence: "Good luck surviving here this summer!" as I would be here while most of us would be flying home.

Naughty little Cik Mira. Hahaha... But thanks for the lovely cake!

Then, there was a note for me at the porter's lodge on campus that I had a parcel from Malaysia that required my signature. Wow! Must have been something back. And I was not wrong.

My dad always addresses whatever letter or parcel to me with 'Mr' before my name. Pa! Over here I'm Mr. Manogaran! That's what my Student Ambassador payslip and bank statements refer to me as!

And the fairly large parcel was full of... wait for it... FOOD!!!!!!!!! There was my favourite 3 in 1 Milo sachets. Also some Adabi and Maggi fried rice flavour mix packets. These kind of stuff is essential for people like me who stink at cooking. Also there were some ready-made papadam packets and other instant cooking essentials that I really need to survive among other things.

Most important, there was a pack of holy ashes for me to put on after prayer -  a gentle reminder from my folks to never forget my responsibility to the Almighty. Hehehe... another subtle sarcastic statement there - but for my own good. Forgivable.

And along with the papa bear sized parcel was a papa bear sized birthday card:

Looks small here, I know. But its quite big.

This one must be from my little brother Devendran. He is the fatty of the family. But his handwriting sure has changed. Or it could be a deliberate attempt to look posh with the italic handwriting. ;P

This one is from my little sister, Deeviya. She's the skinny one of the three of us! Clearly she tried to replicate the handwriting of her small anneh (or aney, whichever spelling... see! They can't even agree on that!) =P

Anney means big bro, by the way.

This one's from mum, who I must admit I have been pretty mean with by not talking to for some time in order for attention. Yes, I know. I'm mostly shy and quiet (don't say weekkk!!!!) but I am an attention seeker too!

This one's from dad... and everyone has signed it. Awwwwwwww.... miss you guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm so touched I don't have the heart to be temperamental anymore... at least for now! Hehehehe...

Mr. Paddington insisted he posed with the card.

Oh! And I got this lovely notebook from Cik Hana, another good friend of mine. But it was the note inside that really made my day:

It's so beautiful to have a friend of a different faith pray for your well-being here and hereafter. It proves that despite belonging to different beliefs, we can still pray to the same Lord for the happiness of our friends. Makes me feel proud to be a Malaysian. Love you, Hana! Fine, enough of the nerdy, patriotic talk. 

Now this next card is... I don't know. Indescribable. The moment I took it out of its strikingly yellow envelope, I immediately burst into laughter. I mean... just look at it! 

It's from my BFF Cik Nadiah Sahum, or recently more glamorously known as Naddy. What was she thinking when she bought it? It really made my day. Could not stop laughing! I mean... she is always up to something naughty. But this time, she has completely outdone herself. Big time! Girl, you rock!

And if you thought the front was outrageously childish, check out the back! So bluntly stated! And yet she got it for me! What the... "Nad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I literally yelled out her name in laughter when I saw this...

Then of course, there was the thank you message for being her friend, wishing me happy birthday, hoping I would grow more macho and matured (as if that will ever happen ;P)... and notice she signed as 'Nad yang comel'.

Had it not be signed that way, I seriously would have doubted that it came from her. Typical Naddy...

This one, also from a good buddy AND granny, interestingly with a frog, has a deep metaphorical meaning to it. We had discussed earlier about a frog jumping out of a well, and that having some deeper meaning to it, well the Granny has compared me to that. How sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on the same day, I got this from another good friend, Cik Aisyah Afifah. It was as if she was yelling to me: "You're 21!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Means can vote, can do this, do that... tanda matang as she says...

And also it came with a cute card...

And honestly, I'm quite sure this drawing has some metaphorical meaning to it. But I don't quite get it. Is it... Kangga like balloons, balls, smileys, candies, stars... and all that? Hmmm.... maybe....

And yes Cik Aisyah... we will always be around for each other...God bless...

That's Sooooooooooooooooooo Raven!

Okay. So I know the show ended four years ago. And I know they've even stopped airing reruns months ago to give more room for reruns of Hannah Montana, which recently ended as well. Thus, ends the airing of the landmark Disney Channel original sitcom that I practically grew up with.

The show premiered in early 2003, when I was in Form 1 in secondary school. I did not like the idea of a sitcom  with a laugh track, as it appeared like something for adults. At that time, I was very much into Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens. Raven did not interest me one bit.


