Werewolf In Wisconsin??

 
Hey there all you werewolf fans...and Wolfy.... here's a link to an allegedly true story about a werewolf... in wisconsin... of all places... but I guess it shouldn't be too surprising. There is some truly thick forest in that state....

So check it out... let me know what you think of it :D Apparently there are some in the state who believe that their countryside has something more than just regular wildlife :D

Werewolf In Wisconsin

Going Off The Deep End???

I've definitely gone off the deep end. At the beginning of this long weekend, I went to the tailor and committed myself to pay a whole lot of moolah so I can dress up as a videogame character... :P

I mean, what the blue blazes am I doing??

Most of you who know me personally know that when it comes to ka-ching, I tend to think about something quite a lot before making an investment or purchase... the more the ka-ching, the more the thinking period. So the speed at which this has happened has surprised me a little.

Although I'm tempted to give a pretty long post about how most of the character's I've chosen to dress up as on Halloween and other similar events have turned out to be a personality in one of my past lives, I'll keep this one short... 

Think about it, a wizard, a rogue and.... if I didn't end up making the assassin's outfit this time, it would have been an inquisitor. (Well, most of the inquisitor outfits in the Dark Heresy book really were

1. too heavy looking... I used to have a 2 - 3 kg outfit... I'm not looking forward to walking around with that kinda weight again  
2. not very inspiring
3. requires me to create too much religious-themed bling)

For those of you who are unfamilar with Warhammer 40K, I've included sample pictures below to illustrate what I mean ...

Too dark + not very interesting
Also, I never really liked the whole
Van Helsing / Matthew Hopkins look

I've never really identified with Eisenhorn
and

estimated weight of this costume = 6 -7 kgs??

Wear THAT WIG?! Are you insane?!!

I think Wolfy pointed out at this juncture... that I could just dress up in the historically accurate outfit.... that is, the one I saw in my dream, and was probably what I wore in my past life....

You know the creepiest thing about this is

that at one point in my life, I actually knew a
"normal office lady" (not in the religion)
who wanted to walk around in this particular outfit. :P

Indeed, Wolfy reasoned, it would be cheaper and... historically accurate... and .... insane... (I added) because the people who make this monk's habit today will not sell it to a non-catholic occultist....+  might get stoned by people who are in the religion because the order that this habit originates from is still pretty prominant today.

I think at this point I'll probably not analyse this further with reference to the whole karmic thing until it does come smacking me in the face. Reason being that apart from having a whole lot of pretty weird dreams lately, I haven't much information on why I have chosen to focus on my current... rather silly obsession.

A Little Obsession

Despite having a ton of stuff to do... (mostly work related assignments), something recently caught my attention. 

It really started out because of YouTube.....:P Well, some of us at work were viewing videos on YouTube. Naturally, to find out what is popular these days in the gaming world, I checked out the top 10 game trailers. It's been really really quite a while since I played a hardcore electronic game. This is because in between my assignments, meeting up with friends, projects from my other line of work and not to mention my own spiritual practice... I don't really have time to play any long electronic games. These days, I just do Facebook... and that I think already takes up too much time.

Anyways, I was very very impressed by the following video. It has great 3D, nice cinematics and I do really like Venice quite a bit. It reminds me of when I visited it in 2003 with my sis and my sociopath-in-the-closet schoolmate... We were there near the start of the carnival season, and I do remember little kids in barney the dinosaur costume walking around... I kinda would like to see it again, before Venice sinks into the sea....:P



Naturally, I wanted to find out more about the game and decided to google it as well as more of the related videos. I mean, at the very least, I like to see how it is played.

I hate to say this... I'm also a huge fan of medieval conspiracy stories and alternative histories.... unfortunately, the game "Assassin's Creed" has all of that plus a cool looking hero and an interesting style of gameplay. Not since "Thief : The Dark Project" did I find another game with a storyline or gameplay that's quite as interesting. Well, first of all, I don't really go for games where... all that is required of you is just shooting or chopping your opponent to bits. I prefer games where there is some kind of strategy involved that resolves the issues by unconventional means.... I guess I could play Real Time Strategy games too but you know, after controlling one army and beating the game... controlling another army is kinda the same-old-same-new.

