we mean business

possibly the biggest no smoking sign i've ever seen. i love this place already.

e & o hotel, penang

HOM indulges me and books us into the grand dame. 

ooooh! real hardwood floors! ceiling fan! colonial charm! his-and-hers sinks! balcony with a view! sarongs in the closet! separate work desk and cozy corner! charging points in abundance!

that's it, i tell HOM. my hotel bucket list is all ticked up.

faculty lounge - jennifer mathieu (2024)

i read this with some trepidation after a steady diet of lightly written non-US fiction of the heartwarming genre and some (US) investigative journalism of the ponderous variety.

the book turns out to be well-crafted pleasantly entertaining and unselfconsciously grounded in niceness. the overriding theme is lives redeemed over time by living and i most of all enjoy the absence of (typically de rigueur) dark themes of the post-modern persuasion (read: gut-punching betrayal devastating loss or supreme pain).

conclusion: as bijoux a work as any of the japanese-korean books with more a bit more interesting writing. worth a read!

hope

an overnight sprouting of yucky cute excrescences today.

i am hoping hard that our run of steamy sticky burning hot days might be over for now. 

plentiful thoughts fill my mind about climate change global warming decapitated trees excessive air-conditioning energy consumption and more air-conditioning.

survival skill

mum loses her cellphone but manages to borrow a 'phone to contact people to help her.

every night before bed i revise the 'phone numbers of seven people, she tells me proudly. my friends (5), my neighbor downstairs (1), and yours.

this is brilliant i think. some of us have no idea what our own number is, never mind seven other people's.

it takes a village

mum loses her cellphone and many people mobilize to help look after her shopping access the shop cctv call her 'phone (unfruitfully) and plan to bring her to get a new set before she finds the offending item at home.

all i can say is, how kind people are! 

shopping

we look for white goods for the new old place today.

fortunately for us HOM is systematic and meticulous in researching options merchants and prices and can hold his own knowledgeably. because me, i am a sucker for sweet-talking sales people as long as they are not too smarmy. and most fortunately God blesses us with a down-to-earth sales guy who gives us his rock bottom prices like a gentleman.

it is exhausting nevertheless. we'll go shopping for tiles and fixtures and paints! the designer chirps. we have no wish to go shopping, i tell her witheringly. that's why we came to you.

decision-ed!

HOM and i bite the bullet put down the deposit and sign on to our biggest scale renovation yet and realize with gradually-growing equal-parts delight and trepidation that we are committed to moving back to the old place. by year's end, if all goes well.

may God bless this next phase.

yee-hah!

masking up

time was when one wore a plain blue mask in the procedure room and nowhere else.

six years down it is a niche fashion statement cum survival tool. as i report to HOM:

the bus it be full

the people they be coughing

fortunately, mask

the smartest kids in the world - amanda ripley (2013)

chatty informative and a harrowing indictment of the state of education in the united states. a believable one too, and not just because J1 and J2 are in high school around the time she writes about. the absence of consistent minimally moderate standards may explain why one so often encounters agrammatical constructs and outright illiteracy.

one hopes that things have changed for the better in the twelve years since.

qipao

it's arrived! oh the wonders of modern communications and transportation!

starting again

apprehensive about the new academic year and instructed otherwise today by the preacher.

in the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. (eccl 11:6)

would that all prosper much in this next year!

the ones that got away

what i wish i can play:

• the drums
• the flute
• the violin

which is why HOM is more admirable. instead of wishing he goes and takes piano lessons.

expired vouchers...

... in the junk drawer. for full moon celebration cakes going back ten years. the type that parents give to celebrate their baby's first month and that you redeem by bringing to the bakery to exchange for cake.

that's a lot of cake we forgot to get to eat.