But it was after my younger brother introduced me to the show, I immediately fell in love with it. The characters were funny. The situations were hilarious. The storyline was insane, which is a compliment. It became our family's favourite show! Since my house did not have cable, my siblings and I would always make sure we watched Raven when we visited our Granny's place, which had ASTRO.


For those of you who don't know, That's So Raven is about a teenage psychic, Raven living in San Francisco with her chef parents, Mr. and Mrs. Baxter and intelligent but notoriousness younger brother, Cory.  The totally vegan, environmentalist and not-so smart yet sweet Chelsea and inspiring rapper cum self-proclaimed ladies man Eddie are her best friends. Raven struggles to be a normal teenager as she tries to cop with her supernatural abilities which often lands her in awkward and completely hilarious situations.

Raven and Eddie were never romantically linked. Even if they were, it would end with a disaster. But still, Eddie appears as Raven's husband in the future in at least two of Raven's visions...

Raven's life-long dream of working for her idol, a popular fashion designer comes true. But things, as always, turn up to be not as good to be true. 

The importance of the family institution is emphasized throughout the show. It surprises me how much our American counterparts can be so similar to us in the sun-kissed world of Disney, yet so different in other major studio productions' TV shows and movies.

The importance of friendship, and having truly good friends is also the main theme of the show. It sure taught me how to pick good friends in the future. 

Usually, I don't like shows where the story circles around the main character and the main character only. But in this case, I would have totally loved it, had it been done that way. Raven is a character one will totally fall in love with. She is sassy, stylish and quite often self-centered. But when it comes to her family and friends, she always place them before herself. She designs her own clothes.

Raven turns into a cow on Halloween. Thank God it turned out to be the longest vision the show had seen and not reality!

The dialogues, and even the voiceovers like in this scene are written to tickle one's funny bone all the time!

Sibling rivalry: depicted very realistically though in a hilarious manner. But we all know that Raven and Cory will always be there for each other no matte how much they fight and bully each other. 

Raven always finds for trouble, just the way trouble always finds her!

Yes. She is extremely elergic to mushrooms! 

People love watching Raven fall over and over and over and over again! Only to wake up later and say her famous tagline: "I'm okay!" LOL!

One of the many reasons why I can relate to Raven is because she hates P.E. as much as I did back at school!

 Another reason is because she loves music, like me! Here she is with her favourite boy band, the fictional Boys In Motion...

 Most of the series' story lines are ridiculous... which is why I totally love them! Hahahahahahahaha!

OMG! This episode! One of my favourites! Loved Raven in this! 

Her visions often cause her more problems than help her. But I suppose that is what that makes the show work. Some might find her irritating with her often exaggerated facial expressions and body gestures. But as a Raven fan, I think that is what makes the character so lovable. In a special appearance in Cory In The House, the spin-off of That's So Raven, Raven is shown to be attending a designing school, which has been her ultimate dream.

Fashionista: Not ashamed of her body shape. And a designer in the making! 

When one discusses Raven Baxter, one definitely can never disassociate her from the fact she is a master of disguise! Some of my favourite disguises were her as a fat version of her mother, a sculpture of herself with a beak(!), a fat plumber and so much more! Just thinking about it can make me laugh out loud!

Then of course, there are her famous taglines: "Oh snap!", "Ya nasty!", "How ya'll doin'?", and "Oh, no he didn't!" "I'm okay!". 

The show grew rather boring and less funny as we reached the final season, season four. But towards the end of the season four, the show instantly regained the spice and flavour it was slowly losing. It also got much more personal as the characters started to grow. The show when Raven and Eddie's friendship finally turns into romance was somehow expected, but was more of a surprise as they never seemed compatible as an item before. 

Oh yes! They finally end up together at the end of the series! I went all awwwwwwwww... like a girl when they kissed! 

The show even allows space for the stars to exercise their singing and even rapping skills. It is almost a must for every aspiring Disney teen star to be able to act, sing and do comedy. No wonder they are all just so talented, save for a few some of course. 

All in all, alongside shows like Barney and Friends, Power Rangers, Captain Planet and so much more, I suppose this is one of the shows that will constantly remind me of my childhood and when I was growing up. Watching this again on YouTube reminds me of the happy times I spent watching them with my family. Now that I'm so far away from them, it is little things like this that help remind me of the good times we spent together... and the more happy times we will have when I go home soon... God bless... Aum...