Now, I think I really really became a tad obsessed when I saw the following YouTube movie. It's only 1/2 an hour long, but quite entertaining... and seeing that there isn't really much to see on local TV anyway... I saw the Merlin series (the one that shows on Thursday), and it was really really was uninspiring... quite a number of actors need some acting classes, the kids look like they are straight out of some American high school.... and worst of all, the young Merlin himself looks like someone I know who is pretty annoying.....:(

Anyways, without further ado... here's the 1/2 hour epic... which I can only term... "Life of an Assassin.... with a family" 



Would you believe it... I initially thought this was the best 3D I have ever seen... (characters included) and then upon closer inspection, I found out that it was real people acting on a 3D background.... which is still impressive, since everything was blue/green screen where only the people were real.

Anyways, the long and short of it is.... I like the characters so much, I might actually attend a cosplay or Halloween event as the main character of this game.....:P 

Right at this moment, I'm giving myself like 1 week to get over this entire mania... if I do manage that I'll save a lot of money and time... if not, well, this Halloween you will probably see me in a Renaissance costume :P

Unknown Mystery X...

 That's the picture which is the closest match to my blisters.

After some weeks of putting essential oils on the odd growth on my finger and agonising about it, I finally remembered about google and did a search on it. *roll eyes* (sometimes I forget that there's this thing called the internet)

After typing in "tiny fluid-filled bumps on fingers" I finally found something that looked a bit like my skin growths on my finger at THIS LINK ...

At last, I thought.... an answer! Well, if you do click on the link to read about "Pompholyx" you'll eventually come to the following statement...

"....The exact cause is not known. Some investigators consider it is caused by abnormal sweating."

 ..... WHAT???!!!!! This just makes it pretty weird... I mean, can you imagine having "abnormal sweating" from 1 finger?! So how come all the other fingers don't have it? How come it does present itself on the folds of skin in-between the fingers, the places most likely to be affected by "abnormal sweating"...

And the weirdest thing is that the one other person who is experiencing this as well sayz that the funny bumps pop up on the exact same spots on the opposite hand as well!!! (Read the case) Now don't tell me viruses have brains and can tell which direction they are travelling towards in your bloodstream!

I remember at this point an old dermatologist telling me when I asked about some flaky skin on my head.... that he wasn't able to pinpoint the exact cause....

"It's genetic la..."

That's like telling me that I have unknown mystery X ..... well thanks a lot conventional western medical science that can't tell me anything useful :(

Terrible Time Crunch + Fluffy Bunnies... ALIEN Fluffy Bunnies....

 The long and short of it is..... I'm facing a tremendous time crunch these few months... why???? Well, lots of datelines and stuff to fill.... the company is coming up with some really unreasonable demands of us.... and I think I took one too many external projects and I'm getting a bit worried....:(

And to add to that, apparently there's some weird stuff growing on my index finger....haiz... I have no idea what it is.... F has no idea what it is.... and neither do a whole bunch of "experts".... I mean I go to the doctor and what can they say..... "Dermatitis lor..." 

Just what on earth is that? I mean, that's like saying... its a "skin problem"... doesn't tell me what it is. Apparently I have tiny non itchy blisters popping up on my finger.....:P I don't think its a wart or anything like that... and I don't really think its fungus either because it doesn't itch at all and there is no smell either. 

Eventually everything came to a head a few nights ago and I dreamt that my finger was swelling to an enormous size and I was turning into a fluffy, long lop-eared bunny.... with striking pink (fuchsia) poofy fur...:( In a panic, I stumbled around on feet that were in funny pink bunny shoes, trying to hold my grip on slippery ground.... :P I think for a point there the dream became anime and I saw a fleeting image of Bunny from Sailor Moon.... and NO, I have not been watching that anime. I haven't seen it in years I think.

The dream ended with me in bunny shoes and lop ears growing from my head and I'm at the helm of a spaceship :( And there was this disembodied voice going....

