Archive | January, 2017

The Mona Lisa

13 Jan

I started reading the book ‘How to Think Like Da Vinci’ a Christmas gift from hubby. It sure is an interesting eye opener not because of Da Vinci himself but more of the fact it made me recall my encounter with the Mona Lisa.

I have been to Paris twice. The first trip when we wanted to visit the Louvre, we didn’t know the museum’s schedule well enough. It was closed and we were due to fly home the next day. Disappointed, we vowed that if we ever went back to Paris, we have to make the museum trip.

Went back we did, a few years later – 2013. During the second trip, hubby and my sibling were off for a business meeting, so I was left to my own devices. I decided to visit the Louvre. Thankfully, it was open.

And like every other tourist, I had to see the great painting. It was such a huge crowd, I couldn’t get any closer. And having a barrier and protective glass over it, it sure was hard to have a good look at the masterpiece.

Was it worth the hoopla? Depends on which angle you look at it. For me, it was merely a ‘been there, done that’ moment; didn’t move me. Give me a Monet anytime, I’d be totally inspired.

So back to my book, maybe reading it and trying to think like Da Vinci may move me better.

    

    
 

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Joy Again

12 Jan

We found out recently when M1 was back, that our latest pet Tuna the crayfish is a boy. Luna the previous one was a girl.

The Food Science student was able to identify the crayfish anatomy because she had taken a class that required her analyzing crayfishes. One evening we were just admiring Tuna, and M1 looked closely at its underside before pointing out that Tuna’s a boy! We were surprised.

I must say after Luna’s demise (for her gender, M2 and I did checked on the internet and can confirm she was a female), we did not bother doing the same when we acquired Tuna 1, 2 and 3. We just assumed they were females.

As there was aggression between the three and quick deaths that followed, checking the gender was the last thing on our minds. And so it was left in assumption that Tuna was a female.

Gender aside, Tuna has brought us joy again. He may not be as orange-looking as Luna (different species most likely) but he is quite a character and just as enjoyable to observe.

 

Always flaring the claws

  

Picky about his food. Leftovers on the bottom left

    

Doing a Spidey act

 

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Feeling the Change

10 Jan

You know the holidays are definitely over and Chinese New Year is around the corner when the heat has arrived. The weather has suddenly changed. Last week, it was still very cool and even rained. Heavily at it too.

This week with everything settling into routine, the girls back in school and us back to work, the heat has crept in. Yesterday at gym, the humidity and the heat was really stifling, even indoors. As a result, the session became very taxing.

On the home front, the garden is thriving. Birds of different species come together and eat the seeds we put out. And big birds would just lounge on the dry deck!

It’s heartwarming to see such harmony but the heat… getting unbearable. Sigh.

  
 

M2 snapped this huddle from the kitchen

 

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Goodbye App?

9 Jan

After playing Jackpot on Facebook for so long, the app announced at the beginning of December last year that it will be taking the app off come January 1st 2017. Awww… I was devastated.

I have been a loyal Jackpot player since its inception eight years ago. And for all my effort, I am proud to say I climbed up the ranks and was #20 among the group of players from all over the world. And on December 18th 2016, I finally made progress, coming in at #19. 

It’s one mindless game that I somehow enjoy. There’s no need to think or strategize like the other virtual games that I indulge in.

But it is January 9th 2017 today and the app is still up and running! Maybe there is still time to make further progress to chase down the pack.

  
 

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Silly Me

6 Jan

With only four hours of sleep the night before, it was hard to function yesterday. I have forgotten what and how it’s like to dig deep into the reserves to function normally.

But we had no choice because M1’s flight was 8.00am and we had to wake up by 3.00am. Our body system and morning rituals were messed up a little because by 6.00am after checking in, we had two breakfasts already, once at home and another at the airport whilst waiting with her!

Thankfully it wasn’t an emotional farewell. There were some tears I’d admit and I managed to hold them at bay. But the void in the heart, it started to build and felt heavy. Sniffle…

After the goodbye, we headed straight for the office, dropping off M2 at school on the way (yes, she was late). I tried to work to keep busy but found myself constantly checking flightaware.com. By 1.00pm, I gave up and decided to channel my energy elsewhere. Otherwise the void would envelop me with more anxiety. Playing my virtual games didn’t help because I had the computer in front of me.

