election watch, interrupted 2

here's a memo for candidates standing for election:

the fist-thumping shouting-your-heart-out fire-and-brimstone style is just embarrassing. saccharine sweetness wrapped up in earnest altruism inspires more affection than confidence. if your hand moves with every sentence you speak soon we forget to listen. do not affect an uncouth pidgin accent to connect better with the electorate. do you think we are uncouth pidgins then? and oh yes, please do not preface your speech with mile-long salutations. even brutus only had friends, romans, countrymen. 

a good political speech is an effective speech with commendable content of a political nature. it is not a separate animal altogether from other oratory.

driving the little miss

it's saturday morning. J2 wants a ride to school. drive yourself, i say. show your independence. please, she says. if she drives herself she needs to leave earlier to grab a parking spot at school. if i drop her she gets parachuted right into position.

remind me again why we pay through our nose to finance the driving pleasures of a teenager.

menu revolt

what i planned for dinner: 

pan-fried salmon with ginger

what i suddenly would infinitely prefer:

deep-fried skin-on chicken 

generously slathered 

in general tso's sauce

i suspect this is the result of too active an imagination 

fed on too healthy a diet

for far too long

suddenly

exposed

to what HOM had for lunch.

election watch, interrupted

watch this. and this. these are two random examples.

quite apart from what the candidate is saying and not saying, what i say is, there is a distinct absence of cerebral ballast on the part of the interviewer(s). issues, darlings, issues! and please, please do not allow rambling (watch the second video). this is a political election, not a human interest story.

i ♥ my dry cleaners

it's just one middle aged korean lady with a thick accent manning the counter. she always greets me with a nod of recognition. she says i will take care of it not they. she asks for my name not my telephone number. when i pop back in to ask a question about my laundry she knows exactly what i am talking about. and get this. when i go collect my load she doesn't need to ask for my receipt number, or my name, again. she just goes to the correct spot in the entire forest of stuff and unerringly emerges with mine.

health care providers should bring their laundry in to her.

the un-unpacked box syndrome

here's my idea.

with every move people accumulate a couple of unopened boxes from the preceding abode that inevitably proceed intact to the next one. after several moves they naturally have a number of mysterious sealed brown boxes that remain unexplored undiscardable and forgotten until it's time for another move.

at the end of a lifetime of moves one could open the boxes as a time capsule treat.

our family has a number of time capsule treats coming up. we could sell tickets.

sgp elections 2011

as the dust settles on nominations day, it transpires that one group of opposition candidates is disqualified for submitting their papers 35 seconds late, the window for submission being 11 am to 12 pm on april 27th.

in some elemental way that i cannot begin to articulate, this deeply offends every sense of sportsmanship and fair play that i can summon.

cyber-enigma

i get that we live in a hyperconnected world awash with amorphous benevolence as much as with anonymous malice. a cyber-woodstock, if you will.

what defies understanding is why fifty-four thousand people would like a facebook page on which there are no posts and onto which they may not post.

weather change

we finally turn the heater off today.

it looks like summer is around the corner. summer is the time for goodbyes.

letris®...

J2 breaks the 2000 mark. i'm jealous.

self amputation

today i harden my heart and finally send my precious stash of university textbooks to the recycling truck. yellowed stiff and crumbling, they have survived multiple moves over several continents and almost a quarter century. but comes a time, i tell a dumbfounded J1, when it's time to let a dinosaur go.

i feel awfully bereft really, like i have lost a limb.

sunday

hebrews 4: 14-16

... so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

sgp elections 2011

we have become a bunch of avid political observers, the three of us. our primary form of entertainment these days is watching the laptop. stuff is shaping up to be rather exciting on several fronts:

• all 87 seats contested for the first time,
• with startlingly different candidates on opposite sides,
• officially sanctioned participation of fb and twitter, and
• access to an rabidly well-informed online community. 

nominations day is 27th april. my question is, will ms tin appear in the final line up for marine parade candidates? or will there be a scramble to control damage at the eleventh hour?

saturday

so do not fear, for i am with you; do not be dismayed, for i am your God.  

