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pride and prejudice

i have a weakness for historical romances - starting with Barbara Cartland (cringe) in the teens and moving on to less chaste novels later. They always have a happy ending, which i find comforting and have enlarged my vocabulary of regency english - pince-nez, crinoline, cravat, dandy, etc. it has also made me the ridicule of readers of more 'serious' fiction. as my uni flat-mate once confided in me, it's always good to curl up with a Georgette Heyer romance when feeling sick. being down with a hacking cough, i spent the day trying to sleep and watching Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version of course). The smoldering looks exchanged by Darcy and Lizzie over the pianoforte and of course, that white shirt/lake scene (poor colin firth has never lived it down) did not disappoint. hehehe. reminds me of my days in the uk where i rushed back to watch the series. here's to feelgood comforts.

2008 round-up

Bet you thought i had abandoned this blog. Been meaning to post, but somehow never got around to it. Will make more of an effort for 2009. In fact, planning to leave work before sunset and have more time for gym, dance, charity and friends. Work life balance, eh. Anyway, here's my 2008 compilation reflecting what i've been doing/liking/experiencing over the past year:

1. Alone In Kyoto / AIR [Trip to Japan in November. ok, so i didn't go to Kyoto, but Tokyo is an anagram of Kyoto, hehe.]
2. Mansard Roof / Vampire Weekend [funky african-style group from columbia uni - check it out]
3. Mamma Mia / ABBA [loved the musical, and the movie was so kitsch it was good. where else can you see colin firth and pierce brosnan singing and dancing?]
4. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger / Daft Punk [mainly for cool youtube video, see: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cYWfq--Nw. it takes a while to start, so hang in there]
5. One Way Or Another / Blondie [Veronica Mars sang it and i play it on Guitar Hero]
6. The Rip / Portishead [Portishead is back!!!! their third album is worth the wait]
7. White Winter Hymnal / Fleet Foxes [obligatory dave-influenced track - gets stuck in your head after a while]
8. Recipe For Love / Harry Connick Jr [Ok, he didn't sing this during the concert, but it's one of my fave tunes from him]
9. Leaving On a Jetplane / Chantal Kreviazuk [For all the travelling i did - Adelaide in Feb, Michigan in April, Denver in June and Japan in November]
10. Cantelowes / Toumani Diabaté [Fantastic fingerwork, would love him at DFP]
11. Gypsy / Jesse Cook [one of my first picks for DFP]
12. Into the West / Annie Lennox/London Philharmonic Orchestra [Lord of the Rings concerts ended our season with a bang]
13. Fix You / Coldplay [Wonderful rendition in 'Young at Heart', a documentary about an octogenarian choral group]
14. If I Were A Boy / Beyoncé [Relatively late discovery, like the lyrics]
15. Inní mér syngur vitleysingur / Sigur Rós [the Icelandic band does happy with style]
16. Somewhere Beyond the Sea / Frank Sinatra [Finally made it to Sipadan for end of the year diving]
17. Anyone Else But You / The Moldy Peaches [Sarcastic yet sweet movie, soundtrack rocks]

Let me know if you want one.

shane scare

shane reward
Originally uploaded by naesul

on tuesday morning, i released shane into the garden without realizing that the gate was ajar. A half an hour later when i was about to leave for work was when i discovered him missing. david and i drove around for ages (well me almost 2 hours and david 1 hour). recriminations rang in my head - how could i be so stupid as not to notice the gate was not closed... why did it take me so long to look for him, why didn't i take a picture of him, etc.

i must say it was a crash course in learning the roads of ttdi. and of seeing all the ppl in the neighbourhood - ladies doing tai chi, private security guards, kindergarten owners and lots of ppl washing their cars - at 9am on a tuesday morning and all who i had quizzed on whether they had seen a big brown dog on the loose. some said they saw him, but often going in opposite directions! i was almost in tears when i started for home - sure that he had been dognapped or run over.

just before turning onto my road i notice a city council van with workers trying to catch a stray dog. i stopped and asked if they had seen him. they said they had just started out and had not caught any dogs, but asked for my contact number in case they did. not holding out much hope, i made my way home to get the lost notices david was preparing.

