Madam Clara's Visit!

My birthday month was not kind on me... with the passing on of someone very dear to me and all... But not all was bad. My beloved tutor from Gaya came down to Plymouth on an official visit. It was so good to finally meet Madam Clara after almost one whole year!

This was when we had a barbecue somewhere during the end of May last year to celebrate our last few days in Sabah before we all returned home and got ready to leave for UK. Don't really have a picture with Madam Clara. But trust me, she was there with her cute granddaughter and we had lots of fun!

Earlier that year, our class threw her a surprise birthday party. To me, it was one of our most heart-rendering moments together. Her sister had past away earlier that month and she was too sad to remember her own special day. It was our surprise that brought a smile to her face after so many days. She was pleased and it was a truly meaningful day for all of us.

As part of her visit, a few friends and I took her around Plymouth's city center. We shopped at the all the famous places - Drake Circus, Royal Parade... you name it. Madam had a few things she needed to buy back for her family at home.

Thank God we had Pijan and Syafiq with us, who are football fans. They knew which jersey to buy for which football team with the right colour coding at the right price. Qis and the girls helped Madam out with the English tablecloths and baby wear.

And of course, there was me. Always taking pictures all the time! Hehe... For lunch, we had a nice big meal at Nawrooz. Madam was naturally surprised to see the size of the chicken piece they served there. But she definitely enjoyed her meal, especially the soup they serve for starters.

A few days later, we had a little gathering at the guest house where Madam stayed. Dinner that evening was potluck style. I prepared chocolate cake for dessert. There was much dispute on whether I baked it myself or bought if from Asda... and I don't plan to reveal it here.

We definitely had a great time together. It is not always we get to meet like this. We missed Madam and we surely missed each other. It was just like old times...

Since we had agreed that we would take turns to prepare dinner for Madam, it was my turn to cook on her last day in Plymouth. Faiz, Eunice and I cooked her some nice sweet and sour chicken with some Papadoms. They both don't go together, but they surely made a decent meal. Tan and our senior David made some mixed veggie with some light snacks.

Madam surely enjoyed her meal, though I knew she's not the type who goes for second rounds. But it was a pleasant evening though.

Madam also told me about her plans while she was still here in Europe. She had Qis help her plan a trip to Paris and a few other places. After all, she herself was not very sure when she would get this similar opportunity again. She might as well use this chance to travel around.

I did not wake up in time the next morning to send her off as I overslept like a pig. I would surely miss Madam. She is the type of lecturer, or teacher as I would say, who never keeps any ill feelings towards others. She is forever forgiving and kind in her words, not to mention soft-spoken and completely humble despite her position as a college lecturer.

I miss you, Madam............

Balding: A Curse

Alright... so it's not something totally surprising to me. My hair started falling rapidly all the way back when I was  studying for my SPM, when I was seventeen. The floor of my bedroom was white marbled. I would sweep the floor in the afternoon, and by night, the amount of hair that had fallen from my head would be crystal-clear obvious on the floor. Mum was first to notice.

Then there was once when I came home from college for mid-term break. At the airport, Dad swept my hair to the back, revealing a HUGE forehead! And I thought that only happened when I cut my hair short in a crew cut! Once back in National Service camp, my coach played a prank on those in my platoon by putting black ink on everyone's forehead... except mine. He said it would be too obvious in my case since my forehead was HUGE!

Now, it has been a few years. I've tried everything. Growing my hair as long as I can too cover my forehead in a shaggy, Bieber-ish kind of way, but my hair at the front just refused to grow any longer. Right now, I think the hair at the back and the side of my head are 80 to 90 percent longer than the one at the front. They say that if the father of your mother had a receding hairline, there is almost a big possibility that you might inherit that. Late Grandpa had serious balding problems. Not good news. Most of his sons inherited this. Dad used to poke fun at them that they all had airport landing grounds on their heads. Great. Give it a few years time, or at this rate, maybe even months, and your son will have one on his head too. Great job,
Dad.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! I don't wanna be botak!

What a shame. Its funny that I inherited the amount of melanin in my skin from Dad, but not his amazing Will Schuester hair! He has the most curled and healthy fro. But I din't get that from him. Oh, God... maybe He knew I would be such a complain pot that he did this to me. Who's to say I don't deserve it.

So, I've been looking through the internet for options on how to hide my balding head. Most websites suggest that a short hairstyle best suit a huge forehead since it distracts the attention from the balding area to other parts of the face. Short hairstyle? Hmmm... nope... I think I will pass that. I can't possibly rock the mean, macho look ever. Crew cuts, close shaves... not me.

Bangs? Errr... I'd love that. Keeps the youthfulness in any look. But not so sure if I can carry that. It has come to a level where my hairline is forming a sort of M shape. So the only hair that I can afford to pull down to my forehead are the few strands in the middle. Awful... and not to mention pathetic. So that one's out.

I did consider some layering. I mean, there are all types of layered haircuts, at least one must fit me right? But then, most of these styles fit those with long, proper hair. Mine case would be a big risk.

A parting, whether at the side or at the the middle might not be a good idea. The parting might go all the way to the back of my head the way my hair looks these days! That won't do much good in hiding the forehead.

A taper cut might be nice. But I don't really know. I mean, the hair at the front of my head seems to be growing at a much slower rate than any part of my head. The barber would have to be smart to taper the hair at the sides and the back and leave the ones at the top and the front. Might consider that...

A bawl cut seems rebellious, but I could work that out.

A brush cut does not seem much different from a taper or bawl cut.

A pompadour? I have to admit that does look very glamorous... almost too glamorous to maintain on a daily basis. And I really don't know how a barber would help me with this look since my hair at the front is thinner than at the mid and back sections of my head.

At this point, I really don't know what to do with my hair. I really might want to consider a taper cut. But I'm not really sure if my barber can help me do that. I mean... my hair needs to be longer than it is now for it to happen. But then, it is not that short anyway... only at the front of the M shape it has formed!

Fine, let's be honest. Coming to the UK, it is time to get rebellious. The main idea was to grow long hair, maybe perm it and put tonnes of product on it. Go blonde perhaps, not that it fits my skin tone, just for the fun of it.

And how about the idea of going bald completely? Scary, I have to admit it. But it worked wonders with Chris Daughtry. When the guy noticed he was going bald, he completely shaved off his head, to give himself a more aesthetically pleasing look. But one needs the confidence and manliness to pull off a stunt like that, something I believe I lack of. I also don't want to regret it soon and then end up wearing a wig all the time like what Britney did. Gosh...

Or maybe I can just leave my hair as it is. You know, just let nature take its toll on it while I just sit back and watch. But I'm no Prince William. The guys is such a prince charming to the ladies that they don't care about the his balding. He still looks just as charming to them as he ever was.

Now, some have flipped when I told them this. But a shaggy hairstyle, though might inappropriate for some occasions, but works magic at hiding balding. And it definitely works better than bangs. Adrian Grenier, for instance, has a quite large forehead, but he does a neat job at hiding it with his wavy natural hair. I have wavy hair... and though it never falls below my forehead, it does sound like a rock-on idea.

They say that a guy's hair is his crown. It gives you your look. It distracts attention away from your already unattractive face... something that I really use to justify my need for a better hairdo. Anyway, thanks for reading all my grumbling. Bye!