- isaiah 41:10

priceless gift Christ makes (me) worthy of... sins atoned, and heaven gained.

- greg nelson & phil mchugh

good friday

eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani - which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  
- matt 27:46

pain beyond belief and sorrow beyond bearing. my path to redemption goes through the inconceivable agony of Christ's cross. thank God!

maundy thursday

... like his brothers in every way... because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.  -  heb 2:17-18

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.  -  isa 42:3

he understands my deepest sorrows.

day trip

HOM J2 and i drive to historic annapolis. J2 undertakes the research, which is how we end up actually visiting area attractions. when HOM and i are left to our devices we mostly just figure out where to eat.

election watch

i have a dream
that there may be

civil engagement
dissent without rancor
honor above self

one day
in the country i call my home.

wednesday

sola scriptura

sola fide

sola gratia

sola christus

sola deo gloria

for what i received i passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures... by the grace of God i am what i am, and his grace to me was not without effect.  -  1 cor 15:3-4, 10

my meadow

our front yard last spring.

our front yard this year.

clearly, purple is the new yellow. and why not, is what i say. green gets boring. rejoice in the color. we could have a rainbow for a yard.

tuesday

when i survey the wondrous cross/ on which the prince of glory died/ my richest gain i count but loss/ and pour contempt on all my pride.  -  isaac watts

live life to the max, people say. seek what excites you. seize the day. i have had blessing upon undeserved blessing, i think. i would go where my path leads, but i don't feel hungry. my eyes have seen, from a distance, the glory of the cross, and my perspective has changed.

monday

... the obedience that comes from faith.  

-  romans 1:5

amazing concept this. my will perforce submits before my heart obeys. anything else is a husk bearing the semblance and lacking the substance, utilitarian at best and useless at worst. also, when my will submits my heart perforce obeys. it can do naught else.

hogwash

i receive an advertisement from the pharmacy. remember easter is april 24th, it says. stock up today at rite-aid! how odd, i think. what do i need from the pharmacy for easter? extra band-aids for holy week? anti-histamines just in case? not glucose strips certainly because it's not a feast celebration. 

easter candy, the link says. filled and fillable easter baskets! easter bagged candy! easter plush and novelty! 

there is creative thinking out of the box, and there is effrontery. easter is a terrible sacrifice and an impossible triumph. adorable bunnies and chocolate treats should find their own festive occasion.

trials

it's been a trying day.

HOM is battling jet lag from his business trip. J1 is battling bronchitis in singapore. J2 is battling boundaries right in our living room. i am battling, among other things, letris®.

new posting

J1 makes it to officer cadet school. in the age-old manner of all mothers i am now torn between much pride and almost paralyzing anxiety. HOM who is equally afflicted is working out his angst on me. this in a nutshell encapsulates much of parenthood. 'nuff said.

auto woes

the servicing on the ol' toyota costs us an arm and a leg today, and that's just the preventive maintenance. when HOM's wallet and heart recover we will need to return to the mechanic to get the suspension fixed, which will cost us our other arm and leg.

which is more cost effective with a twelve year old rattler, to go for regular pre-emptive fleecing or to drive until your conscience hits you and you get skinned?

entropy

here are some things that unfailingly obey the second law of thermodynamics:

• our front yard in summer,
• teenagers and husbands,
• Dog's general odor, and
• the inside of the refrigerator.

chariots of fire (1981)

that's a movie you should not grow up without ever watching, i tell the J's. it is really a rather simple production. all low fi prettily unspoiled scenery lots of lofty cathedral shots absolutely straightforward story line and a stirring positive ending all to the accompaniment of gilbert and sullivan. that iconic signature tune, on actual observation, only plays at the very beginning and at the finish.

call me simple then, but i freely admit that this seemingly guileless movie moves me every time. it transports me back to my university days with our own hall dinners and traditions. it brings back the angst of youthful friendships and young courtship. it reminds me that it is very good to live by principles rather than by popular opinion. and with time and age, that soft scottish brogue becomes quite, quite agreeable.

other people's stuff 4

here is a recent discovery. it's the some time diary of a younger equally peripatetic singaporean family that has currently wandered into our vicinity.

precious mem'ries

waiting at dulles
movie marathon nite
four at dinner
breakfast at the diner's
drives 'n' conversations
cheese bread and wine
the line at the dmv

hopes

J1 shows us his physical fitness award. he hopes to make it to officer cadet school. barrack gossip has it that the toughest will make it from there to the commando and guards conversion courses. and the mother of all arduousness, they say, is scout training. it would be cool, he thinks, to be able to take tough.