not even 5 minutes later, the council guy called to say they had found shane at his officer's house (?!) and would bring him over. i couldn't believe it and rushed inside to look for his licence papers realizing that he wasn't wearing his licence.

david met them upon arrival and was in the course of paying the compound when they released shane who promptly headed down the road. acting quickly, d caught him and brought him back - making things with the council folk more interesting as he had caught his own dog...

i was just glad that shane was back home. guess our sending him to school to learn how not to run out the gate was in vain.

housemate

DSCF2026.JPG
Originally uploaded by naesul

we have a new housemate since shane, my sister's dog came to live with us a couple of weeks ago. it seemed to be going well, until his need to mark territory met the piano. sigh. i guess all parties have to adjust. he doesn't seem to miss the other dogs which is good.

it's nice to come home to a smiling dog and wagging tail. plus i'm getting more exercise now that i have to take him on walks. makes up for having to stockpile plastic bags for poop scooping and having his fur everywhere (really everywhere!).

shane, woof woof woof woof arf!

blegh

with the birthdays of my school friends (not to mention the birthdays of children of my friends, sister and cousins) it is quite obvious that time is swiftly passing by. i am being acclimatized to being firmly in my mid-30s. no longer am i as fit, foolish or friendly as i used to be. instead i find that the pounds pour on and can only be scrapped off with much effort and with a long lead time. i'm trying to take things as they come and yet be visionary. i realize that i need to stop trying to win a popularity contest and be happy in my (flabbier) skin.

thank goodness for my friends who are willing to accept me - flaws and contradictions and all.

ps thanks to brunch at sleme & tut's have gotten back into my guitar hero craze. barracuda plays in my head the whole damn day. sigh.

new beginnings

side smile
Originally uploaded by naesul

my little nephew is 20 days old today. can't believe that this little thingy has taken over the lives of the 3 adults he has running helter-skelter all over the house for him.

he's an adorable little baggage who can win u with his inquisitive eyes and rosebud smile, before bawling his head off. thankfully, i get spared the night feeds and only wake up when the cries are the highest. as aunty, i get to play and change him in the daylight hours (cushy job actually).

will certainly miss the bub when i leave in 2 days, but can't wait to see him grow.

breathing in saline

yes, it's been ages since i posted. life has just overwhelmed me with working on the new season, end of year appraisals, travelling to adelaide for a trade show and festival (fun!) and then preparing for this trip. am stateside in chilly michigan to visit my sister and her new bub. 1 week old, he's a red little minky whose face makes me laugh out loud. can't tell who he looks like more (as in all babies), but his eyes are grey.
looking forward to getting to know him.

nuptials and nippers

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Originally uploaded by naesul

it seems that every month there are weddings being celebrated and babies being born... a great way to start the year. the year of the rat, 2008 is meant to be a great year for me. can't wait... it's great to see so many happy ppl around me.

now if only i could keep my new year resolution of getting fit and blogging regularly...

the year that was

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Originally uploaded by naesul

and so 2007 is over. can't believe how fast it went. from the highs of genii's wedding in the beginning of the year, jaunting over the east coast of US, pregnancies galore, to moving to a new job... it's been an eventful year.

spent the day selecting photos to print. realized that the last time i printed was in May 2005. have over 500 pix *gulp*. the problem with digital cameras is that you only print once in a blue moon and therefore it costs a whopper every time you print.

the photos i chose were filled with faces - of friends, relatives and acquaintances. i recall how i was feeling when i see them - happy, sad, euphoric, amused. it does seem that my life is changing before my very eyes. as sage selva said, my life will be completely different from 3 years ago. i'm looking forward to the journey and hope you'll be there for the ride.

reno redux

argh.. just lost this post when firefox crashed. it was about the renovation of my parents' house, which has been going on for the last 2 months. and will prob carry on for another 1 month.

with furniture distributed to my house, relatives and homes - it's strange to see the bare rooms. grills, windows, bathrooms and kitchen are all being overhauled.

it's been a journey to go through the relics collected over 3 decades by my siblings and parents (now i know where my hoarding habit comes from). books, letters, memories in boxes, cupboards and drawers.

my hope is that a new family with rejuvenate the house - it needs to be occupied. i imagine a young family with pets galore :)