ff 3

• i still randomly and reflexly try to open the facebook app
• but having signed out and resolutely stayed out, my phone battery lasts a whole lot longer
• and my book is read a lot quicker

all the president's men - bernstein & woodward (1974)

a classic, people say. riveting reading. masterly investigative reporting.

this is all that and more. it pulses with action and connivance and plottings and maneuverings. although the sheer size of the cast of characters is enough to spin your head at first. at the end of it you feel like you just want to slap them idiot politicians. they really are the scum of the earth.

lunch

what shall we have for lunch? HOM asks. it's a joke of course. as if there was ever any question about it. protein style double-double! yeah!!

setting off

we pick up the car and start on the loooong drive to Ji and J2. we are apprehensive (a whole month in a support function!) excited (we meet E! and re-meet A!) low-grade anxious (loose ends at home and all over) glad (that J2 has traversed another eventful pregnancy) and thankful (how great is His faithfulness!).

a li'l bird tol' me

what i say is, if you are standing in line to clear the immigration controls, please do not also conduct a business meeting on your cellphone.

there is virtue in restraint and discretion and the peace is much appreciated.

ff d2

• many many occasions of accidentally trying to re-open the app
• twice asking myself if i can break the fast on weekends and special days
• read a whole chunk more of my book than usual
• played lots more squaredle

onwards!

facebook fast day 1

even i eventually reach my limit for doomscrolling. in the spirit of lent, i sign out of fb and fb messenger today and immediately notice:

• a series of cool posters on the pillars supporting the train tracks
• the abundance of greenery. we are really quite fortunate!
• i make good progress on my book
• yet my fingers reflexly open the app, randomly thru the day

on to another day tomorrow. i hope i do not accidentally sign back in.

no more tears - gardiner harris (2025)

sweeping account of recurrent unethical and wayward behavior on the part of big pharma that's enough to put you off your tablets creams medical care and your doctor to boot. if bad pharma was good bad (it was) this is the case study of the most loathsome of them all.

intensive care

the (geriatric) car is in the workshop.

it only takes us 3 bus and 2 train rides to make it home. we should live simply and reflect much but sometimes the opportunity cost is just prohibitive.

migration

HOM begins the painful process of transferring his life to the new laptop, whose size is eye-popping.

all i can say is, i'm not getting a pro anytime soon.

random thoughts

it is well and good to lift our voice in praise.

it would be good to be in tune.

although i am sure the off-tune also pleases.

new lease of life

the oven gets resurrected. it only takes five desperate calls over the festive holidays for us to finally get to our old electrician to beg him to show up to work the miracle. you are my first customers this year, he says. so happy to pay up! i want to say, with deep and heartfelt relief.

chinese new year fashion

observations this year:

• red (with shades and tones thereof) is the perennial favorite
• young families like to coordinate their togs. taobao is doing a roaring trade, is wot i say
• flowers are greatly popular this year. i see them on the gentlemen too, including the older ones
• the unseasonably cool weather allows more fancy togs this year, methinks

as for me, if i see you once a year, you would not know if i was wearing new or used, now would you?

extended family

time was when we met in someone's apartment on day 2, just two generations sharing a home made repast.

these days we swarm in, four generations with spouses and partners and various attendants to boot and we need the condo function room or the community gathering places for a professionally catered lunch, still on day 2. sans those who have departed.

it takes me 30-odd years to learn names and intricacies of relations that i meet once a year but i am getting there slowly.

rain

the wettest chinese new year in recent memory, is what i say.

lovely weather to snuggle under the blankets in,

or to have hot coffee and chocolates in,

or just to read a good book in.

but not for venturing out to visit in, unfortunately.

baby E

baby E arrives. through dangers toils and snares, it seems, to join her sister A.

be strong and courageous, child! be rich in faith and clear of mind! in kindness and in gentleness be your way!

the gladness does not fully sink in yet.

funeral wake

we always seem to meet long-lost friends at wakes.

the years are kind to some. grey suits them and they wear their lines well.

and not so kind to others. with more heft and sans hair. 

some are gracefully refined by time.

and some are harsh.

'tis life.

bonus date

usual sunday dinner quandary: where and what, somewhat circumscribed tonite by the funeral wake we attend in the evening hour.

we end up in the neighborhood hawker center near closing time catch two of her last bowls of yong tau foo sit amongst empty tables to the accompaniment of chinese oldies blaring from another stall's sound system on a wondrously cool and breezy night.

memories are made of stuff like this.

the cult of we - brown & farrell (2021)

speed read. all i can say is,

• when the numbers go into b- and t-'s in magnitude, my eyes glaze over
• it's a cult of the talker of the hyperbole and symptomatic of larger society
• how can anyone be so greedy???
• he (neumann) sounds hypomanic

in other news, if they can toss around money of that magnitude one wonders why they cannot also do something about that national debt that beggars comparison.

affogato, homemade

our special reunion dinner, we tell each other. before the frenetic rounds of obligatory activities come up and swallow us whole. 

belated birthday thoughts

the little tornado we were not sure would see this age with this sentience has decidedly completed three decades and now nurtures a tornado of her own. how miraculous this is, i think. how undeservedly good and merciful of God. how generously he blesses.

sunday date

impromptu after-dinner affogato. arguably immensely more enjoyable than in younger days, on account of life. starting the work week on tuesday has much to recommend it.

everything is tuberculosis - john green (2025)

sweeping and informative (as befits a self-confessed OCD author), garnished with positive vibes for collective action, and run through with the obligatory feel-good human interest story (which works quite well). with mercifully short-ish chapters.

he is harshly critical of the DOTS program but here in the east we do not see it as the unmitigated evil he makes of it. perhaps it is more of a matter of matching the meat to the man.

be thou my vision

prayer should not be perfunctory not carelessly reflex or easy and rote

worship is not a duty it is the only response to an awful awesome God

HOM and i attend the inauguration ceremony. it is a more traditional ceremony than we are now used to, yet with none of the liturgy we are accustomed to. fortunately the hymns are familiar and beloved. the speakers are mostly sharp and precise. the messages are heartfelt and courageously encouraging. it is good to feel the communal commitment to a task, i think. sometimes we lose this sense of urgent mission in the sunday services where chatter predominates.

in any case, C is inaugurated to his position. may he run his race with diligence and perseverance. may he be excellent in his new calling.

side observation. there is a clear predominance of testosterone.

fairy seat

on a sedate street somewhere

you'll find

a magic faraway door

adulting

HOM and i make a trip to the bank to get new notes for the chinese new year.

this act, more than any other, confirms that we are responsible worthy members of society and that we are henceforth ready to celebrate! just to be clear, we do not however have lanterns or couplets or other red adornments around the home. although we should probably do some seasonal de-cluttering. and yes, we need to buy oranges soon.

78 years old!

 

grateful for all the blessings extravagantly provided.

and, as HOM reminds me, supremely grateful that this is where we meet and get married and (for a time) bring up our children.