MVP (maybe not)

it goes to show how often we forget to pack them on our trips.

döstädning

for today's activity i hand-tear up my diaries dating from '87. what i say is, they need to make paper products that are easier to dismantle. people who want to manually shred their lives are often too old for paper cuts and related annoyances.

after the diaries i courageously discard 37 years' worth of employment papers appointment papers and promotion notices. there is no longer a paper trail of my contribution to the economy.

in final news, more photos magically appear to be digitized.

spring cleaning 3

i spend some more time today de-cluttering the bookshelves for no obvious gain. i tackle decades' worth of administrative binders files and envelopes and am repeatedly tempted to stuff them back into the shadows. perhaps i give in to the temptation too.

i need to have a goal to this death cleaning, i think. what exactly am i trying to achieve? clearer shelves? a better filing system? to discover lost worlds? in my mind i think i would like to clear out some (lots of) garbage filed over the years and hallowed by age. i would also like to discard half our collection of sticky cables but i am paralyzed by potential future need. 

in other news, more photos crawl out of the woodwork for digitization.

June 30th

after today we will be in the second half of the year during which one can legitimately look forward to cooler weather vacations celebrations get-togethers and christmas. i've only been waiting all year for this!

mystifying encounter

E and i are down at the foot of our block for his evening ablutions. here is the background: i like my solitude. (that is to say, i don't like to talk when i am tired or if the weather is hot.) E likes his solitude. (certainly he likes big dogs more than he likes little dogs.)

enter, stage left, a woman and her little dog. E and i stand to attention and hope she moves off, although out of courtesy i attempt a half smile across the distance.

woman and dog approach. how is your dog? my dog doesn't really like other dogs. is yours a boy or a girl? is he neutered? my dog doesn't really like other dogs. she repeats as she gets closer and closer.

really, i think to myself. if your dog doesn't really other dogs would you mind leaving me and my dog to our evening activities? E, bless his doggy heart, does not show any interest in the little dog, as expected. and yet it takes us minutes to be disencountered.

american kingpin - nick bilton (2017)

it's epic all right. riveting and jolly exciting too, like watching it on screen. it helps the pace that the chapters are short and snappy and he gives you just enough foreshadowing to keep you hooked. i am glued to the book for the chapters leading to his arrest.

the writing is verbose but the story is thrilling and the prison terms are satisfyingly long. 

until i read that the perpetrator received a presidential pardon this year. come on, guys. are you serious? (not bolton's fault, obviously)

spring cleaning 2

... by which i survive the internal medicine housemanship rotation, back in the day.

in other news, half of the bookshelves have been (modestly) decluttered but i find myself continually sidetracked by the contents that i mean to prune.

will i need the stuff inside the books? (actually they are hopelessly outdated and you know it)

will i ever read this again? (no, you only read e-books now, remember?)

the conclusion of today's döstädning is that the shelves look somewhat unchanged. i need to ask the two questions and cull again.

diary of a day

a working day too, and mostly i have food pictures to show for it.

pet names

a commentary on acquaintance pets' monickers:

• Meko, Poppy, Benji, Kai: just cryptic enough not to make sense
• Coffee, Biscuit, Blueberry, Marshmallow, Oreo: these are food, people (not dogs or hamsters i mean)
• Ninja: aspirational, for a chihuahua
• Bear: mistaken and misguided, for a rat (the name and the choice of animal)
• Labbit, Wabbit: spot of brilliance here. the species the familial connection the unique IDs all addressed
• Socrates, Aristotle, Spider, Cricket: a family of black cats. spot the outlier!

if we get another dog i want to call him Reginald.

weather forecast 2

one moment you are sitting in the bus wondering why the driver turns the windshield wiper on for the few diddly raindrops and the next minute you are out on the street hanging on to the brolly for dear life.

and voila! the gentle sunset barely an hour later. it appears the drenching ends with me.

weather forecast

followed five minutes later by white-out thundery showers. if this is not fickle i don't know what is.

questions and anticipation

in between decisions, HOM and i.

