very short stories - sara hill (2011)

short stories for tik tok users, is wot i say. the stories are playful baubles of delightful irreverence hinting at darker themes and contain more hits than misses.

i pick this up because of the story on the cover. quickie read and surprisingly satisfying too.

tempus fugitttttt

the month ends in five days and then we are in june and after that half the year is gone and we can start counting down to christmas and 2026 will no longer feel novel to write.

just thinkin' aloud.

the doctor who fooled the world - brian deer (2020)

fascinating narrative of how a scum-of-the-earth type got his come-uppance presented with an unexpectedly rambling chattiness (not my idea of brit understatement) liberally peppered with italics and personal asides and on a rather confusing timeline.

fascinating topic notwithstanding, one gets the sense that this is the blow-by-blow account of how he (deer) got the (totally deserving) guy.

i am more used to a cleaner style à la john carreyrou in bad blood, perhaps. on the other hand brian deer has a most impressive track record and i am in awe of what he has exposed in his time.

vintage vibes

i haven't heard di tanjong katong outside of the NDP in years. the egg tart is generously filled. the coffee is passable. this could become a habit.

just dessert

HOM and i toddle over to the neighborhood ice cream joint after dinner for pistachio gelato.

half the neighborhood has also taken to after-dinner ice cream.

of valleys and still waters

we have a straightforward old fashioned sermon today sticking entirely to the passage. this is surprisingly rare and much appreciated when presented. i thank the preacher and find a fan club around him. it appears there are a few of us who hanker for straightforward old fashioned sermons that stick to text although unfortunately the current fad favors a pop psychology message garnished with the bible verse of the week.

after church we spend some time catching up with old friends. the trouble with a semi-retired oft-traveling lifestyle is that one ends up hi-and-bye with many beloved people and soon we discover we have all grown older in the meantime. 

for example, D has developed dementia in the years we have not sat down for a good chat. P is active with her community work and at peace with her non-remission. E and S have just returned from the camino de santiago. if S can do it, bum hip and all, i think perhaps HOM and i can too.

with this past week i feel, to my dazed delight, that God is anointing my head with oil as he leads me beside the deep unknown waters of uncertainty. thanks be to God.  

good saturday morn

lovely overcast morning. the type where you just return under the sheets and nap.