Ball's preface

Page xv

Subject: physical chemistry

"Is this subject hard?"

                 -The entire text of a Usenet posting to sci.chem, September 1, 1994

Very captivating introduction. Sort of like Jones'.

The rest of the pages though, I better not comment on or speak of. Unless of course, you'd be willing accept the challenge.

Craving..

for blue suede shoes...

Screw the crazy weather. Spring calls for a bit of colour, regardless of the endless rain and hailing.

I'm a size 7 :)

Mooning

I wouldn't lie to you and say that I haven't been very dispirited lately. :( I couldn't think of a better booster than a good cup of coffee and a doze of artful photography with Astrud Gilberto singing in the background.

Some of my favourites:

Thank you EnglishMuse for brightening up my day. I am your new fan:)

JCO

Joyce Carol Oates

Writer of "We Were the Mulvaneys", which became a best-selling novel after being selected by Oprah's Book Club. Isn't she pretty?

My apologies. I think I might have expressed some negativism about the story in my previous post. I just realized that the theme, the plot, and the background of the story fit its purpose, as it reminds us that even the most perfect of families or person could be challenged and are vulnerable to failure. Something like Chinua Achebe's "Things fall apart". Brilliant work, really. Looking forward to reading your other novels:)

Tumor

What strikes your mind when you hear the word tumor really?

Growth, cell multiplication, cancer!, progressive, rapid (forgive my embarrassingly dull and incompetent medical diction, those were just off the top of my head). Granted, it could be friendly, pre-malignant, or malignant; but face it, the word itself has some kind of chill to it.

A problem is like a tumor in a way; it could be minor and trivial, above-average but still bearable, or it could be acute. However we often forget its other possible identities; inconspicuous, progressive, and tendency to become cancerous.

Sometimes, even a "small problem" can go terribly wrong and uncontrolled in the end. Why?

First of all it starts with our handicap of not being able to distinguish the weight of the problem at hand, thinking that this "small problem" is petty, when it is actually code red.

One of the following might then occur.

1. Not aware of how serious the issue is, we put it at the back of our heads somewhere or place it in the lastest ranking in our "to-do" list, which we never attend to anyway (because more problems show up), unconsciously giving ourselves a rabid cycle.

2. We withdraw ourselves from the problem, just too plain scared to face or even think about it.

3. We rely entirely on optimism; regarding optimism itself is the main course or "the effort" to solve the problem, often forgetting that it is actually a supplement.


Unless we were born lucky, the plot would predictably thicken ; the situation worsens and gets more and more out of hand.

Climax.

It all stems from how we deal with the problem at first. The three scenarios above are all too common in our culture, habitual even; which if i might add is ubiquitous in all of Rashid Sibir's dramas. Tear-jerking, but emitting no real impact on this sad custom.

Resolution.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.
                                                                                   George Bernard Shaw

If you've watched "We were the Mulvaneys", you would've probably come up with this post too.

'Adila

"Fair" is my middle name.


What's yours?




Ps: Anonymous-es welcomed.

Calendar

Ahh. It is that time of year again, isn't it?

You wonder how you've turned from this:

to this:

I'm now going to be brave and not deny this aging process as I'm proud of ALL the phases that I've experienced; i.e. of being fat, being the jealous gf, being too sensitive and emotional, having arthritis and rheumatic fever, ponteng classes and menyorok dalam locker (AND later belakang pokok, tapi kantoi because of the stupid fluorescent blue kain sekolah), the never-ending family chaos, the period of extreme vanity (oh those pouty, headshot photos.eek), rebellion, love, heartache, and many many more. Some too embarrasing to mention. Don't even get me started on the fashion fads I've been through; The oversized shirts, the bohemian craze, the wristband and bangle fever, the coloured pants, the bell-bottoms (oh yeah), the flowered and sequined jeans, etc etc.

Dull, you say?

I beg to differ.

Happy aging, Wuggly. :)

PS: Special thanks to the Italian guy who brought out the cake and sang Happy Birthday with unmatchable gusto. Baci e abbracci, little man, baci e abbracci.

And ofcourse, to my wonderful wonderful friends, my days in Wellington would not be as sweet without you. :)