do we endure painful (exciting) (costly) renovation and finally move to the bigger place so we can gladly welcome J1 J2 and the extended rest of the family when they visit?

or do we behave rationally stay put in a comfortable situation for most of the year and suffer the tight squeeze when visits happen?

do we commit to another move when we can no longer climb stairs?

how do we solve the problem of an elder dog with short legs in a home with many steps?

watch this space, is wot i say.

deepseek

looking for information will never be the same again.

you ask a question incorporating your parameters and AI helpfully churns out a list of reasonable answers that you use to get started on your deeper search. or you ask some follow-up questions and refine the list and get started on your deeper search. how to i minimize my kitchen pipe blockages? which robot vacuum is most cost-effective and easy-to-use and that i can buy from harvey norman? which louis cha quote is the chinese minister referring to?

what i like is the way i get to learn about things i do not know i do not know.

what i need to bring is some wariness and willingness to double check. and questions! 

over till the next one

the last of the hanjuku cheesecake, and the last of this quickie indulgence. one is getting unashamedly addicted to these extended weekend getaways, i confess to HOM.

the full moon coffee shop - mochizuki (2025)

i finish this on the flight back from shanghai in between judge dee mysteries. pleasantly bijoux for a nice quickie read but the astrology stuff throws me off. it flows in the style of we'll prescribe you a cat.

repast

loving the food in shanghai. my favorite must be the xiaolongbao shengjianbao and the sweet soy eel.

my kinda tourist thingy

we are not cut out for the hard core tourist stuff, we realize. forget the temples and famous sights and de rigueur photo opps. HOM and i spend a delightful afternoon amidst the dappling sunlit avenues of the french quarter and wander into an art exhibition several rug shops and accidentally into the insta-famous cafe selling teddy bear ice cream. not much to show but much to remember.

(the real) bucket list

a qipao from shanghai.

pretty much every girl's vintage dream.

even though this is an energetic modern young female tailor who promises to ship the finished product to me and not the fabled old man who only speaks in incomprehensible dialect. she promises me a garment in xiangyunsha silk and i promise her to return for more if she delivers.

recording my thanks to HOM for his cheerful long-suffering presence over multiple fittings.

hangzhou

 

west lake is really quite gorgeous and i almost want to return in the autumn and the winter.

but we are middle-aged wimps and almost fall into our coffee with relief at the end of the half-day tour.

shanghai (again)

revisiting an old lady and finding charms yet:

• the qipao tailors this time (if i had a bucket list this would be so on it, i murmur to HOM)
• the old and the new effortlessly juxtaposed at least from the didi rides we are in
• food remains quintessentially acceptable even for picky eater me
• and is much better priced than recent comparators (CA and BC)
• i'm back in the land of the automatic flushing loo! and luckin! and general public safety!
• and in comparison to other spots in china, they actually obey do not smoke expectations

this could become my favorite getaway city. 

also, waiting on tenterhooks for my new qipao.

kingdom of characters - jing tsu (2022)

sweeping powerful epic fascinating inspiring and quite simply jolly satisfying account of the metamorphosis of the chinese language over the past century as it was dragged kicking struggling reluctantly and resentfully into the twenty-first century.

it is amazing to realize how far behind it was back when putonghua was not even a thing and how much the chinese ecosystem has leap-frogged the rest of the field today.

the old memories 2

random thoughts from scanning old photos:

• time was when after a wedding one would receive a keepsake envelope of photographs of the happy couple the banquet table and select candids
• time was also when after an event one poor bugger would go around like a human excel with a list for you to fill up which photos you wanted to purchase order those photos collect your monies sort out your orders a couple of weeks later and deliver them to you. possibly the most unsung hero of our youth
• remember the big notice boards with sheets of numbered photographs for you to decide which to order? 

am i glad we are in the digital age.

less ded

the ol' reliable appetite is back. it is a wonderful thing to be able to enjoy one's food, i tell you. the preacher is right that there is nothing better than to rejoice in the here and now and in food and drink that our good God gives.