So we went to play golf.

And I played horribly because I couldn’t focus. A far cry compared to my December game where I hit 6 pars and every department worked so well. This time every department was not functioning. And not only the body was tired and sapped of energy, my mind kept wandering. I also kept looking at my iPhone whenever we had to wait, to see where the plane was! Silly me.

I was creating my anxiety further when Flightaware showed the plane had landed in Narita but we didn’t get an update from M1. Knowing full well the transit time was barely sufficient and the security process was probably very stringent with the inbound flight to the US, there may not be an update. Yet I was wishfully anticipating one. Silly me.

By the 15th Hole, a relatively short 100m across-the-pond-Par 3, the silly me changed from my usual iron to a shorter one just because it was a red flag. What was I thinking? Already tired to the core and a shorter club?? Big mistake. I dumped my shot into the water. Twice! Silly me.

After that, I told hubby we should just give up the last three holes because both of us had no more energy left to continue. Also I had no focus at all, it was pointless to carry on. Came home so drained…

By 10.30pm, I don’t know about hubby but I was knocked out and didn’t see my phone until 7.00am this morning that M1 finally updated. After close to 24 hours of travel, she had arrived safely but still one more car ride to get to campus. All that unnecessary anxiety. Silly me.

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Trying Not To Cry

5 Jan

After three wonderful weeks with M1 home with us for her Christmas holidays, she left for the US this morning. Sniffle…

We had to wake up in the wee hours of the morning, and left for the airport by 4.20am for her 8.00am departure for Japan’s Narita International.

Heaviness filled my heart. No words can express the void a mother feels every time the child leaves home for the pursuit of education. No matter how grown up they have become, they still remain our baby. 

I shouldn’t cry or feel sad. After all, she starts the year as a Junior, midway towards her Food Science degree. Seemed like only yesterday when she left home to bravely travel by herself to start her Freshman year at university. But a Junior now and a seasoned traveler. How time flies.

I must say thank goodness for Skype and WhatsApp. With technology, we are able to get updates during the course of her journey when phones are allowed to be used. And with Skype, we talk frequently during school terms unlike the dinosaur era when I was in college. The only mode of contact was phone calls which were very short and expensive and of course, snail mail which Dad wrote me. A lot.

As always, I will be tracking her on flightaware.com and probably with anxiety as well. By the time this post is published, she would have flown almost two hours for the first leg. Hopefully, there’s no weather delay enroute to San Francisco thereafter.

Safe travels and pleasant flight while I try not to cry… Sniffle.

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Good Start

3 Jan

With New Year’s Day being on a Sunday, Monday was a replacement holiday, so we didn’t have to work. But the day wasn’t wasted being a couch potato like most times. 

I was determined to get back in shape with the start of the new year. After all those intensive eating with M1 back, my waistline has happily expanded. Sigh… the will has not been strong enough to resist the temptations of our local food, Vietnamese food and more of local food.

My trainer obliged us with a gym session at an earlier time from the usual time slot – hubby, myself and M1 went but M2 opted out. Dang! It was torturous. After three weeks laying off exercise, suddenly going back at it was quite a challenge. 

Thankfully we survived. With that, I’d say it’s a good start to begin the year!

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Year In, Year Out

2 Jan

Happy New Year world! With the new year ushered in, let there be more positive vibes, more love and more stories to share!

This New Year countdown has been different for us. Year in, year out for the last few years, we would stay home for a simple home-cooked meal, paired with a bottle of wine and just relax. By eleven, we would be in bed and by the stroke of midnight, the fireworks in the neighborhood would go off and entertained us. Then in the horizon, there would more fireworks displays and we would ooh and ahh at the bursts of colors as well.

This year, a friend invited us to her house for dinner for the New Year Countdown. And what we had was a front row view of the fireworks display within the community that she lived in. We were only two streets away from the launch site; only the tall hedges between the two streets blocked the view of the actual launch.

For a change, it was breathtaking and simply awesome to see the fireworks display so up close instead of from the bedroom window. I think we ooh-ed and aah-ed for the entire ten minutes, definitely more than all the previous years combined.

It was all good positive vibes especially with the whole place organized as a carnival with lots of people, food stalls, food trucks and even a stage for live performances. A fitting welcome for the year in and curtains down to the year out.

Happy New Year!

   
    
   

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