"Moooooon Raaaaabbbbbbiiiiitttt.... mmoooooooooonnnn raaaaabbbbbbiiittttttt...."

Talk about alien fluffy bunnies...

There's jus too much stress in this country... haiz :( At least I got a couple of laughs today with "Le Kua Simi"  

Genting Road Trip....

First World Hotel is the garishly painted building to the right

1 weekend ago, I made a trip to Genting Highlands... more specifically, the casino + resort hotel + amusement park complex on top of that very high hill with my sis, Wolfy and his current bf. 

To be honest, visiting a resort-amusement park-casino really isn't really the kind of holiday I go on. Most of the time, I usually travel with the family... (NOT a holiday at all :P) or alone. And I tend to look out for either cultural/historical sites and related activities. 

So why did I go to Genting? (In my mind, a place that exudes outdated glitz, crass commercialism and tons of sad stories about either gambling suicides or ghosts) Well, firstly a Genting package from the local tour agent is cheap. Secondly, it was a chance to go on a road trip with Wolfy. Thirdly, I was hoping to verify if half the supernatural stories that originate from that place are actually real.

From the get go, this was a really really really.... sleep deprived holiday....:P The bus left the tour agent's Beach Road office at 7am... we had to get there by 6.30am! And to save money on cab fares, I actually spent the night at my sister's office.:P - It was nearby and since it's a trader's office, all the night brokers were in.....:P Naturally, I didn't really get any sleep because there were no sofas or empty tables to lie down on. All the lights were on... all the traders were handling trades till 5am +++ and the 24 hour Starbucks downstairs somehow lacked air-conditioning.... 

At first I tried the Starbucks .... found a comfy sofa and started to read.... I thought MAYBE... I would get tired enough to fall asleep..... I was reading some ritual magic text for about 30 mins before some Filipino woman showed up.... plonked herself on the opposite sofa and started reading some book that had the ominous title of "Purgetory & Damnation"..... :P (WHY DO I ATTRACT THESE TYPES???!!)

I decided after that the night was better spent in the office..... the whole scene smelled like some kind of set-up for some of my karma to trigger off :P 

I didn't really manage to get much sleep on the bus either. The stupid bus played some Chinese movie halfway... I think it was called "The Sniper"..... a VERY VERY contrived show that reminded me a little of "Enemy At The Gates" (another sniper movie, but better made).... and everytime the snipers fired their guns, the BANG! BANG! woke me up.:( The noise was so loud even the music with hyped up volume from my mp3 did not help :P

So I ended up slightly bushed at First World Hotel.... yes, for those of you who have been to Genting on a cheap package... that means waiting 2-4 hours for your room! Why it is that the people at First World cannot get their act together and check in everyone in like 30 mins to 1 hour is beyond me :P I mean, First World looks like a standard large hotel with a grand marble lobby and lots of counters. It isn't exactly some flea-bitten motel in one of the small towns dotting Malaysia. And most people from the tour groups have made advance reservations...

I must say, I didn't quite expect quite so many buildings in Genting.

When I was last there it was over 20+ years ago, and I was about 12 or so. My impression of the place was a single hotel with shabby grandeur and a single notorious casino. The road up was treacherous, puke-inducing and at night, bone-chillingly cold and foggy.... VERY VERY foggy....

There were no shopping centres, amusement parks or anything else for that matter. Why anyone would want to go there apart from the casino really amazed me.

Well... it is quite different now. 5 or so hotels, 2 casinos, rides, exhibits, movies, shops.... well.... I guess there is SOMETHING to see.

I suppose I really enjoyed watching the movies.... unfortunately never got to experience seeing it in OSIM chairs... since the cinema management took them away....:P and I liked the haunted house and the "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" exhibit. The visit to the small town just up the hill was pretty nice too..... We found out that they had recently built some strawberry, mushroom ... etc farms nearby..... and of course, I really loved the visit to the chocolate factory where you can get freeze dried fruit chocolate and apparently chili chocolate too... but they ran out of it when we were there.....:(

We were really really lucky that the rooms were new and very clean....(this is not something apprently that patrons of First World Hotel can expect, my sis kept reminding me to bring a pair of slippers because "the room floors were not clean". Apparently, this is true for the old wing of the hotel. And Wolfy kept reminding me about the standard proceedure to invite spirits out of the room... because again, First World Hotel is not "clean".) and that we only waited 2 hours or so for them.... (again.... instant check-ins are not expected )

Since we wanted to maximise our Genting trip.... we spent the daytime part going places.. and went to the casinos at night.... like at 2-3am at night.... I actually ended up sleeping at 5am on the first night!