in other news, a 5 per cent weight loss over four days has reduced me to looking like a haggard hound.

the old memories

random reflections on digitizing our early collection of family photos:

• the faces look happy 
• we did quite a bit together
• my babies are grown up now

and i think, humbly gratefully although admittedly not necessarily theologically accurately, so somewhere in my youth or childhood, i must have done something good.

the psychology of money - morgan housel (2020)

a most interesting read because it never occurs to me to think about how we think about money. meta-finance, if you like. or possibly meta-financial planning.

he is surprisingly (ok, i judge) self-effacing a little bit altruistic and quite refreshing for an american writer although he runs true to verbiage.

worth a read, with bits of skimming.

half ded 2

gingerly emerging from the grogginess of the past week

like the fragile butterfly breaking out from the cocoon

first day after many without overt myalgia

and coffee tastes good again

cautiously optimistic

thank God for HOM and O who allow me to be sick without having to lift a finger to help myself. and thank God for E for sensing i need his company more than he hates my hugs.

half ded

let's just say the perfect storm requires more than that.

specifically, you might add in non-stop vomiting diarrhea and the mother of all bodyaches.

after 4 days of near-starvation i graduate to a diet of chicken soup and japanese cheesecake today.

practice-changer

most valuable app 2025, is wot i say. i spend the day digitizing 12 years of photos. perhaps that's why my body aches so badly.

glycemic chaos

eastbound jet lag

hacking cough

new sensor

a perfect storm, if you ask me

stock take

just the other day i accidentally write '24. soon we'll be saying the latter half of the year.

not done:

dinners with old friends

cross-stitching. felting. embroidery. piano

reading theology

done:

reading lots of (fairly eclectic) books

four trips (excluding JB)

babysitting

still:

working (part-time)

enjoying the work (mostly)

pipe dreams 2

continuing our close relationship with the plumber as different problems surface for re-plumbing. today we check out a new, less financially depleting one. 

he is promising and will henceforth go on the speed dial.

sploot

the long-suffering E who tolerates our hugs despite his clear distaste for overly chummy displays of affection.

the secret diary of hendrik groen (2014)

uproarious frank documentation of rib-jabbingly sharp observations of the elderly occupants of a dutch care home who are mostly semi-independent lower middle-class whites with rather breathtaking xenophobia and other prejudices that ring awfully true. also includes not-unexpected developments that nevertheless manage to blind-side you as you read. 

jolly good fun and poignant at the same time.

this book totally deserves to be read.

back to basics

back to E and regular stuff and tropical mugginess and my old breakfast.

coffee with milk - plain yogurt with almond flakes and choc chips - toast with butter and peanut butter

it doesn't get better. i've missed you!

design thinking

there is the good.

and cute.

and there is the impractical.

like trying too hard.

just try drinking hot coffee from this.

that's it!

end of our extended jaunt for now as we head home to real life. thermal shock E other familial commitments economic responsibility and a leaking sink await. i am grateful for this mid-year interlude. although as HOM says it's been quarter-year interludes to date this year.

room switch

we shiver in the stubbornly cold hotel room despite acrobatic adjustments to the a/c controls. the man comes and agrees with us that our condition is really quite arctic and kindly arranges a new room to which we bring lock and barrel.

the air is warmer here. also, the hot water works! much relief ensues.

in additional reporting i meet another guest in the elevator headed to the same floor as i. she is wearing a winter jacket.

yucksss

possibly the most undrinkable cup of hyper-burnt scalding joe one has had the misfortune to need to purchase at the airport whilst awaiting the hotel shuttle because the driver is on his mornin' break. and my standard is not high, mind you. my cuppa joy is the nespresso coffee, preferably the purple capsule, that's all.