HOM rummages through his old storage box and retrieves his scout beret and his guards tab. but, he says to his son, i never got the physical fitness award. the old scout is proud of his young pup.

abundance 2

we are a vagrant troop, the bunch of us. a dozen abodes in a dozen years, give or take a couple. people accumulate stuff we have ruthless giveaways. we are expert at finding a spot and making acquaintances. Dog would have frequent miler status if he wanted it. we settle in quickly but we never settle too fully. in conversations about hometowns the J's acknowledge none. when HOM and i talk about retirement no place springs to mind.

and yet, for his first break from military life J1 comes home, and he means come home to us. wow.

abundance

he has much to tell us. he and J2 have lots to talk about. we hear the sound of new songs. the fourth seat is taken. supper is glad and protracted. Dog is happy. J1's home for a visit.

thanks for roses by the wayside/ thanks for thorns their stems contain

thanks for pray'rs that thou hast answered/ thanks for what thou dost deny

- august l storm/ carl e backstrom

question of the week 2

the answer is no.

days of fervent stand-off and plenty of self-righteousness and the national deficit is shaved by a drop. talk about losing sight of the trillions for the billions.

passing out parade

J1 telephones leaving the parade grounds. he has completed basic military training. it's a milestone we are grateful for. not to be mushy an' all that, but a man's gotta learn to serve his country, personal opinions aside.

he wants to follow in his father's footsteps. i'm proud of both my men.

current affair

tonight, the word on the announcer's lips, within minutes of turning the idiot box on, any channel, every time, is shutdown.

question of the week

will there be a shutdown come midnight?*

this clearly is the multi-billion dollar question of most of our lifetimes.

*HOM and i are betting on yes.

cherry blossoms

there is something about the careless abundance of spring that makes you want to frame just another shot, as if the picture is able to help you stay a tiny moment of eternity.

army life

boot camp's ending soon. the young pup has, i gather, acquitted himself well. 

red velvet

J2 and C are in business. i am their first customer. the pot-luck session is around the corner and i finally have a non-store-bought option! but i'll have to say this, there ain't no free lunch in life, not even for the mother of the cook.

letris®!

trivial pursuit. new heights.

atonement

calvary's love can heal the spirit life has crushed and cast aside, and redeem 'til heaven's promise fills with joy once empty eyes.  - greg nelson/phill mchugh

before the invasion of the bunnies and the peeps and the chocolate eggs, i want to remember that once, a man paid an unbearable price to redeem my impossible debt.

because of that i can sing.

clever boy

it thunders and lightnings in the night and we hear a distinct scratching sound on the bedroom door. this turns out to be Dog asking to be let in. which he is, owing to our utter shock. this must be his most sophisticated attempt at communication to date. previous strategies have been confined to waiting hopefully for relevant doors to simply open.

tonight, if it thunders and storms again, it will have to be J2's turn.

blearrrgh

what i say is, you don't know the meaning of creep until you have crept through d.c. traffic at the height of cherry blossom season. it's enough to make a girl give up her licence. 

shanghai village oops

HOM and i treat ourselves to a dinner date at a highly rated chinese restaurant. delicious, the reviews say. worth the hunt. d.c.'s hidden gem. 

we find ourselves the only chinese apart from the people at the counter, who do not readily speak chinese. well, we console each other, for an american place, it's half-way decent chinese.

me, polyglot

so much for selamat datang. the malaysians turn out to be perfectly conversant in english. well, duh, i could have told the organizers. where do you think i picked up my english? however, all is not lost. my nihao makes some gentlemen from china very happy indeed, although we do not have much deep conversation on account of my finite vocabulary. tomorrow, if the thai delegates turn up, i shall bring my sawadee-kah out for an airing.