Now, the late night would not have been so bad if not for the fact that there is apparently no such thing as a non-smoking zone in Genting. People puff up everywhere. In the shopping centres, hotel rooms, casinos, eating places.... you name it.... Well, the casinos had some non-smoking zones, but the smoke from the smoking parts were so bad, and the casino was not well-ventilated that... having a non-smoking zone does not matter at all :(

So I ended up sleep deprived and oxygen deprived as well.... amazing.... since Genting is known for its crystal clear mountain air.....:(

I also took this opportunity to explore some of the Genting legends. 

For a casino-resort that's pretty unremarkable and known in its earlier days for all the sleeze that goes on in its crowded, public gambling floors (read... non high-roller section), Genting has more than its fair share of truly eerie and strange tales. I think most of it probably originated from tragic cases of gambling gone wrong. Apparently, taking a swan dive out of the hotel windows was someting that broken gamblers who have lost every single penny... sometimes more....would do. In fact, the hotel windows at First World cannot be fully opened. The windows in my room could only be opened to a width of less than 30 cm. .... certainly not enough for someone, even a small person to squeeze through.

Anyways, legend has it that certain parts of the hotels were haunted and one evening, after midnight, Wolfy and I went exploring haunted places like the old wing of First World Hotel and the old casino.... apparently, according to local gossip, when the casino was built, the owners had gone to the bomohs and got some "kwee kias" (ie. baby foetuses in jars which are somehow magically transformed into spirit kids who are under the control/employ of the one who holds the jars) to help the house win. Therefore, old-time gamblers would bring sweets and scatter it onto the floor to "distract" the resident "kids" and thus have better chance of winning against the house.

An alternate legend found on the internet the told to me by Bob's sister has it that when the casino first opened, 10 Thai ladies who were pregnant checked into the hotel that was attached to the casino and apparently when they checked out again, they were not pregnant and did not have accompanying babies. The insinulation is that some Thai bohmoh was paid off, along with the 10 ladies to provide spirit servants for the casino. :P

Well, since we were ghost hunting, I went to the old casino, partly to catch a glimpse of the "kwee kias" and partly to test my own divination against the results of the dice rolls on the game "Big Small". Well, although Wolfy himself has seen 1 or 2 of the ghostly kids, I did not see anything... other than some funny ripple of... air.... energy... something that occasionally floated on the surface of the carpets. 

Now, it cannot be confirmed that just because ghostly kids are seen, they must belong to the casino. More than one hardcore gambler has also been known to carry his/her own jar. And sadly, often some of these jars are simply abandoned by gamblers when they don't get the result they want. Besides, there are tales that keeping one of these jars is a very very committment-intensive activity. "Kwee kias" have to be fed regularly and often with stuff that's a bit gory.

Well, I didn't have much luck hunting for ghosts in First World. I only saw partial flashes of people ... sometimes, in a lonely corner... but no actual full-body manifestations. The only time I actually saw something substantial was when I was watching TV in my room, and I saw the shadow of a man appear in my room and walk through the wall into Wolfy's room. He later saw the same guy in his room by the TV. :P

My sis I think would rather not know about any of this so I didn't say anything till the trip was almost over.

So why am I doing this? Well, I'm right now at the point where I feel I have to make a decision about whether I'm going to be afraid of this whole spirit business or not. To be honest, I feel terribly unprepared to be able to "see" anything... and sometimes, I wonder if my own hesitation is preventing me from moving forward. And since I'm the kinda person who confronts issues, well, my own search has brought me to some strange places and situations.


On the whole the genting road trip was okay... we had fun..... Wolfy returned home sick and had 1 week MC... and I think his bosses' jaws are dropping.