of parks and gardens

queen elizabeth

capilano

stanley

tangled paths and flowery meadows

giant firs and soldierly cedars

luscious roses dainty stars and wild blooms

with the sunlight dappling thru the leaves

be good for the soul

vancouver interlude 2

i meet the whimsical and charming quasi-european version of the city. surprisingly the french accent abounds and we see nary a drug user today. if not for yesterday's sights i would say this is a well-preserved cosmopolitan lady approaching middle age with aplomb.

vancouver interlude

much anticipated visit but a little bit bemusing:

• the chinese food is great
• it's very asian / cosmopolitan
• hardly any cigarette smoke (that's a key city metric!)
• but they vape
• and do drugs in broad daylight 
• and drive fairly assertively for canadians
• on the right side of the road too!

den of thieves - james b. stewart (1992)

smashing good read about bad guys doing bad things and how they get caught, with just sufficient schadenfreude for a fist pump but not so much that it becomes unreal.

the premise is compelling (extreme greed and how it gets tripped up) and reading about it four decades later is still jolly rollicking fun and most enlightening about a time almost half a century ago.

the work done to pull all the multiple threads together is clearly gargantuan. and for an additional bonus, somehow it comes across as better written than many more recent books that trade on speed-to-publication. 

prayers

for J2 and Ji and A, i pray that you may be a team. may one be strong and one be gentle! may one provide and one also provide! may you build a home on the foundation of our most high Lord and may A grow up in love and in faith, in confidence and in health! may your home be a place of peace and welcome and joy and glad surprises! thank you for the past month; we are much privileged and blessed!

for J1 and Y, i pray you may continue more and more to build each other's strengths and cover each other's lack! my heart is gladdened by the core of steadiness that steadies me too. i am encouraged by your kindness consideration and your great generosity. may God grant you to establish a home in which gladness and love always dwell!

for little J, i pray your next endeavor be cheerful and rich indeed! may your next year be a time of discovery and fortification and good excitement and glad surprises! 

for Q and X, i thank God each time i think of you: for your friendship and fellowship and for your daughter who has become our daughter too! 

may God keep us until we meet again.

cruisin' alaska

coming to the end and here are random thoughts:

• spectacular views doesn't begin to describe them (neither do the photos capture them)
• den of thieves was a good read for this trip. that rascal michael milken!!
• the (preponderant) absence of cigarette smoke combined with fresh wind is a wonderful thing

• one could so easily get used to the room-food-gym triangle

• the ship crew are admirably trained; most impressed by their ability to cross-cover
• free-flow of food in a vast variety only goes so long before i hanker for nespresso and toast

• for the record, the uniqlo puffy coat with the marmot raincoat serve well in early May
• most grateful for the extended time with the families. and the weather. and the limited choppiness

communicating with A 2

A is happily in her mother's arms.

A spies the french fries on HOM's plate. 

A reaches out to HOM, like so, \o/

much flattered, HOM takes her over.

A points at the french fries and launches herself at them.

there is clear evidence of logical problem solving here, if you ask me.

cruisin' alaska

spectacular and gorgeous and all manner of superlatives, is wot i say. very glad to be on board just wondering about the day's weather and my next meal.

goodbye, things - fumio sasaki (2015)

materially esthetically and spiritually ascetic if a little verbose towards the end. he is mostly quirky laconic sharp and just a little bit acerbic.

most enjoyable but admittedly an ironic experience to read it in the heart of american suburbia. 

i am much inspired to declutter aggressively.

communicating with A

aaah, aaah means she is hungry. painstakingly learnt after multiple aaahs on repeat.

doh (with a knowing fully expectant look) means i want. 

unh (with an imperious wave of her hand) means i want <what she is waving at> specifically.

noh! appears to mean "no".

