*Deep breath*
Okay, re-minisce, don't hate me! :P

Blame it on an empty ER. Blame it on having too many computers in the A&E Department, all hooked up to the Internet. Okay, blame it on my perverse sense of curiosity. :D

I dropped by Xiaxue's blog, and the best assessment I can give you is... a mixed one.

First up, that huge photo of her is tacky, for whatever reason she chose THAT to be her mug shot to the world. Scroll down a little and you'll see the message box, bearing Ah Lian-speak from the author to her "readers" ( I put in the inverted commas because, if you notice, the messages are from her alone, with no entries from "visitors" that I could see ).

I only looked through the current page of posts, so I'm not going to comment on whatever she wrote before this. One of her more recent ones had multiple photo shots of a John Little warehouse sale at the Singapore Expo, and her ecstatic squeals over various articles of clothing, cosmetic products and perfumes. I can almost imagine her eyes rolling into the back of her head from the immense pleasure she was obviously feeling. Surreal.

Then, there was an, err, interesting entry about her annoyance regarding a couple's incessant kissing in front of her on a bus. She claims she set fire to the guy's hair, but this is obviously untrue, 'cos if she HAD, The New Paper / Lianhe Zaobao / The Straits Times would've splashed it all over the front page.

Further down, she talked about "Jeremy", whom I have no inkling of, save the fact that he chose some woman over her. Ex-boyfriend perhaps? Anyway, after eliciting some strong, unpleasant reactions when I read her more recent posts, her rants about Jeremy actually stuck a chord with me. All that talk about certain women being fake and getting the man in the end is something I've always been pretty fed up about. After all, my ex was duped by a sweet-looking physiotherapist with a less-than-pristine reputation and what some of my medical friends described as "a very obvious ulterior motive". This same cute-faced girl called me on the phone a few months after my breakup, claiming that she wanted to find out how I was doing, when in truth, she'd freaked out when my ex suddenly stopped dating her, so she wanted to ask me if we'd gotten back together. For a moment, I felt sorry for her, 'cos even if she WAS the third party in all of this, we'd both been treated badly by the same guy. So I told her how I too was deceived, how he hurt me so terribly I almost gave up my career at one point, how adept he was at lying over and over again, and how she should stay away from him and save herself any further pain. But she wouldn't listen. In the end, when I put in a last-ditch effort and told her, "He isn't a good man.", she replied, "Maybe not to YOU."

Wow, I still remember that statement so vividly, even after more than 3 years. Her tone was chirpy, yet laced with venom. Imagine the smiling boa constrictor from the Disney cartoon "Jungle Book", if you can. She got back with my ex soon after, and for a time, pictures of the two of them during a holiday in China existed on his personal website. But all that has disappeared without explanation as of a year or two ago, and last I heard, he'd gone to the US to do some research on I-have-no-idea-what. They could very well still be a couple, and honestly speaking, the best thing I can say about their relationship is that they truly deserve each other. If they find happiness together, then good for them. If not, then I can't say I didn't see it coming from a mile away.

All right then. That's the end of my monologue. :) Xiaxue: I don't agree with most of the things you write about, but I share some of your emotions, and believe it or not, applaud your ability to just let it all hang out. I do most of my ranting at home, partly because putting my name to this very public blog, and being a member of the SMA News' editorial board and a medical professional requires some decorum on my part. Maybe I can start a totally new blog under a pseudonym in the future, then you'll see the real fireworks. :D

The only bone I have to pick is regarding Xiaxue's language, which is extremely offensive. Sure, swearing isn't illegal, but she strikes me as a pretty smart person, and is probably capable of being sarcastic without having to resort to the convenience of expletives, which are, in my opinion, tools used by those with challenged vocabularies. [ It's a lot easier to slot in the f-word instead of an actual adverb or noun. ] Also, she may want to watch her back in case someone decides to launch a lawsuit against her for the heck of it.

I'm not going to get involved with any battles here, but re-minisce, a big pat on the back for you, and I'll say it again for the record, you're a terrific writer. :)