People say that bad luck comes in threes. Or, in my case, multitudes.

(Before I go on with the story, get a basin of chilled Hartman's solution ready, and place it at chest level.)

Well, I've just been to visit the exhibit site, and first of all, the area is damn bloody dark. They do not provide extra lights. And, I'm supposed to hold my talks in an open void deck kind of space (if you've been to the Ferry Terminal, just near Burger King .. that's the one) with a platform, and NO PROJECTORS, NO COMPUTERS.

(I'll just wait for you to replace those eyeballs that just popped out. I know mine did.)

OK, so just what the hell am I supposed to be talking about then? Hello .. it's not an election rally or a cheerleading session ... Holy spirits of trees and grasses, I'm giving a scientific talk!! So there goes all my time-lapse videos and the lovely powerpoint slides with pretty pictures.

Here, let me try to explain what a Genlisea is without pictures. "It's a terrestrial carnivorous plant, with club-shaped leaves forming a central rosette spanning 2-5cm in diameter. The carnivorous traps are actually modified roots that assume a forked anatomy, which are white and about 5-15cm in length. Along the sides of each spiralling fork, micro-organisms such as nematodes and Daphnia enter through a longitudinal slit lined with backward-pointing hairs. Recent studies suggest that a slight suction mechanism also draws prey upwards through the spiral, eventually leading them to a dilated part of the root which secretes digestive enzymes"

Erm. Anyone has any inkling of what I'm talking about??

And now let's try this:



I am so going to strangle them.

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After the meeting with some of the relevant people (including a nice gift on my part of 2 Drosera and 3 Nepenthes for the organising staff), we proceeded to pick out CNY plants for our own garden. Oh dear. Very purple-themed this year! Bought several snapdragon-looking purplish things, 2 honeysuckle-looking purplish things, 3 pots of minute yellowish flowers, 3 pots of lovely marigolds and some very small chrysanthemums. Not to mention the pots of Nepenthes that I managed to find too!

Now for bad luck #2. OK, not so much bad luck for me, but still .. it's a bummer. Delivery truck arrived 3 hours later with everything but the horrid pot of mandarin oranges that my dad insisted on (I managed to make them stay away from Dendrobium and Vanda in all forms this year, hurray for mankind!), so another hour later another lorry came. I was out during that time, but while driving back I saw a crowd near my house. Apparently that second lorry hit my neighbour's NEW car, smashing the headlights, and RAN OFF. Phoned my dad, phoned the nursery, it's just stupid that things just had to be so dumb. Now the nursery will have to reimburse for damages, and that driver will probably be laid off. Not a loss anyway - though he complimented my taste in colour, texture and variety in the plants, he failed to notice how nice the garden was. =p OK, not a time to joke about this, and not really my problem, but I'm just feeling splenic that silly things just had to happen.

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Aussie company (another one, not the silly one) just contacted me that they might be able to fill an order for me to be sent out in last week of Jan, but very unfortunately it's now beyond the point of no return (loved that song in Phantom, BTW) - anything sent even by courier this week and the next will simply end up stuck in the post over the long weekend. Alas.

Reminds me of Jack and his Cher imitation. NVM. Re-watched a FAB episode! 306: "Love Plus One" - where Jack tried to hit on a guy shopping a Banana Republic while Will whispered suggested conversation topics to him via a remote headset.

"YOU!! SILLY WOMAN!! GET AWAY FROM HERE, YOU SILLY WOMAN!!!"

Best laugh I've had for weeks!