\o/ is the universal request to be carried of course.

a tuneless wail means she is unhappy or engrossed or about to put herself to sleep. check context.

uh-oh, as observed, is an expression of glee. the little minx.

as you see, no mama or papa or anything pedestrian like that.

butterfish poke

this gets most beloved f&b outlet award for this trip. kelp noodles salmon avocado sprouts and wakame with spicy mayo topped with crunchy garlic. cover and give a good shake to mix. enjoy!

random thoughts about the US of A

more specifically perhaps, about the west coast.

their houses are enormous and the space is full of stuff. perhaps over time one tends to a more minimalist wabi-sabi esthetic and finds the easy abundance a little overwhelming. 

the vehicles are huge and high although to be fair J2 drives an (extremely dirty) antique compact stick-shift that is just my size.

costco portions are gargantuan the options are delightful the samples are exciting and i love our grocery runs. not to mention the chocolate almonds at trader joe's.

f&b options of the convenient accessible affordable variety are non-existent once you factor in taxes and tips. except for in-n-out burger which is one's absolute favorite burger joint in california. yes, sirree. gimme a double-double protein style!

public transport of the convenient accessible affordable variety is non-existent. 

all transactions take longer because they like to talk here.

sudden light

here two weeks now and it is quite clear that A's first recognizable word, at 13 months, is uh-oh.

uttered when she accidentally drops stuff when we accidentally drop stuff and also when she intentionally flings stuff just before she breaks out into that impish grin.

excursion

we bring A for a grocery run. it is an endurance sport. we need quick reflexes strong core muscles competent upper limbs and resourceful lower limbs.

i finally know the meaning of as happy as a kid in a candy store, HOM murmurs.

le mug

J2 and i go pottery painting and ta-dah! 

you have a nice watercolor effect on your mug! J2 says. that would be because i didn't wait for the coat to dry to apply the second and third coats, but hey if it looks like watercolor who am i to complain?

my facebook feed is now full of pottery decoration videos, wouldn't you know.

in other news, i am zoster-pain-free. even if i am nursing a sore throat and a chest cough.

palaver

possibly emblematic of much that is not right.

glib garish consumerism dressed up in redundancy ostentation and plastic.

yeonnam-dong's smiley laundromat - kim jiyun (2024)

cheery heart-warming and inspiring series of interconnected stories in the tradition of modern jap / korean literature tied together by a jolly mystery successfully solved. very pleasant reading that lingers on after you finish.

the convenience store by the sea - sonoko machida (2024)

continuing the tradition of the gentle undemanding but nevertheless emotionally captivating genre of modern east asian literature for e.g. morisaki and kamigawa and also the korean hyunam-dong books.

in addition to cozy encounters this book has the additional magic of making me want to go buy snacks from the konbini. 

the only drawback is mr. shiba, who i cannot quite get my head around so he remains not-quite-real to me.

the lost and found bookshop - susan wiggs (2020)

much anticipated because the cover announces that it is a new york times bestseller.

the plot is interesting but a bit convoluted the diversity and inclusivity factor is high the writing is pedestrian and at least a couple characters make me wonder why they exist (dorothy and trevor).

much disappointed. although the epilogue is nice.

shingles 4

the zoster pain is now a dull background ache that is just a tad above absent. i almost forget about it sometimes.

to my great relief thankfulness and with much hope-filled anticipation of a pain-free eventuality. 

start of an era

we babysit A for an evening, HOM and i. 

our first time.

thank God it ends with her falling asleep.

'nuff said.

end of an era

this has been there on level 2 of the mall for as long as i have been visiting the mall which is to say pretty much since the '80s. i will miss the comfortable solidness of seeing the long-time anchor business, over-priced kitsch notwithstanding. the other dearly-missed beloved being evergreen bookshop with their used books also on level 2.

the little book of hygge - meik wiking (2016)

1. this book is a little dose of paper hyyge in itself: gently cheery fundamentally decent and altogether cozy.

2. i finally learn the correct way to pronounce the word.

3. i tell HOM we will (ok, partially) decorate the home for christmas this year. perhaps with an advent candle set-up.