I'm seeing Pot Bellied Pigs.......:P

I don't quite like March. Lots of datelines at work, lots of datelines from external projects, and it seems the universe is trying to tell me something but it doesn't quite come out in the normal way... 

An odd thing popped up like 2 weeks ago when I was meditating... out of nowhere the words "pot bellied piglet" popped into my head. After that, images of what I assumed to be a pot bellied piglet started popping up in my mind at random... and especially during meditations.

I really dislike pigs and pork in general (the meat because of that quite appalling "long-kang" / "drain" smell that doesn't go away unless you cook it with lots of ginger and garlic) so pigs aren't the first thing that I would normally think about dreaming... meditating ... or otherwise engaged in some other mental activity. I mean, imagine that you are visualising the circle when casting a circle and this pot bellied piglet shows up! :P

Anyways, the usual piglet that shows up is black, with a pink belly and little gold bracelets on its front trotters. It had fuzzy fur, pointed ears and a curious expression. I always saw it trotting along a dirt road nearby this valley where there were tons of these little pot bellied piglets... yes, it was always piglets... the tiny ones... 

In the valley, all these piglets were sleeping. There were white and black piglets and others with mixed black-white spots. After seeing them for a couple of days, I have to admit, they are rather cute. However, things got really really strange when I started seeing certain people I knew as either black or white piglets...:P And the weirdest thing was that I had the impression all of these piglets could wave their trotters and tiny magical sparks flew out from them...

Hmmmmzzz.... wizard as piglet... that's just weird

I am guessing that the reason I'm seeing these piglets is because about 2 weeks ago, I was facing an issue regarding procestination. Despite the fact that there were some datelines in the horizon, I felt so lazy I think I slept for an entire day at one point... which is almost as bad as Wolfy when he is in a lazy moment. :( I also noticed this particular trait in certain individuals whom I started associating with the piglets... 

By the third or fourth day of seeing these critters, I started associated the black piglet with myself... and actually raved about it during a group meditation that F was conducting. :P Well, won't you believe it, once I got into the meditation, the piglets just started trotting out automatically... in fact, they were everywhere ! 

I think I said at one point to the group... "I'M NOT A PIGLET!"

F later pointed out amused that I didn't make any sense at all to anyone else that evening... she knew what I was talking about but no one else did apparently...

I spoke to Wolfy at some point about this... and remarked after that that "sometimes I feel so tired I can barely stand up.... and my feet hurt..." 

He replied, "I thought wizards always had servants so they don't have to walk...." - Well, he sure does express his thoughts in a colourful manner... |-(

I think while talking to F once, she mentioned something to the effect of, "Imagine you could get stuff done just waving your hands... won't you be terribly lazy too??"

At this point... I'm kinda reminded of the Enchanter / "Wild Magic Child" which I talked about in my previous posting "Going Bananas" .... does this mean that magic makes people lazy?????


Well, looking back on the incident, I don't think the piglet images that kept popping up were just random bits of nonsense. Firstly, before this incident, I have no idea what a pot-bellied pig looks like, even though I know they exist. I didn't even know they were a separate breed from normal pigs and are generally smaller in size.... and there are even miniature versions of this animal... sorta like the teacup poodle... When I finally did google "pot bellied pig" this week, I found out that they:

1. actually looked like the piglet I have been seeing

2. unlike normal pigs with floppy ears, they have pointed ears

3. they almost always come in shades of either... all black, all white, or a mix of the 2 colours! :P And that pinkness does show through especially in white or white patched piglets.


Soooooo..... if this is the Source's way of trying to get my attention about my procrestination..... it SURE is WEIRD.

F once mentioned to me a possibility that if some messages do occasionally come through from the Source, being at that level, he/she might not communicate in the form of words we can understand... it is more likely that what we do see are strange images or concepts which we then have to try to associate with something at our level.

If the theory is true... then well, I can therefore conclude that channelled messages which start with something like "Dear beloved brethern...." or "Greetings of love and light..." or " From the Great White Brotherhood...." are probably a little bit suspect...