4. nevertheless i confess i skip multiply over sections of the book. in particular i skip over the entire outdoors-in-summer chapter.

moving on to fiction next for a bit.

shingles 3: progress report

vesicles are dry. scabs are off. scar is absent. yesssss.

in other news, today i awaken with the same pervasive right-sided body pain but i fancy it is a tad less intense. i stand taller with less effort! i walk with rhythm and bounce! i forget what it is to be pain free but i imagine i am a step closer!

i gingerly step into the day!

interregnum

we fly to visit J2 Ji and A in two days. i run my last clinic three days ago attend the final work meeting the following day send in all my deliverables and show up for the webinar yesterday. HOM bakes the promised cake for his friends attends his piano class and spends the day running errands for his mom. 

now we are in this limbo between frenetic activity and vacation mindlessness and it is a time of delightful languor indeed. it beats rushing to the airport right from the clinic with the wind whipping my sails and checking in by the skin of my teeth, optimization be damned.

throwback toy

my attempt to be thoughtful and circumspect and to STOP TOASTING THAT SLICE OF BREAD IN THE OVEN THAT FITS A WHOLE TURKEY. barring that little detour during quarantine this is our first oven toaster in thirty-five years of consumption. back in the day, i tell HOM, an oven toaster was the height of luxury for us impecunious students in kevii hall. full circle and vive la carousell.

the happiness project - gretchen rubin (2009)

rather me-centric and almost discarded very early on, except she has a disarmingly frank chattiness and lots of ideas about things to do that is rather infectious. in the end i make it to the penultimate month of the year of the project, barring the skip lesions.

the key takeaway is her analysis of unhappiness. ...people cultivate unhappiness as a way to control others. they cling to unhappiness because without it they'd forgo the special consideration that unhappiness secures... unhappiness is selfless and happiness is selfish...

bingo! i think. this describes some people one has encountered to a t.

nomination day

that's today. launching the roughly once-every-five-years two-week circus of grandstanding pipe-dreams flaming arrows repartees and ripostes. my wishes for this time, built upon previous (often unrealized) hopes:

• be gentlemen, gentlemen
• debate the ideas like adults
• and no ad hominem behavior
• so above all, be gracious!

pipe dreams

HOM and i are developing a cozy bosom relationship with the plumber. HOM has him on speed dial. we text him on sundays. we talk to him at 10 at night. we await his visits with great excitement and hope. the kitchen and the loo thank him and his expensive toys.

chinese parents like to say, you must become a doctor when you grow up! or a lawyer! i tell HOM it is a far better strategy to become a plumber. the work is varied challenging whole-heartedly appreciated and the compensation is excellent. plus you don't pay crippling malpractice insurance fees.

spotted in the wild

matching the cake to the garb.

easter sunday

random thoughts:

• strange how tears well whenever we sing certain songs, like and because he lives. it's not even a song one can sing with full conviction, if only because one needs to be so presumptuously confident in one's strength for tomorrow regardless of what happens. my only response is i believe. help my unbelief!
• eating places for families really should have a little corner for people who wish to dine without the need to endure other people's children's screams, not to mention maintain some vigilance so as to avoid incidental pieces of projectile food. lovely lunch that HOM and i have, except we are a little terrorized by Junior of the next cubicle
• thundery showers with flashes of lightning does not begin to do justice to the electrical storm currently holding E the dog in jittery unease and me in thrall and wonder. this is the white-out shower to end previous showers this year-to-date, if i may say so
• how glad i am for easter. how gratefully and with what relief i receive the grace that i do not deserve! you can have your grand experiences and life-changing conversions. i am simply thankful that i do not need to fear the demons at the door because my LORD has fought them for me

surprise six

there is the surprise me dress from zuri and now there is the surprise set of mystery bottles that HOM gets. we appear to be indulging our inner dopamine kid. that, or we are suckers for sales.